Diet and Exercise Advice for Nursing Mom's

ngulbransen
ngulbransen Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All. First, a shout out for the mama's and those that are nursing right now while trying to lose weight!

Does anyone have any good tips or other words of wisdom when it comes to shedding the pounds while nursing?

I've always heard that breast feeding burns calories like crazy, so why is it that I seem to struggle in losing weight while nursing? This is not my first rodeo with this, and each time, it seems like my body becomes a "fat storing" machine rather than a "fat burning" machine during this time. I guess I don't have the genes that melt away the pounds during nursing like some women...

I also don't want to make drastic changes too quickly so as not to interfere with my milk production. I am currently moderately increasing my exercising routines and mild-moderately adjusting my diet. I have been diligently exercising 5-6 days a week (approx. 60 minutes of vigorous exercise) for the past 3 weeks and have gotten no results on the scale. I am not currently taking my measurements.

Would love to bounce some ideas back and forth with others like me!

Replies

  • ChelsieMG
    ChelsieMG Posts: 16 Member
    It seems like you either go one way or the other. I'm totally with you, I store the fat while nursing too! Makes things a little harder but its completely possible. Ive noticed that there are two things I need to focus on for both weight loss and maintaining milk production; drinking enough water and funny enough eating ENOUGH food. You need to eat at least your BMR + 300-900 calories depending on the age of your baby and how much he/she is eating. As far as water goes I try to get at least 10 glasses of water. It was really hard to get used to but it works. It seems like if I don't eat enough food and drink enough water that my body holds onto all the fat. Hopefully that helps :)
  • jfrankic
    jfrankic Posts: 747 Member
    Hi momma! There are several posts about breastfeeding, you can use the search function and browse. I've lost 42 pounds since January and I'm still nursing my 11 1/2 month old baby boy. He's really cut back over the past month or so, but still going.

    Some things to consider: Are you adding extra calories each day for breastfeeding? What is your weight loss goal set to? I started getting serious about six months ago months and had a drastic decrease in supply, even though I was adding an extra 500 per day for bfing. I was exercising alot and has my goals set to 2lbs per week. I upped my calories, took fenugreek and added a pumping session and ate back my exercise calories. My son is 11 months old and I've been able to keep nursing without supplementing but it has been hard.

    I went from having too much milk to not enough and didn't even realize it until my guy stopped gaining. Just make sure you eat enough. Main thing is that you should start slowly, as you can gradually reduce calories if you are maintaining your supply but not losing.

    I exclusively breastfed my older daughter for a year and will go at least a year with my son. Feel free to add me if you want. I certainly believe that breast is best! And babies need a healthy momma, but sometimes it's hard to balance our desire to get back to where we want to physically be with keeping up with baby's needs. Keep it up, you are doing great.
  • mandypizzle
    mandypizzle Posts: 633 Member
    Hello!! I'm not much help. I struggle SO bad to lose weight when I'm nursing. :( It's really frustrating! I'm still nursing my 2 year old and still struggling to drop the pounds. I'm constantly hungry. I'm 15 lbs down from what I was in January though. I just have to really practice will power with my eating and drink a lot of water.
  • ngulbransen
    ngulbransen Posts: 7
    Thanks for the great advice and empathy! I will monitor my water consumption even closer. I feel like I'm getting enough water, but maybe I can up my intake. I appreciate hearing from other breastfeeding mom's and hearing both struggles and success.
  • mackenziegblair
    mackenziegblair Posts: 7 Member
    Hey There! I have a 10 week old that I'm nursing. I started counting calories and doing Slim in 6 about 4 weeks ago. I just add "breastfeeding" from the database to my food diary and it logs that I have extra calories to eat for the day. I am down 13 pounds in 4 weeks which has been a great rate for me. I haven't had any issues with my supply and was doing NO exercise before (I have a 10 week old, an 18 month old, and one that just turned 3!) Just try to make better food choices, more fruits, veggies, and lean white meats! You can do it!

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