Breastfeeding and weight loss?

HelloKitty718

Has anyone had success with dieting while breastfeeding without losing supply? I have struggled to keep my supply up and i'm nervous that restricting calories will put my supply at risk. I would love to hear of women who have followed a diet regimen while successfully breastfeeding.

chanice11

It can vary drastically from one mother to another, and vary even for the same mom for different children.

I can share my experience, and my sisters, as we were so different. I was able to lose weight rapidly while breastfeeding with my second child, and there was NO impact on my supply. In fact, I ended up having an entire freezer full of milk. The quick weight loss was wonderful, as I had never had that happen before.
My first was another story, I never suffered any supply loss, but I had a VERY hard time losing the weight, even though I was very careful with what I ate and walked daily.
My sister, however, would dry up as soon as she started focusing on losing weight.

Maybe start to restrict (making sure to eat enough to keep supply up), and monitor. If you notice baby fussing, bring the calories up to build up the supply.

glitteredgrave

One of my close friends had her baby on Halloween this year, and is breastfeeding. She lost her baby weight already and then some. It's magic!

cbungard1

I have been breastfeeding my son and he will be seven months on the 30th. Since the first time I weighed myself after his birth I have lost 80 pounds. Since joining MFP I have lost almost 75. Dieting hasn't effected my supply (knock on wood) but, I would agree with the previous person that each person is different. My son has a dairy/soy sensitivity so since he was about two weeks old I haven't eaten either. (I'm sure that's a added bonus for loosing weight)

Kkramer26

I nursed for 13 months, I was worried about my supply because I wanted to loose weight but my mom got me on alfalfa supplements that really jumped up my supply. Also don't get discouraged I didn't loose a single pound till 6wks after birth and I gain 40lbs. Your body is an amazing thing

Willbenchforcupcakes

I nursed my youngest for just shy of 14 months, and lost all my weight while doing so. What worked for me was setting my account to the correct activity level and to lose 1 pound a week, and adding in the appropriate amount of calories for my daughter's age and intake.

oxavecamourxo

What activity level did you set your account to? I'm a stay at home mom so I set mine up for sedentary, and to lose one pound per week, but that only leaves me with 1300 calories. However, Kellymom says nursing mothers should consume between 1500 to 1800 calories. Should I just ignore MFP's suggested intake and go with Kellymom? Also, should I count breastfeeding as a daily exercise? If so, how the heck do I put it in? lol Sorry, I just have no idea how to do this.

spicynikki

I set my settings to 1800 calories daily and I am losing about 1-2 lbs a week. I actually eat about 2000 calories a day because of the exercise that I do each day. I had my baby in August and I have lost 45 lbs so far.

Vailara

I didn't diet at all when I was breastfeeding and I lost all my pregnancy weight and a bit extra. So if it was me, I'd wait and see what comes off naturally first.

proudmommy1003

Wait and see what comes off naturally first.
Every woman is different I had troubles with dieting and my milk would dry up right away so I just tried to make healthy choices and never starve myself. I lost the baby weight when my son turned 7 months.

george29223

well heck i thought this was a new fade diet i could finnaly enjoy geeeees