How to Stop And Reduce Hair Fall – 21 Things That Worked For Me

All of us dream of having healthy, shiny and beautiful locks – hair that would be our crowning glory but unfortunately hair fall seems to have become a constant problem. Hair loss is a common issue that affects millions around the world at some point in their lives. Though hair fall is painless, it can be a distressing experience to lose hair on a daily basis considering that women associate hair with beauty. No one wants to go bald (something many men accept as the natural result of ageing) or look old prematurely.

How many times have you seen your comb or brush covered with hair and felt worried?
Not only while combing but even when oiling or shampooing, hair fall can occur. According to the beauty experts, it is normal to lose about 100 strands of hair in a day. Beyond this may be considered as severe hair fall.

A. What causes Hair Fall?

The common reasons behind hair fall can be perceived as a lack of essential nutrients in the body, excessive use of chemicals through hair coloring and hair styling treatments, improper and unhealthy dietary habits, hormonal imbalance, certain medications, dandruff, alopecia and other scalp disorders.

Even stress and tension can lead to hair fall. Hence try not to let these become a part of your life or if you are stressed out due to some reasons, consider meditation, Yoga or deep breathing exercises to reduce and counter it. Also, make it a point to get adequate sleep every night.
Any medical issues should be taken care of to avoid severe hair fall that can lead to baldness. Thyroid is a common problem affecting thousands of women over the country and this condition may lead to rapid hair fall. So consider getting yourself tested for this after consulting your doctor.

Here is a detailed post on what causes hair loss in women

1. A wide-toothed comb should ideally be used for the hair to gently detangle it and then the regular fine-toothed comb may be used to style the hair as per one’s need. This will reduce the risk of the hair breakage and hair fall while combing.

2. It is best not to comb the hair while it is wet as this leads to greater chances of hair breakage and fall. Let it be dry or semi-dry before combing.

3. Do not rub your hair vigorously with your towel. This will only lead to unwanted hair breakage. Use the towel instead to gently soak out excess moisture.

4. Clean your combs every week. If you look minutely, you will see that combs become unclean and dirty over time; so they need to be cleaned with a brush, soap and water as using that dirty comb continuously can lead to hair fall as well. You can do this easily when taking a bath or shampooing each week. This is a necessary precaution to take for hair fall control.

5. Hot oil treatments is one of the most frequent answers to the question of how to reduce hair fall!

The tradition of oiling the hair to enhance and retain its natural beauty hails from ancient India.
Instead of opting for an expensive parlor treatment, it is best to use natural products that are safe, produce no side effects and are also effective.

Natural oils such as coconut, olive, canola, jojoba, sesame etc. can be used to massage the scalp for countering hair fall and encouraging new hair growth. You have to warm the oil of your choice by heating it; ensure that it’s not too hot but bearable, gently massage your scalp with this using your fingers or even a cotton ball may be used. Next, wear a shower cap, leaving it on for about 1 hour and rinse off using a mild shampoo.

Here is a detailed post on how hot oil massage prevents hair loss.

As we know, hair fall problems can be related to the scalp – issues such as dandruff, dryness and flakiness etc. With a natural hot oil treatment twice every week, the blood circulation in the scalp area can be stimulated causing the hair follicles to stay active and hair loss can be countered through deep conditioning and eliminating these scalp issues, and at the same time your hair receives the much-needed nourishment and care which will help in strengthening and making it beautiful.

6. Try to switch to shampoos that are sulfate, silicone and paraben-free to avoid loading the scalp and hair with harsh chemicals that damage hair, making it brittle and more prone to breakage. Controlling chemical damage is certainly a sure shot way to ensure hair loss prevention.

Some such options are available from brands like The Body Shop, Soul Tree, Rustic Art, Organic Surge; The Nature’s Co. etc

7. Wash your hair at least every 3 days with a gentle hair cleanser or shampoo to remove all accumulated dust, dirt, oil and bacterial build up. Keep it clean at all times to avoid hair fall due to unclean scalp and scalp infections. This is a necessary step to follow as an answer to how to cure hair fall.

Care for Your Hair:

if you have been wondering what more you can do in your quest on how to control hair fall, here are few more suggestions.

8. Do not subject your hair to frequent chemical treatments, excessive blow drying, ironing and coloring as these can lead to hair loss.

