Breastfeeding and trying to lose weight

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  • maisiecm
    maisiecm Posts: 15 Member
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    Hi

    I just had my second son in July and am breastfeeding. With my first son (aged 7 years) I put on loads of weight after the birth as I was eating so much rubbish. I have battled with those pounds ever since and had just started losing them in earnest when I got pregnant with DS2.

    I have lost my pregnancy weight plus a few pounds in 7 weeks, but joined here as I seem to be eating junk continually and feel permenantly hungry. I do not want to go down the same path as I did with DS1 and put on additional pounds. I would rather be eating 500 kcals of extra healthy food than to be eating junk. Hopefully this site will help me monitor my calorie intake and exercise and therefore ditch the junk. I plan to breastfeed for 6 months.
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    i read somewhere that it takes a lot of energy to produce breast milk..hence it takes it from you fat stores..so...
  • amkelley
    amkelley Posts: 81
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    I lost a lot of weight last year (2010) while breastfeeding my 2nd son. It took me about 9 months to lose 72 pounds. I was breastfeeding during 7 and a half of those months. AllI really did was walk and watch what I ate. I also watched my calories using MFP. I just gave birth to our 3rd son in July and am going to try to lose the baby weight the same way I did last year. Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • acmiranda7
    acmiranda7 Posts: 26 Member
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    Anyone know how many calories to add when bf?
  • KHaverstick
    KHaverstick Posts: 308 Member
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    Anyone know how many calories to add when bf?
    The recommendations are generally 300 - 500 extra calories, but it can depend on your situation (how old your baby is, whether you are exclusively bf, how many feedings, etc) and your body. I'd say if you are exclusively bf, closer to the 500 range, or check with your doctor to be sure.

    Oh, and you can search for "breastfeeding" in the food database, and it'll bring up several options (exclusive, or older baby, etc). You can add it to your food diary, and it will automatically factor in the extra calories.
  • acmiranda7
    acmiranda7 Posts: 26 Member
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    I am also. Anyone know how many calories we should be consuming?
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    So what are you doing and eating to lose weight. My youngest is 12 months and I still have 15 lbs to go...it just wont come off.

    This is not an uncommon experience. Your body may be hanging on to those last few pounds in a 'just in case' way Basically it's holding onto a reserve of fat, in case famine strikes..... - you can't fight evolution on this one.

    Keep eating healthy, getting your exercise in. And don't worry about those last few pounds, they may slowly recede, and they'll fall off easier when you wean. In the meantime know you're giving your babe the best possible start in life.
  • megmariew1
    megmariew1 Posts: 60
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    After I had my youngest that is now 4, I breastfed for 18 months and I did WW and lost 100lbs, from delivery to his 1st birthday. After I quit BFing I put around 50lbs back on because I wasn't burning as many calories as I was while BFing and was still eating the same. Big mistake.
  • brendacs21
    brendacs21 Posts: 180 Member
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    I lost about 25 lbs in the first 3 months after having her ( i was breastfeeding exclusively) I was always hungry though and after 3 months ididnt lost anything. I even started walking and cut back on calories but nothing would help me lose and i only got hungrier. What did suffer was my milk supply which got lower and lower. By 6 months i stopped breastfeeding completely. and didnt really lost much after that (of course i was not working out and eating everything in sight) when she was 7.5 months i started weight watchers and working out (july 2011) and ive lost 17 lbs. I wish i couldve just kept breastfeeding until she was a yr! best of luck

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