Have you breastfed and successfully lost weight?

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callmestephanie
callmestephanie Posts: 90 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm in need of some encouragement. I'm nursing my 7mo full time (she nurses about every 3-4hrs still) and I've been trying to watch what I eat with exercise but I've been stuck. I know I need to log better but I'm just some what discouraged. I get so ravenous sometimes, worse than when I was pregnant! I've been trying to eat protein and often enough but it's not helping. I'm not used to being this hungry. While not pregnant or BFing, I could easily stay within my calories if I tried. It's how I lost what I have so far... but man...

So... has anyone been able to keep with it and lose or should I just wait until she's 12ms to go at it hard (since I can wean her at 12ms)?

Replies

  • sunnburst1984
    sunnburst1984 Posts: 36 Member
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    I lost 30 lbs while breastfeeding my youngest, so it's definitely possible! I just used the breastfeeding option (you can find it in the food database of mfp) and eat up those calories. You'll know exactly (or approximately at least) how many calories burned while feeding your little one.

    Hope that helps :)
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    I'm still nursing at almost 22 months and I've lost 20 lbs (since Thanksgiving, not over 22 months). I went ahead and creeped your diary, and you're right on track with adding in your breastfeeding calories and eating those back. The thing with MFP is that the calorie goals are estimates and sometimes they need a little tweaking.

    I didn't start losing until I got my logging under control, so my first recommendation would be to make sure you are doing that consistently. Second, eat back only a portion of your exercise calories. And third, if you really are hungry, maybe you need to adjust your settings. Change your activity level, change your goal loss per week to a lower number of lbs, or just manually add in another 50-100 calories per day.

    These two links are very helpful:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • mellynat
    mellynat Posts: 345 Member
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    i lost 30lbs breastfeeding my 2nd and 3rd babies within a few months. . So yes it is possible. I'm stuck with my last 15lbs, still nursing my 1yr old.
    Do u work out? r u adding breastfeeding in your food diary? it will give u extra calories to eat.
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,521 Member
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    I breastfed both of my kids for 14 months each (they are now 5 and 3 years old). I lost all of the baby weight (37 & 35 lbs) by 10 months postpartum...and a few additional lbs by the time I weaned them.

    I did not watch what I ate or care about calories until either baby was about 6 months old. At that point, I ate about 300 cals extra...then slowly decreased the extra cals until they were weaned.

    I started exercising slowly at about 2 months postpartum. At about 6-8 months, I started increasing the intensity of running.

    It's a slow process. Just eat very nutrient-rich foods and stick to about 300 cals extra...and then decrease as you get closer to weaning. Now that my youngest child is 3, I actually weigh about 12 lbs less than when I got pregnant with her.
  • JenniTheVeggie
    JenniTheVeggie Posts: 2,474 Member
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    I gained AFTER I weaned.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight and fitness level around 7 months postpartum with my second baby. I breastfed both my babies for 1.5 to 2 years. It actually helped. After I stopped nursing I gained a little weight and that was when I joined mfp.

    I walked a lot. I pushed them uphill in a double stroller and looped around the block a bunch of times on the way to the park and on the way home. At the park I played with them and also played on the monkey bars and did some fun strength training stuff and running around. I did dvd's of pilates and yoga. When my baby was 5 months I re-joined the gym to do strength training. I danced with my children. I went swimming.

    I didn't restrict my calories at that time. I just ate well, and stuck with my hunger signals and some portion control. I was eating a lot. But, I did start counting calories after I was done breastfeeding and put on a few pounds and found mfp.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I gained AFTER I weaned.

    Me too!
  • alair1980
    alair1980 Posts: 31 Member
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    I'm still breastfeeding my little one at 17m, and I have lost 10lbs in the last 3months. It's definitely possible, but sometimes, just like you, am I ravenous! I listen more to my body now when I am breastfeeding, as there are days when I know that my daughter has eaten more and therefore I've used more to create the milk.

    I find it so interesting how some women lose even more weight when they wean, and others gain weight. I'm hoping for the former, because these last 10lbs are a pain to shift!!
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    I gained bunches of weight but I tried to over restrict and ended up binging. Once I figured out my calories, everything fell into place and I lost.
  • callmestephanie
    callmestephanie Posts: 90 Member
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    I shouldn't complain. I weighed 275 when I got pregnant, delivered at 285, and a few weeks later I was down to 265. So I'm less than when I got pregnant (currently about 255). I just know I"m very over weight and want to keep going.

    I'll try to get my food back under control. It's just been difficult 'cause she's a hard baby. Gotta just keep pushing forward I suppose... and even if I don't lose until I wean, at least I can get some good habits in place I guess. Just discouraging when you work hard and nothing happens lol

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