9. Hair styles such as wearing tight ponytails, pigtails or braids on a daily basis, using elastics and rubber bands to pull back hair tightly can cause hair fall.

10. Natural Juices to counter hair fall:
An ingredient from our kitchen can effectively help to tackle hair fall problems – it is the good old onion.

It is an amazing natural remedy to fight hair fall and also effectively increases the growth of your hair. Some simple and easy ways to use onion in treating hair fall and promote new hair growth
11. Eat Healthy to Minimize and Prevent Hair Fall:

Give importance to a balanced diet to counter hair loss as this one of the most important answers to your question of how to prevent hair fall. Nutritional deficiencies in the body are a major cause of hair loss.

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Classification of Hair Loss in Men

The Norwood classification, published in 1975 by Dr. O’tar Norwood, is the most widely used classification for hair loss in men. It defines two major patterns and several less common types (see the chart below). In the regular Norwood pattern, two areas of hair loss–a bitemporal recession and thinning crown–gradually enlarge and coalesce until the entire front, top and crown (vertex) of the scalp are bald.

Class I represents an adolescent or juvenile hairline and is not actually balding. The adolescent hairline generally rests on the upper brow crease.

Class II indicates a progression to the adult or mature hairline that sits a finger’s breath (1.5cm) above the upper brow crease, with some temporal recession. This also does not represent balding.

Class III is the earliest stage of male hair loss. It is characterized by a deepening temporal recession.

Class III Vertex represents early hair loss in the crown (vertex).

Class IV is characterized by further frontal hair loss and enlargement of vertex, but there is still a solid band of hair across top separating front and vertex.

Class V the bald areas in the front and crown continue to enlarge and the bridge of hair separating the two areas begins to break down.

Class VI occurs when the connecting bridge of hair disappears leaving a single large bald area on the front and top of the scalp. The hair on the sides of the scalp remains relatively high.

Class VII patients have extensive hair loss with only a wreath of hair remaining in the back and sides of the scalp.

Norwood Class A
The Norwood Class A patterns are characterized by a front to back progression of hair loss. Norwood Class A’s lack the connecting bridge across the top of the scalp and generally have more limited hair loss in the crown, even when advanced.

The Norwood Class A patterns are less common than the regular pattern (<10%), but are significant because of the fact that, since the hair loss is most dramatic in the front, the patients look very bald even when the hair loss is minimal. Men with Class A hair loss often seek surgical hair restoration early, as the frontal bald area is not generally responsive to medication and the dense donor area contrasts and accentuates the baldness on top. Fortunately, Class A patients are excellent candidates for hair transplantation.
Diffuse Patterned and Unpatterned Alopecia
Two other types of genetic hair loss in men not often considered by doctors, “Diffuse Patterned Alopecia” and “Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia,” pose a significant challenge both in diagnosis and in patient management. Understanding these conditions is crucial to the evaluation of hair loss in both men and women, particularly those that are young when the diagnoses may be easily missed, as they may indicate that a patient is not a candidate for surgery. (Bernstein and Rassman “Follicular Transplantation: Patient Evaluation and Surgical Planning”)

Diffuse Patterned Alopecia (DPA) is an androgenetic alopecia manifested as diffuse thinning in the front, top and crown, with a stable permanent zone. In DPA, the entire top of the scalp gradually miniaturizes (thins) without passing through the typical Norwood stages. Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA) is also androgenetic, but lacks a stable permanent zone and affects men much less often than DPA. DUPA tends to advance faster than DPA and end up in a horseshoe pattern resembling the Norwood class VII. However, unlike the Norwood VII, the DUPA horseshoe can look almost transparent due to the low density of the back and sides. Differentiating between DPA and DUPA is very important because DPA patients often make good transplant candidates, whereas DUPA patients almost never do, as they eventually have extensive hair loss without a stable zone for harvesting.

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Causes of Hair Loss in Men

By far the most common cause of hair loss in men is androgenetic alopecia, also referred to as “male pattern hair loss” or “common” baldness. It is due to the male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) acting on genetically-susceptible scalp hair follicles that causes them to become progressively smaller and eventually disappear. This process is called “miniaturization.”

