trying to lose weight while breastfeeding

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LiamCullan
LiamCullan Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm just wondering how to lose weight while breastfeeding i don't want to rob my baby of anything my body should be giving him but i also want to shead this baby weight! This is my second baby and i feel like this time my body is yo-yoing like crazy one day I'm 180 next 176 back up to 181.... sigh does anyone eles had this problem? and when would be the best time to weigh myself? should i put into consideration when he feeds... knowing that my breast can hold up to 1 to 2 lbs of milk or just put that aside and weigh myself as normal?.. urgh so confussing!

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  • Fitorbust73
    Fitorbust73 Posts: 80 Member
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    I am in the same boat

    I only weigh myself after I nurse in the morning...

    I dropped my calories to 1200 a day and I take vitamins
    I did notice a slight drop in milk production at first but
    Seems ok now...
  • EnchantedEvening
    EnchantedEvening Posts: 671 Member
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    Make sure you account for the 500 calories you lose from producing milk and breastfeeding. MFP has an entry for it under exercise (I'm not sure where, since I'm not a mother). No wonder they say breastfeeding helps with weight loss. :)

    As for time of day, normally I'd say first thing in the morning after using the bathroom, but are you usually milk-heavy in the morning? In that case, I'd use the bathroom, feed the baby, and then weigh myself.

    It's still going to be hard to predict, though, since your milk and hormones are still going full-strength. Maybe you could take measurements for now?
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I found with normal eating I lost all baby weight by six months and could not keep weight on no matter how much I ate when they were over a year. I was a La Leche League leader and everyone who nursed 6 months lost their weight by around 6 months.

    It did take that 6 months though. Exercise, though made you look much better - and so much of the 'weight is really lose muscle and empty space.
  • LosingMyselfin2011
    LosingMyselfin2011 Posts: 56 Member
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    I have breastfed all my kids (extended past 2 yrs) and never lost weight while doing it. I say, don't eat those extra BF calories, I'm no doctor, but all it did was make me gain. I have found what matters most is liquid intake. The more water you take in, the more milk you make. Dehydration always means a drop in milk supply.
  • morgaine108
    morgaine108 Posts: 53
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    Ha, no not everyone who nurses 6 months loses all their baby weight....really????

    I tried doing WW while breastfeeding and I couldn't do it. I was SO SO SO SO hungry. And I ate my extra calories and still didn't lose. I'm not sure what to tell you, except good luck. I found it extremely difficult. I dropped the first 30 lbs pretty easy (I think most of that was baby and the stuff that goes along with it and extra fluid, but the rest I kept until I got pregnant with my second, and the same thing happened the second time too (although I didn't try dieting that time).
  • Fitorbust73
    Fitorbust73 Posts: 80 Member
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    I also exclusively milk fed my babies past the 6 month period... I did not find that breastfeeding helped me loose weight at all.... With my first child it wasn't until well after I stopped nursing that I actually lost any weight...

    I actually don't know any women who lost their weight during their breast feeding time....
  • LiamCullan
    LiamCullan Posts: 3
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    Thank you ladies... It's so fustrating during this period of breast feeding. My hubby tells me all the time "it took 9 months to put on it should take that long to take off..."
  • k8_starr
    k8_starr Posts: 1
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    I am a working, single mom of an 8 month old, and am still breastfeeding- with 55 lbs to loose.
    I have just started the calorie counting because I've gained weight since her birth!! How frustrating! BF is "supposed" to make you loose. How reassuring to see other women have had the same struggle.
    I'm now counting calories and am planning healthier snacks for those times when I feel almost faint I get so hungry- and that's after I've eaten a regular meal.
    This is my first child so I'm new to all of it.
    Any suggestions for healthy snacks/meals- especially for on the go?

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