has anyone experienced hairloss on this diet?

hey guys,

so hairloss- i know that we're not getting a lot of calories on this diet, and this is a crash diet. Both kinda trigger hair loss. I crashed diet stupidly when i was 18 and lost lots of weight and had horrible hairloss. At the time i wasnt taking supplements, and i wasnt being conscious of the stuff that was in the foods i was eating. I pretty much ate a boiled egg for breakfast, dried cereal for lunch and stirfried zucchini for dinner... IT WAS A NIGHTMARE to have ur long beautiful hair fall out at 18 years old.

About a year and half ago i became a vegetarian. I didnt really lose weight, i just did it cuz i felt it was a cleaner way to live etc etc. I lost probably like 5-6 lbs, and it again started. I knew that since i was a vegetarian, i probably wasnt getting enough protein so i decided to eat meat again and see if that helped. It didnt. I then tried to supplement some iron once a day since i was a little tired and a little pale and a heavy bleeder, so maybe that was something to try out, and VOILA almost over night my hair stopped falling out. a month down the road it started regrowing.

So im terrified of this happening again. LIKE TERRIFIED so much that i cried myself to sleep last night. i had a scare last night that this was starting all over when i took a shower and there were a few in my hand, and i took some iron quick, and again this morning and i dont seem to have anything falling out now- tho im like checking on it every 15 seconds cuz it scares the CRAP out of me. About a month ago i went back on the veggie diet cuz i makes me happy and have been taking my protein and iron intake very seriously to prevent a relapse, since obviously its not just calories that will make my body freak out. Throughout my time on 5bite ive been taking my iron supplement and a multivitamin etc but im scared that regardless of all that, its going to happen again. Has anyone else experienced/heard about something like that on this diet, or on other crash-like diets? and if so, what helped to prevent it or make it stop?

im BEGGING for help and support to keep this from happening again.

Oh my gosh! The exact same thing is happening to me! My hair is falling out like crazy...I will deffinately try taking some iron. I too have been VERY pale. Pale skin, pail lips, pale nails. Plus i have been tired. But what has freeked me out the most is my hair. I am leaving it every where. More than a hundred hairs a day. I thought it had something to do with switching to a new Birth Control so I was going to stop taking it when the cycle ran out and go back to barrier methods because the hormones affect me badly. But thank you for the suggestion to take iron, I really hope it helps my hair.

As far as any tips...my hair dresser said to try a deep conditioning treatment...hope that helps

its called "tellogen efluvium" if u want to look up some stuff about it. and it commonly happens cuz of crash diets, recent surgery, trauma, anything that can give ur body a shock.
it sucks.. but when it happened to me as a kid, every doctor was just like ur anorexic of course ur losing weight.. and i was like ..... no.... im not anorexic u just wont HELP ME CUZ U SUCK!

try the iron. the first time this happened to me i had NO IDEA what to do. my mom told me to just gain weight. but that didnt help, off the veggie diet- didnt help. and honestly, u lose so much hair that u just cant wait it out and hope it goes away.

after i took iron, my color came back in about a week, my hair stopped falling out by half in a day or 2, and the hair starting regrowing maybe 2-3 weeks later.

im really scared shitless here (pardon my language), i think i might go off the 5bite and just maintain my weight for a little while- take a protein shake everyday to up the protein content and allow my body to rest but still keep the calories low enough that i wont gain weight. I hope my fears of this happening again never come to fruition.

I was on accutane when i was 15, and one of the major side effect warnings was loss of hair. My skin was bad enough it was worth the risk for me- and until now I havnt noticed any hair loss.

Its not noticable to other people, but I notice a lot of hair in my shower drain these days.
I'll be sure and take my MV every day just to make sure I get enough iron now. I figured it was probably the residual effects of the drug (even though it's supposedly out of your system within 6 months of treatment) but it could be this. Hmm...

thanks for the warning and i will let you know if anything happens. Im 18 with long hair, and yes, quite honestly tea im scared shitless of losing it too!!

I have long thick hair, and I haven't noticed any more hair loss than usual (i always find hair all over the place, anyway, lol) This may be because I do the 5 bite strict for a week or two, and then maintain for a week or two, then back and forth. It may be keeping my metabolism up, or tricking my body, who knows. Just maybe try to maintain for a week or so, and then go back 5 biting untill you reach your goal (I know you're close, Tea!) Its not worth losing your hair to lose weight 1 or 2 weeks quicker!!! Good luck, girlie!

It is VERY common that this happens when ur body isn't getting the right nutrients... Tea I think that taking the MV and Iron will stop it from happening... I will look into it more and if I find anything I'll let u know!

Don't stress becuase that doesn't help!

Stay Happy!!

*Hugs* (we really need a proper hug emoticon lol)

thanks guys really appreciate the support here.
So i dont think that my hair is falling out. i've been taking my iron more consistantly, but ive also been a bit obsessive each little strand that falls too... sigh.

i will of course let everyone know if i find out anything else. Losing ur hair while u lose weight is the worst!!

I'm new to all of this and the 5BD. I have read Dr. Lewis's book, and he said this happens and is temporary. I too am concerned as I am older and have lost enough hair already! But, you know I like the idea about taking the multi and some extra iron and will give it a try and hopefully this will help. What I feel right now, is the risk of my being overweight with a BMI of just over 30, and being older, and my obesity is mostly in the stomach region, the risks are more being overweight right now than losing my hair temporarily. I risk cancers, and heart disease, and type 2 diabetes and ...the list goes on. Dr. Lewis gives a long list of side effects to OBESITY in his book. I hope you are feeling better by now. I know I am responding to an older post. Hugs, Pam

I've heard that Biotin is good for hair growth, or to stop hair from falling out. I haven't tried it, but if I have a problem with hair falling out, I probably will try it.

Biotin, also referred to as vitamin H, is a type of B complex vitamin that occurs naturally in a variety of common foods. So you can use Biotin but make sure your levels of body have been checked.

Just take a multi vitamin and you will be okay. If you are still worried then take extra B complex. B vitamins are water soluble and whatever the body does not use will leave your body naturally.