This sensitivity to DHT is characteristic of hair follicles that reside in the front, top, and crown of the scalp — rather than the back and sides — producing a characteristic and easily identifiable pattern. This pattern, described by Norwood in his widely used Norwood Classification, typically begins with recession of the hairline at the temples and thinning of the crown. It may progress to total baldness, leaving just a wreath of hair around the back and sides of the scalp.

The Miniaturization of Hair Follicles
DHT is formed by the action of the enzyme 5-alpha reductase on testosterone, the hormone that causes sex characteristics in men. DHT causes male hair loss by shortening the growth, or anagen, phase of the hair cycle, causing miniaturization (decreased size) of the follicles, and producing progressively shorter, finer hairs. Eventually these hairs totally disappear (see image below).

Example 1 – Permanent Zone

In the following patient, we see a close-up of the side of his scalp where the hair is not affected by DHT. We see mostly groups of full thickness hairs (called terminal hairs) and a few scattered fine, vellus hairs, normally seen in a donor area. The pointer (left) indicates the location on the scalp in the close-up view.

Looking at the image above, you can see that the back and sides of the patient’s scalp have not succumbed to the effects of DHT due to follicles’ genetically-inherited resistance to DHT in that area of the scalp. For this reason, the area that covers the back and sides of the scalp is called the permanent zone. Another name is the donor area, because, in a hair transplant, hairs extracted from this part of the scalp are re-implanted into a balding area of the scalp. The follicles retain the DHT-resistance, and so they continue to grow as if they were still in their original location.

Example 2 – Moderate Miniaturization

In the area of thinning (see circle below), we see that most of the hair has been miniaturized, although all of the hair is still present.

The hairs, while still present on the scalp, are so much finer in diameter than the patient’s original hair that they give the visual appearance of thinning.

Example 3 – Extensive Miniaturization

In the region that is balding below (circle in the center of the scalp), there is extensive miniaturization and only very little loss of actual hairs. However, due to the dramatic thinning of the hair diameter, there is an appearance of almost complete balding in the area despite the presence of fine hair.

What these examples show is that, particularly in the early stages, the appearance of balding is due to the progressive decrease in hair shaft size caused by the miniaturizing effects of DHT, rather than the actual loss of hair.

This is the reason why hair loss medications, such as finasteride (Propecia) or minoxidil (Rogaine), which can reverse the miniaturization process, work well in early hair loss and why, with early hair loss, a surgical procedure is usually not necessary. If medications fail to restore enough hair, or if a patient chooses not to use medical therapy, then a hair transplant may be considered. Certainly, if an area is completely bald, medications will not re-grow hair and surgery can be considered as a first option.

Androgenetic Hair Loss: Genes, Hormones, Age

The expression of Androgenetic hair loss is affected by three interdependent factors: genes, hormones, and age:

Genes

It is frequently stated that “hair loss comes from the mother’s side of the family.” The truth is that baldness can be inherited from either parent. However, factors on the x-chromosome have been shown to influence hair loss, making the inheritance from the maternal side of the family slightly more important than the paternal one.

Recent research suggests that the genetics in male pattern hair loss is more complex than originally thought. The identification of an androgen receptor gene (AR) on the x-chromosome helps to explain why the hair loss pattern of a man resembles his maternal grandfather more often than his father. However, this is clearly not the whole story since a direct inheritance of baldness from the father is observed as well. An autosomal (non-sex) linked gene would explain this type of transmission – but this gene has not yet been found.

By the way of background, a gene is a single bit of chemically encoded hereditary instruction that is located on a chromosome and actually represents a tiny segment of DNA. Chromosomes occur in pairs (humans have 23 pairs), and every individual gets one set of chromosomes from each parent. Hair loss in men is now felt to involve more than one gene. When several genes govern a trait, it is called polygenic.

Genes that are located on the X or Y-chromosomes are call sex-linked. Genes on the other 22 pairs of chromosomes are called autosomal. It is felt that the genes governing common baldness are both sex-linked and also autosomal (not sex linked). This means that the baldness trait can be inherited from the mother’s side of the family or the father’s side, but not necessarily with equal frequency.

The term, “dominant” means that only one gene of a pair is needed for the trait to show up in the individual. A “recessive” gene means that both genes need to be present in order for the trait to be expressed. The most important genes involved in balding from androgenetic alopecia are felt to be dominant.

