hair loss – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

What good is a size 2 body if your hair ends up looking like hell?

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I recently read an article about a nameless 42 year-old publicist from San Francisco who ended up losing a significant amount of hair due to extreme dieting. Seems sometimes we just can’t win. This girls goal was to lose 15 pounds in the first month, then re-evaluate how much more she’d need to drop after that – all with the assistance of a nutritionist.

Her calorie intake was just 750 a day, consisting of a protein shake for breakfast, soup and a shake for lunch, then salad, steamed veggies and 6 ounces of protein (like a piece of grilled chicken the size of a bar of soap) for dinner. She was still famished but wasn’t about to argue with the results – and lost every pound. The follow up visit with the nutritionist consisted of being told to set her target weight even lower and stay on the plan.

The trouble started four months later. The clothes were looser but her nice shoulder-length hair was much sparser. At first just a bit in the shower (which can be common) but in a matter of weeks she was dropping tons of hair – she has fine hair to begin with. She began to inspect her brushes after each stroke to see how many strands were tangled up in the bristles and had to disguise the hair sparseness by pulling it up into a bun or back in a ponytail as you could really see the difference when it was worn down.

The nutritionist would not entertain the idea that the diet had anything to do with it. She on the other hand, was not so sure. She eventually ditched the diet and started eating more sensibly, incorporating larger amounts of protein *(particularly red meat) into her meals. After a few months the shedding stopped, hair started to get back to normal and finally she’s at a healthy (but not supermodel thin) weight. *Whole grains, nuts and tofu/tempeh for vegetarians.

The Diagnosis:

Humans evolved from a feast-or-famine lifestyle: we cycled through periods when we had plenty of food to gobble up and periods when we had little to eat. Genetically, our bodies have a long memory, and in some ways they still react as if we’re living in prehistoric times. So if your body senses that you’re heading towards famine (hello, crash diet!), it diverts energy away from functions that are less essential, like growing hair or strong nails. If you start to undergo dramatic shedding, see your doctor for a blood workup; sometimes the problem could be the result of a chronic health condition, like hypo-or hyperthyroidism. Eating a healthy diet that includes all the food groups can help, as does popping a daily multivitamin, just to be sure you’re getting the nutrients that your hair needs. – Melissa Pilang, dermatologist, Clevelend Clinic.

Photo from: http://www.besthairlossproductsreviews.com/why-women-lose-their-hair/