Breast feeding and retaining weight

TaraRyaz

I was told that breast feeding causes extra weight to just fall away. This was not the case with me. I didn't push myself to watch my food intake or exercise (aside from walking & a generally active lifestyle) for nearly a year and I lost nothing.

I bought an elliptical and started exercising 4-6X per week for 10-20 minutes on top of the active city lifestyle of walking at least a mile per day...3 months of this extra exercise and I've lost nothing! Though things do seem to fit/look better.

Now I've been using the tracker so I've cut back on calories & portion size. I only deduct 100 calories per day to account for breastfeeding though I'm sure I burn off more. So far NO WEIGHT LOSS!!

Last week I went to the zoo with my daughter. I saw a monkey that looked pregnant and asked the zoo keeper when she was due. He told me she wasn't pregnant, she was nursing and that the female monkeys continue to look pregnant until they stop nursing!

I'm wondering if any other nursing moms have experienced this or if maybe it's because I took it easy for way too long?

ContraryMaryMary

I was told I'd hold about 5kg (10lbs) until,I stopped breast feeding regardless of my diet and exercise. The body holds the fat to help you make milk apparently. When you stop breast feeding, assuming you watch what you eat, it should be easy to lose those 5 kilos.

WildcatMom82

Totally. When I actively tried to lose weight I had major issues with my supply. With my daughter I got within 15 lbs of my prepregnancy weight once she was over a year old, but then got pregnant again (while she was still nursing). I started being active sooner after my 2nd pregnancy to see if I could get my body used to it, but had to stop after a month or two when my supply completely tanked. My son just turned a year and I'm starting to get some better results, but I'm still not yet to my prepreg with him. Plus then I have the 15 from her to go. I haven't yet had time off from being pregnant or nursing to know if I will lose faster after weaning, time will tell. But I certainly have plenty of friends who held onto a good amount of weight while nursing, then dropped it all suddenly when they were done. I've read it's about 50/50 whether a person loses a ton while nursing or hangs onto it.

TaraRyaz

I am so glad to get these responses! Thank you! I really expected to lose the weight laying down like it seems so many of my friends did, but I guess I am not one of those girls!

I must admit though...it makes me think I should be lazy until I wean if I am going to hold onto it any way!

WildcatMom82

I am so glad to get these responses! Thank you! I really expected to lose the weight laying down like it seems so many of my friends did, but I guess I am not one of those girls!

I must admit though...it makes me think I should be lazy until I wean if I am going to hold onto it any way!

Honestly, that's kind of what I did. I took the time to rest while the kids napped and enjoyed not stressing about what I was eating for awhile. With both right around 9 months I started slowly gaining and that's the main reason I started working out and calorie counting again.

quiltlovinlisa

I never loss weight while exclusively nursing. Not even when I was nursing my twins, although, I was STARVING and ate non-stop while tandeming them.

TaraRyaz

I am always ravenously hungry in the morning & so so thirsty. Now that she eats regular food the extreme thirstiness is diminished. I used to eat a small breakfast & have more problems wanting to snack late night....now I just as much have to try to control myself in the morning!