Just because one has the genes for baldness, it doesn’t mean the trait will manifest itself. The ability of a gene to affect one’s characteristics, i.e. be visible in a particular individual, is called “expressivity”. Gene expression is related to a number of factors, the major ones being hormones and age, although stress and other factors can be reasons for hair loss in some individuals.

It is of interest that, although genes for some types of hair loss have been mapped, the genes responsible for male pattern baldness have yet to be fully identified. This suggests that any kind of genetic engineering to prevent common baldness is still many years away.

Hormones

Hormones are biochemical substances that are made in various glands throughout the body. These glands secrete their products directly into the bloodstream so that the chemical they make is spread throughout the body. These chemicals are very powerful so that only minute amounts of them have profound effects upon the body.

The major male sex hormone is called testosterone. Testosterone and other related hormones that have masculinizing effects are made primarily in the testicles; therefore, the hormonal levels that are seen in adults do not reached significant levels until the testicles develop and enlarge during puberty. In fact, these same hormones are the cause of many of the changes that occur in puberty; growth of phallus and scrotum, sperm production, development of a sex drive, change in the voice, Read about the discovery of the relationship between testosterone and hormonally-induced hair lossgrowth of axillary and pubic hair, development of an adult aroma in the sweat, increase in bone and muscle mass, and change in the basic body shape.

These same hormones that cause acne and beard growth can also signal the beginning of baldness. The presence of androgens; testosterone, and its related hormone DHT, cause some follicles to regress and die. In addition to the testicles, the adrenal glands located above each of our kidneys, produce androgenic hormones, and this would be similar in both sexes. In females, the ovaries are an additional source of hormones that can affect hair.

The hormone felt to be directly involved in androgenetic alopecia is actually dihydrotestosterone (DHT) rather than testosterone. DHT acts by binding to special receptor sites on the cells of the hair follicles to cause the specific changes associated with balding. DHT is formed by the action of the enzyme 5-a reductase on testosterone. In men, 5-a reductase activity is higher in the balding area. This helps to explain the reason for the patterned alopecia that males experience. The enzyme 5-a reductase actually comes in two forms, Type 1 and Type 2. The enzyme 5-alpha reductase Type II, the predominant form in hair follicles, is blocked by the hair loss medication finasteride (Propecia).

DHT decreases the length of the anagen (growing) cycle, and increases the telogen (resting) phase, so that with each new cycle the hair shaft becomes progressively smaller. In addition, DHT causes the bi-temporal reshaping of hairline seen as adolescents enter adulthood, as well as patterned baldness (androgenetic alopecia). DHT also causes prostate enlargement in older men and adolescent and adult acne.

It is interesting that testosterone effects axillary and pubic hair, whereas DHT effects beard growth, hair on torso and limbs, patterned baldness and the appearance of hair in the nose and ears (something that older men experience). Scalp hair growth, however, is not androgen dependent, only scalp hair loss depends on androgens.

Age

The presence of the necessary genes and hormones is not alone sufficient to cause baldness. Even after a person has reached puberty, susceptible hair follicles must continually be exposed to the hormone over a period of time for hair loss to occur. The age at which these effects finally manifest themselves varies from one individual to another and is related to a person’s genetic composition and to the levels of testosterone in the bloodstream.

There is another time factor that is poorly understood. Male hair loss does not occur all at once or in a steady, straight-line progression. Hair loss is characteristically cyclical. People who are losing their hair experience alternating periods of slow and rapid hair loss and even stability. Many of the reasons that hair loss rates speed up and speed down are unknown, but we do know that with age, a person’s total hair volume will usually decrease.

Even when there is no predisposition to genetic balding, as a patient ages, some hairs randomly begin to miniaturize (shrink in length and width) in each follicular unit. As a result, each group will contain both of full terminal hairs and miniaturized hairs (similar to the very fine hairs that occur on the rest of the body and are clinically insignificant) making the area look less full. Eventually, the miniaturized hairs are lost, and the actual follicular units are reduced in number. In all adult patients, the entire scalp undergoes this aging process so that even the donor zone is not truly permanent, but will gradually thin, to some degree, over time. Fortunately, in most people, the donor zone retains enough permanent hair that hair transplantation is a viable male hair restoration procedure even for a patient well into his 70s.

