Nursing Mothers

kfritchh

Is anyone else nursing and struggling to lose weight?

I am nursing my 2 month old son and doctor recommended eating about 2000 calories per day. I've been pretty good at staying right at or under 2000... I do T25 five days a week and walk every day from 1-3 miles. I have lost only fractions of a pound over the past 2 weeks.

I want to be active and need to lose 35 pounds to get back to my 'healthy' weight but do not want to risk losing my milk supply. are there any other nursing mothers who can offer advice? I ran into this same problem while nursing my daughter who is now 20 months.

HELP!

gardnercranston

I nursed each of my kids for a year, and for me personally it was very difficult for me lose weight. A large part of it was just not having the time to workout, but I think my body just holds on to the weight more when I am nursing. Every person is different. My only suggestion is trial and error to find a balance of calories and activity level that doesn't adversely affect your supply but gives you some of the results you're looking for. Stick with it!

sherbear702

It's only been 2 months. What's the rush? I noticed a big reduction in milk production when I started exercising regularly. Focus on your baby first and then worry about losing the weight

kindyteacher

I also tried to lose weight after my first and noticed that my milk supply dropped majorly. My last kiddo I just made an effort to eat healthy and walk more. The weight came off really slow but my supply never decreased because of it.

victoria_1024

Are you weighing your food and logging accurately? That is the first step. 2000 calories may be a bit high but that depends on height/weight and activity level. I started back with mfp at 1 month post partum nursing full time. I usually ate between 1800 to 2000. I set mfp to lose 1 pound a week and then 500 extra calories a day to account for nursing. Then ate back half of my estimated exercise calories. I've lost almost 60 pounds and I'm still nursing my 7 month old but he eats solid food too so I cut back to 300 extra calories a day. I am very accurate with weighing food and logging.

victoria_1024

Also if the exercise is new you may be retaining water now too so you haven't seen the scale move.

JaiDessaT

I've been nursing my son for 2 years. I lose weight and maintain a solid milk supply when my calories are at 1800 - 1850. Any lower and my supply tanks. Also, T25 is intense! On the days you do T25, leave out the walk. Overtraining and pushing yourself so hard is not something (you should) maintain in the long run. Stick to what you really enjoy. I wasn't able to lose weight until I started the way I wanted to continue. If I want a cookie or icecream, I have it and just factor that treat into my calories.

I also have a treat day every week, no guilt no counting calories. It refreshes my mind and reassures my body it's not starving. I lose 2 - 3 pounds a week.

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Ninkyou

Keep at it.

If you haven't already, maybe invest in a food scale and weigh your food. Log everyday.

And cut yourself some slack. It's only been 8 weeks since you had a baby. Your body just went through some major stuff and needs time to bounce back.

I didn't lose all of my pregnancy weight until 17 weeks post partum.

lilymala12

I need to lose 5 stone. Reduced my calorie intake and trying to eat clean. Also started going to the gym and now my milk supply is almost stopped. My poor 7 month old keeps getting frustrated during feeds

Ninkyou

lilymala12 wrote: »

I need to lose 5 stone. Reduced my calorie intake and trying to eat clean. Also started going to the gym and now my milk supply is almost stopped. My poor 7 month old keeps getting frustrated during feeds

If your supply is tanking, you should increase your calories and go with a smaller deficit. If you have too large of a deficit your supply suffers.

janjunie

lilymala12 wrote: »

I need to lose 5 stone. Reduced my calorie intake and trying to eat clean. Also started going to the gym and now my milk supply is almost stopped. My poor 7 month old keeps getting frustrated during feeds

Aww poor baby. Eat more.

LKArgh

kfritchh wrote: »

Is anyone else nursing and struggling to lose weight?

I am nursing my 2 month old son and doctor recommended eating about 2000 calories per day. I've been pretty good at staying right at or under 2000... I do T25 five days a week and walk every day from 1-3 miles. I have lost only fractions of a pound over the past 2 weeks.

I want to be active and need to lose 35 pounds to get back to my 'healthy' weight but do not want to risk losing my milk supply. are there any other nursing mothers who can offer advice? I ran into this same problem while nursing my daughter who is now 20 months.

HELP!

Your dr is an idiot.
1) Figure out your maintenance calories. For someone this might be 2000 for someone else 1400. If you want to lose weight, eat there. Nursing will create the deficit for you.
2) Probably the last time too, you are experiencing your first major growth spurt and are mistaking it for supply issue. Been there, done that, learned from my mistakes thanks to a wonderful lactation consultant. Nurse on demand. Aim for nursing every 2 hours during the day or more if the baby wants too. If this means nursing 10 minutes after what you thought was a good nursing session, go for it. During growth spurts it is normal, and 2 months is a notorious age for this to happen. If 2 hours pass between feedings and the baby has not nursed, wake him/her up to nurse, until you feel secure your supply is fine. Nurse for at least 10 minutes per side, always both sides until you are sure your supply is fine, unless of course the baby ends up puking. If the baby wants to nurse for 2 hours non stop, awesome. Normal for this age, and not an indication of low supply, so make yourself comfortable and embrace it. If the baby has a fussy hour, usually in evening, where nursing on and off for several hours is needed, again this says nothign about your supply. Get yourself comfortable, nurse on and off and remember it is normal, and will pass in a few weeks. Take half an hour break if you are exhausted, then get back to nursing. Things improve dramatically after a few more weeks, but for now, nursing even 18 hours total per day is normal. Not for all babies of course, but for many.
The only times to suspect your supply is suffering are:
-not enough wet diapers (diapers should be a little bit moist pretty much at every feeding)
-no weight gain for baby
provided that you are nursing on demand, or every 2 hours during the day, whatever comes first, and that you never end a nursing session if the baby still wants to nurse.
You are in the middle of the absolutely most exhausting phase of nursing. It gets better if you can get through the next weeks. Breastmilk is supply and demand, the more you nurse right now, the more you produce. 2 months is when your hormones stop driving the milk production and the baby's growth spurts do. So be patient.