Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

[losingit2010]

I have been reading on this board and other boards that you lose A LOT of hair on Atkins. Does this happen to everyone? I was so excited to start tomorrow. Now Im thinking I should try something else. I have about 25 lbs. to lose, but there is no way Im going to have thinning hair!

[james_brooks]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

Hair?!

[losingit2010]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

Hair?!

Yes..everyone is saying they are going bald. I read it on this board...

[Elizellen]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

Here is a recent post about the same question from
matawguro
Moderator


This question pops up so often it should be FAQ'd

From Dr. Mike Eades ' Blog...
He talks about Kimkins but it applies to any radical change in diet as well.

You are experiencing a common problem called telogen effluvium, which is the medical term for acute hair loss due to a metabolic, hormonal or drug stress.

So you can better understand what has happened, let’s take a look at the normal hair growth cycle. Hair has a growth phase call anagen and a resting or dormant phase called telogen. Typically for hair on the head, anagen lasts around three years followed by telogen that lasts about three months.

During anagen, the growth phase, the hair follicle is active and the hair grows; during telogen the hair follicle becomes dormant and the hair quits growing. But the hair stays in the hair follicle, and since you can’t really measure the growth of a single hair, you don’t know that the hair is actually dead and the follicle dormant. When the follicle reactivates during anagen, the new hair growing in pushes the old, dead hair out, and the hair falls from the scalp. That’s why we all find hairs on our pillows, in the shower, and other places it’s noticeable. Those old are hairs pushed out by the new hair growing in.

This waxing and waning of anagen and telogen is why we continuously lose hair and yet our head of hair doesn’t continuously thin. And, I suppose, it goes without saying that not all of our hair is in lock step in this cycle otherwise we would have hair for 2-3 years, then it would all fall out at once. The estimate is that about 10% of hair on the head is in telogen at any given time, which means that the other 90% is growing normally. And even the 10% in telogen appears normal if you looked at an individual hair. It’s just not growing and will ultimately be pushed out when the follicle converts to anagen.

But sometimes this cycle can be disrupted.

A number of stresses can send hairs from anagen to telogen before their time. Pregnancy, a major illness, a high fever, an injury, surgery (usually from the anesthesia), some medications and a major change in diet, ...

...

The nutritional stress from ... the diet shocked your hair from anagen into telogen prematurely. You didn’t even notice it when it happened because you lost no hair. Months later when your follicles again went into anagen and became active, the new hair growing in began to push the old hair out. And because the nutritional stress sent much more than your normal ongoing 10% into telogen, you seemed to lose hair by handfuls.

...

So, the take home message is that if you lost a lot of hair during your time on Kimkins (or any other diet), don’t sweat it. It will come back. If it doesn’t, then you’ve got something more going on than telogen effluvium, and you need to pay a visit to your doctor. But usually if you look closely at your scalp (or have someone look for you), you’ll see little hairs growing back in. If you’re a female and have long hair, it will take a long time for your hair to grow back to its full length, but it will.
Is their anything you can do to hurry it along? Just make sure you get plenty of good quality protein and essential fats. And don’t worry about it.

[SouLThinKing]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

I've lost 60+ lbs on Atkins, I haven't lost any hair! LOL I for sure think that it's one of the least things you have to worry about. I think you might have to buy some new clothes. That's a happy side effect don't ya think?
Nichole

[Peytonn]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

no hair problems related to Atkins for me..

[Fizgig]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

I always shed a little bit, but have never seen increased hair loss on Atkins. Am I correct in thinking this is more of a problem when people eat low calorie....?

[WetBanana]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

I definitely had an increase in hair loss. I DO attribute it to WEIGHT loss...NOT the diet itself, HOWEVER - my hair was thick to begin with, and now it's just "normal"

My mother had gastric bypass done...the WEIGHT loss caused her to lose a lot of her hair and thin it out. Now that she's lost all her weight and her eating has normalized (for her anyway) her hair is thickening back up.

So - with significant weight loss, it sometimes results in moderate hair loss. I like having thinner hair though, it's WAY easier to manage, I can blow it dry way faster, and I can straighten it super easily.

[liv]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

It may happen with weightloss for some. Did not happen to me

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

>>everyone is saying they are going bald.>>

I never said it.

[lannerjarv]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

atkins has actually reduced my hairloss.

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

I've been on Atkins a couple of times and have never had any hair loss.

[Jules1980]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

I haven't lost any hair......
Good luck, I hope you try atkins.

[losingit2010]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I decided to try. Today's my first day!

[liv]

Re: Hi, Im new and have a question for all of you.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I decided to try. Today's my first day!

Woo hoo
Happy first day!!!