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'Slimming clubs helped me lose weight

When Cheryl Taylor was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2007, she vowed that if she pulled through she’d lose her excess weight once and for all.
The mother-of-four from Aldershot tells how weight-loss classes helped her drop nine dress sizes in two years and turn her life around.
How did you put on weight?
As a child I was overweight. At school I was two stone heavier than the other kids and I was picked on. The bullying turned me into a comfort eater. Whenever I felt low or worried I’d graze and binge on food. It just became a way of life. My husband and I both worked long hours and we lived on junk food. And with each pregnancy, I put on more weight.
How did it affect your health and wellbeing?
When I decided to lose weight I was 19st 3lb. My legs and feet ached and I had trouble breathing. People thought I had asthma. My doctor told me I should slim because I also had high blood pressure. I had no self-confidence. I didn’t feel happy with myself so I avoided going out.
Did you try dieting and exercise?
Every now and then I would get the motivation to go on a diet, but when I stopped I’d just put the weight back on again. The problem with fad diets is that they’re a short-term and radical change to your diet which you can’t keep up over the long-term. I used to hate exercise. I thought exercise meant going to a gym but I’m not a gym person. I find gyms extremely boring.
When did you decide to lose weight?
I tested positive for cervical cancer in 2007. I decided that if my life was going to be shortened, I wanted to make sure I spent the rest of it healthy, fit, slim and happy, rather than unhealthy, unfit, fat and miserable. Cancer made me take control of my health. I joined a Rosemary Conley diet and fitness club in my area.
How did you find the group sessions?
The classes made a real difference. I was a little apprehensive on the first day. I was worried about being the fattest person there or being singled out. But everyone at the class was so friendly. We were all in the same boat. There were people of all shapes and sizes. In fact, seeing slimmer members acted as a motivation to stick with the programme. The classes gave me the support and motivation to keep going. There was also a strong social element. The classes were like a social event itself and I’ve made some really good friends, who I now see outside the classes.
How does the programme work?
When you first join, you’re given a diet pack, which includes advice and information on portion control, motivation and healthy recipes. After registering, you are discreetly weighed-in by your class instructor and given your personal weight-loss target. Then there’s a motivational information group session followed by an optional 45-60-minute exercise session.
What’s the key to keeping the weight off?
You have to accept that you’ll have ups and downs. I have good weeks and bad weeks but I know how to get back on track now. I like to keep a food diary to keep track of my calorie intake. It helps me to refocus if I’ve had a bad week. I also keep a photo of my former self on the fridge to remind me of how I used to look. When I get a craving, I remember the photo and I ask myself, what do I want more, that biscuit or to be slim?
How has losing weight affected you psychologically?
I have my confidence back and I love being able to wear fashionable clothes instead of the frumpy tents I was forced to wear before. I feel a lot happier. I feel in control of my body. Before, it felt as though food dominated my life, but the weight-loss programme gradually changed my attitude to food.
Has your attitude to exercise changed?
I walk everywhere. I do a school walk three times a day, and that just about covers my 10,000 steps. I go to aerobics classes three to four times a week and I sometimes walk to the classes and back. My exercise classmates have nicknamed me the Duracell Bunny because of my new found energy. I’m also training to become a fitness instructor so I can help motivate other people to become fitter and lose weight.
Has losing weight improved your health?
My health has definitely improved since losing the weight. I no longer have high blood pressure or any breathing difficulties, and my resting pulse rate, which is often an indication of how fit somebody is, is also much lower. My immune system in general seems to be much better, and I rarely seem to suffer from colds or infections, whereas before I lost the weight, I seemed to have one illness after another.

