Why my workouts are making my hair fall off

December 27, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments

An odd thought occurred to me the other day.

After my first year of going vegan, I suddenly had prettier, longer hair.

(Well… as pretty as you can get when you consistently bleach it blonde)

Then, about a year after, it started breaking off again. It almost looked as bad as it had back before going plant based. (Although nothing was as bad as that.) But…why? What was this follicular betrayal all about? I mean, all my vegan buddies had beautiful manes cascading out of their craniums. Why not me anymore? So, I mashed my mind rewind button, and thought back. What was I doing differently back then – that had changed in a mere year? Couldn’t be the bleach. That’s a non-variable. I’ve been loyally burning blonde into my roots since I was 15. So, that was out. Was it the tofu? Nope, I thought. I still got plenty of plant protein. And then, a very weird thought occurred to me. I certainly wasn’t starving myself when I first went vegan. But I was eating less overall for that first year compared to the constant nommery I do now.

At first, I worried that that was the answer. That I’d have to drastically reduce my food intake if I wanted a better head’ve hair. What a bummer – especially since I love eating and working it off. But that’s when it clicked. That second thing – “working it off” – was more likely the reason my tresses were less than stellar, suddenly. Don’t get me wrong. My favorite weight loss activities are great. I mix up my cardio, strength training, and HIIT. But that’s just the issue. I do it daily – and I usually do it twice a day. My idea of a “rest day” is doing only one workout instead of two or four. Is it because I’m super motivated? Unlikely. It’s more likely a combo of things – like an addiction I use to boost endorphins (since I don’t drink) as well as a way to burn the increase of calories I’m now ingesting. And why am I ingesting them in the first place? Why, so I have energy to run again later. Somewhere along the way, my jogging high caught fire – and spread from one point in my day to another. I remember it, too. I had to be at an interview one day, and wanted that nice cardio high. So, instead of running in the afternoon, I ran in the morning. But, by the day’s end, I missed that feeling bleeding into my evening. So, I thought, why not do both? And, thus was born the “two a days” into my life. And I never’ve quit it since.

This collectively put me in the perfect position to stress my somatic machine out.

And stymie my top mop from reaching its full potential.

Or, as LiveStrong puts it:

“Exercise can keep your body and your hair healthy–if you’re not doing too much of it. Exercising heavily without addressing nutrition needs or exercising too much can lead to problems that cause hair loss. “

It’s such a bummer too – because it’s become a vicious cycle. And the idea of scaling back already has me breaking out into a light sweat (albeit not the kind that burns any calories – or makes you happy). This is what I do. Multiple daily workouts have become part of who I am. My identity. So, what’s a girl to do? Am I meant to work out less? Won’t I gain weight? Get depressed? Not necessarily. When I think back to what I was doing differently in that first year, I wasn’t really working out any less. Just less frequently. See, what I was doing was consolidating all that jogging or working out into one or two hours. And when I was done, I was done for the day. That gave my body time to recover – for a full 24 – before I began assaulting it all over again in my lust for just another hit from my internal pharmacy. Plus, without that extra workout, I wasn’t craving all the fare I do now. I didn’t need it, so my body didn’t ask for it – which meant my weight loss goals remained attainable.

So, what’s the he fix?

Well, it’s obvious, I suppose. While everyone else is making their New Year’s resolutions to work out more…

I guess I’m gonna hafta make one to work out less (frequently).

(That or quit caring about the quality of the stuff coming out’ve my crown.)

The good news? That if you’re starting on a weight loss path, my (literal) loss is your gain. Definitely take this tale into consideration. As much as I say I’m going to change my ways, I can’t promise anything. I know the problem. I see the solution. But, at heart, I’m a cardio and activity addict. So, putting it into effect might prove difficult. But, if you’re new to this, there’s still time for you. If you’re already starting to overdo it like I am, nip that shiz in the bud. Use that still Rapunzel-esque hair to climb your way out of this downward spiral – and back to a less intense, more consolidated regimen. Cuz once you scale back on the excessive sweating and the snacks, the scale number will still drop.

But your coif’s quality won’t.