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Ten weight-loss myths

So much is said about losing weight that it can be hard to sort truth from fiction. Here's the truth about 10 common weight-loss myths.
1. Starving myself is the best way to lose weight
Crash diets are unlikely to result in long-term weight loss. In fact, they can sometimes lead to longer term weight gain. The main problem is that this type of diet is too hard to maintain. Your body will be low on energy, causing you to crave high-fat and high-sugar foods. When you finally give in and eat those foods, you will often eat more calories than you need, causing weight gain. Learn more about a healthy diet in Eight tips for healthy eating.
2. A radical exercise regime is the only way to lose weight
Not true. Sensible weight loss involves making small changes that you can stick to for a long time. That means building regular physical activity into your daily routine. Adults between 19 and 64 should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity - such as fast walking or cycling -every week, and those who are overweight are likely to need more than this in order to lose weight. Learn more in Physical activity guidelines for adults. To shift 450g (1lb) a week, you need to create a calorie deficit - that is, more calories used than consumed - of 500 calories per day. This can be achieved by eating less, moving more, or, best of all, a combination of both.
3. Slimming pills are effective for long-term weight loss
No, they're not. Slimming pills alone will not help you keep the weight off long term. They should only be used when prescribed by a doctor.
4. Healthy foods are more expensive
In fact, healthy foods are not necessarily more expensive than their unhealthy alternatives. You'll typically pay more for a high-fat, high-salt ready meal than you would if you had bought fresh ingredients and made the meal yourself.
5. Foods labelled ‘low fat’ or ‘reduced fat’ are always a healthy choice
Be cautious. Foods labelled 'low fat' have to meet legal criteria to use that label. Labels such as 'reduced fat' do not have to meet the same criteria, and can be misleading. A reduced-fat snack should contain less fat than the full-fat version, but that doesn't automatically make it a healthy choice: it could still contain a lot more fat than, say, a portion of fruit. Low-fat foods also sometimes contain high levels of sugar. Learn more in Fat: the facts
6. Margarine contains less fat than butter
Margarine and butter contain different types of fat. Margarine is usually lower in saturated fat than butter. But it's more likely to contain hydrogenated fats. Hydrogenated fats, also called trans fats, may be more harmful to health than saturated fats. To lose weight, and for heart health, reduce the amount of saturated and hydrogenated fats you eat. If oil in margarine has been hydrogenated, this has to be listed on the ingredient listing on packaging, so check labels carefully. Learn more in Eat less saturated fat.
7. Carbohydrates make you put on weight
Eaten in the right quantities, carbohydrates will not cause weight gain. A 2003 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that dieters on the best-known low-carb diet, the Atkins diet, tended to lose weight not because they ate fewer carbohydrates, but simply because they ate less overall. Eat wholegrain and wholemeal carbohydrates such as brown rice and wholemeal bread, and don't fry starchy foods when trying to lose weight. Learn more in Starchy foods.
8. Cutting out all snacks can help you lose weight
Snacking isn't the problem when trying to lose weight: it's the type of snack. Many people need a snack in between meals to maintain energy levels, especially if they have an active lifestyle. Choose fruit or vegetables instead of crisps, chocolate and other snacks that are high in sugar or saturated fat.
9. Drinking water helps you lose weight
Water does not cause you to lose weight, but it does keep you hydrated, and might help you snack less. Water is essential for good health and wellbeing. Sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger; if you're thirsty you may snack more. Drink around two litres of fluid a day. Learn more in Water and drinks.
10. Skipping meals is a good way to lose weight
Skipping meals is not a good idea. To lose weight and keep it off, you have to reduce the amount of calories you consume, or increase the calories you burn through exercise. But skipping meals altogether can result in tiredness and poor nutrition. You will also be more likely to snack on high-fat and high-sugar foods, which could result in weight gain.

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Very low calorie diets

If you’re trying to lose weight, eating healthily and being physically active are the key. In a few cases, though, a very low calorie diet (VLCD) could be the right choice. But these should only be followed for a limited time, so talk to your GP before you start. They can help to support you.
Achieving a healthy weight is all about striking the right balance between the energy that you put into your body, and the energy that you use.
To lose weight, you have to use more energy than you consume in food and drinks throughout the day.
You can do this by making healthy changes to your eating habits, and building more physical activity into your daily life. In many cases, this will be enough to achieve a healthy weight.
You can learn more about changing your diet in Healthy eating, and get advice on becoming more active in Fitness.
However, if you have made these changes already and the weight loss you’ve experienced has not resulted in a healthy weight, you may benefit from a very low calorie diet.
VLCDs are not available on prescription from the NHS, but are offered by a range of private organisations in England, at a cost. The proven benefits are short-lived; there is limited evidence of long-term benefit.
Before you begin a VLCD, make sure that it is the right choice for you. It’s also important that the diet you choose is safe, and that you follow it properly. That means talking to your GP for more advice.
What is a VLCD?
A very low calorie diet is any diet that involves eating 1,000 calories a day or fewer. It should only be undertaken for 12 continuous weeks, or intermittently – for example, every two or three days – along with a low calorie or normal diet.
The recommended daily calorie intake is 2,000 for women, and 2,500 for men. This means that VLCDs contain far fewer calories than most people need to be able to maintain a stable, healthy weight. For that reason, eating a very low calorie diet can cause more rapid weight loss than a conventional weight loss programme.
It’s important that VLCDs are only used by people who need them and that the diet is safe and followed properly. Cutting calories significantly can cause health problems such as gallstones, heart problems, and other issues associated with not getting the nutrition you need, such as tiredness and anaemia. A proper VLCD will ensure that you continue to get all the nutrients you need, and is typically followed under supervision, so that action can be taken if health problems occur.
In England, a range of private organisations sell very low calorie diet plans. During a typical VLCD the person undertaking the diet will stop eating all normal foods, and replace them with special drinks, soups, bars or porridge containing milk- , soy- or egg-based protein. The replacement foods are designed to contain all the nutrients that we need, while providing 1,000 calories a day or fewer.
The person undertaking the diet will also meet regularly with a trained member of staff from the organisation – usually called a counsellor or consultant – who will monitor their progress.
Who should use a VLCD?

VLCDs are only suitable for people who are very overweight (obese), and have remained very overweight despite making healthy changes to their diet and lifestyle.
Most people who want to lose weight do not need to eat a very low calorie diet.
However, it may be right for you if all three of the following statements apply to you:
You have already made healthy changes to your diet and level of physical activity.
You are still very overweight (your BMI is 30 or over).
You are no longer losing weight.
VLCDs are not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, and they are not suitable for children. Find out more about healthy eating in pregnancy.
How to use a VLCD

If you think a VLCD may be right for you, the first step is to talk to your GP. They can provide advice on whether a VLCD will help: they may measure your BMI and talk to you about other steps you’ve taken to lose weight. VLCDs are not suitable for people with certain health conditions, such as eating disorders and epilepsy, and your GP can also talk to you about this.
If your GP agrees that a VLCD is a good idea, the next step is to find a good provider of a VLCD. Your GP may be able to help with this, too.
At your first session, a counsellor from the VLCD organisation will talk to you about how the diet works, the weight loss you can expect and the side effects that may occur while you are on the diet. These are usually minor, and can include fatigue, diarrhoea, constipation and nausea.
Typically, you’ll be asked to keep a record of your weight loss and any side effects.
Your counsellor will refer you to a GP if you encounter any health problems during the diet.

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Should you lose weight fast?

When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s tempting to want results as fast as possible. But remember, very rapid weight loss is unlikely to help you to maintain a healthy weight long-term. And it comes with health risks.
If you’re trying to lose weight, you’re probably keen to see, and feel, a difference quickly.
It can be tempting to put your trust in one of the countless schemes that promise rapid, easy weight loss.
Unfortunately, even if these fad diets do help you to lose weight, you’re unlikely to maintain a healthy weight in the months and years afterwards.
If you’re visualising a future in which you’ve shed your excess weight, the best choice is to make healthy changes to your diet and levels of physical activity that lead to a safe, steady rate of weight loss, and that last a lifetime.
Weight loss tends to plateau after a while and you may need to make further changes. If after six to nine months you haven’t achieved a healthy weight, talk to your GP for advice on the next steps.
Safe rates of weight loss

If you’re trying to lose weight, the safe weekly rate of weight loss is between 0.5kg and 1kg. That’s between around 1lb and 2lb a week.
Lose weight faster than this, and you are at risk of health problems that include malnutrition and gallstones, as well as feeling tired and unwell.
Fad diets (that involve simply changing your diet for a few weeks) associated with very rapid weight loss are also unlikely to lead you to a healthy weight in the long-term.
Take action

You can learn more about the diet and physical activity changes that can lead you to a healthy weight future in Lose Weight.
Remember: the goal is not overnight success. The secret is sticking to the changes you’ve made, and you can find useful tips from real-life slimmers in Weight loss motivation.
You can monitor your progress using our Healthy weight calculator. This interactive tool calculates your body mass index (BMI), which is a measure of whether you are a healthy weight for your height.

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