Moms who breastfeed/breastfed

Oh and another thing to remember is that our bodies take at least 6 months to start to balance our hormones back out after having a baby. Sometimes longer. It might be that your body is still trying to adjust.

I am not sure what advice I could give you, but wanted to say congrats on your new baby boy and for breastfeeding!

I BF both of kids until about 9 months old. With my first, I went back to my pre-pregnancy weight shortly after having her, but none of my clothes would fit as apparently the shape of my body changed, lol. In the beginning I didn't eat that well because I just wasn't hungry...and I mean in the VERY beginning. Later nursing made me very hungry and thirsty, but I did try to eat healthy. I wasn't exercising except for the occasional walk with the baby and dog. I had to start supplementing with formula at 4 months and never seemed to lose any more weight.

With my 2nd it was way different. I didn't gain as much with him and he took to nursing like a champ. We didn't have to supplement until 6 months and by then I had lost about 15 pounds and was less than my pre-pregnancy weight. People were starting to say I looked skinny and I was able to fit into pants I hadn't worn in years! When I look at pictures from then you could really tell the difference, especially in my face. But the thing was, I was eating like crazy! I was so hungry and loved me some Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies! It was a preggo craving that carried on afterwards, lol. I ate at least one of those a day, and cookies, ice cream...it was ridiculous. After we stopped nursing the weight slowly crept back on.

So see....I have no idea why I lost so much weight the 2nd time and have no real advice, sorry! But I hope you continue with the breastfeeding- it is hard work, but so worth it! Congrats again!

I honestly, did not count the breastfeeding calories. It was my normal day to day activity so I would only count actual exercise. My son is 3 and I'm still fighting the baby buldge. It takes time sweetie, just enjoy your time with your son:)

I could not lose while breast feeding. I was in a similar situation, lost some, then stopped. I found that if I cut lower on the calories, my supply would suffer. So, I just had to live with it until my daughters were weaned. Happened the same way both times.

My doctor said some people lose a lot while nursing, others have an experience similar to mine where their bodies just won't let go of the extra fat reserves.

My first thought was to stop doing the shred and focus on regular cardio. The shred is focused on strength training, along with some cardio - hence why you are losing inches but not pounds. Just a thought to try. I personally think what you adjust for the calories is good; I would up it back to 500 if you change to regular cardio.

My daughter is 7 weeks old today so I'm at the very beginning of my journey . . . Good luck! And congrats on the baby boy!

I had a baby in October, too!

I'm still using 500 calories for breastfeeding because I'm breastfeeding exclusively. I will only lower my breastfeeding calories once baby starts eating solids and doesn't nurse as much.

I also delivered at around 200 pounds, and I'm sitting in the 160s right now.

The scale isn't moving much for me, either, but I'm losing inches (like you). I'm WAY happier to lose inches! If you have more lean muscle, you can weigh more, but still fit in a smaller package. Don't focus on the number on the scale!

Also be careful about messing with your calories. Our first instinct when we want to lose weight is to cut out more calories. This can interfere with milk supply for some women, and your body really does need the extra fuel. Some women just hold onto an extra few pounds of fat for milk production, and don't lose it until they have weaned.

Keep up the healthy food and exercise, and enjoy losing those inches!

I BF my daughter for 13-14 months. I lost some weight but most of it did not come off until well after I was done feeding her. I remember being super frustrated that the weight did not melt off as I was led to believe if you BF. I did not log food at that time but I do recall specifically making a huge effort to eat healthy, no coffee, and no alcohol. The importance of what I ate was underscored by the fact that I had eaten part of a Bloomin' Onion from the Outback and it did something nasty to my milk and sent my child to the ER as she could not hold any food down.
Be patient and focus on the measurement, not the weight. Our bodies change after pregnancy and birth and you do need to get to know and become comfortable with the "new" you.
Good luck!

I had my son in the middle of Sept. At 6 weeks PP I had lost about 30lbs. I gained about 8 back over the holiday o_O. I just started watching my calories and weorking out. I lost 5 lbs the first week and hope to continue losing. I am a Type II diabetic and want to get off my meds so I also have to watch my carbs. I actually had an oversupply so I have tons of milk in the deep freezer If my supply starts to drop, I'll start using some of that and eat a little more, but so far so good.

I'm just starting out, I BF exclusively(no solids) my 4.5 month old. I add 300 calories per day. From what I've read you burn about 20 calories per oz of milk(makes sense, breast milk has from 17-24 or so calls per oz). I have quite a bit more to
Lose than you do though! Some extra pounds may stay on as your body does require some extra fat to help produce milk.

Just to answer a few questions, I am breastfeeding him exclusively and he is about 9 weeks old. I am so glad I asked this, bc the majority of you said that I would hold on to around 10-15 lbs, I had no idea about that! But it definitely makes sense. Thanks so much for all of your helpful input. Oh and just fyi, I didn't start shred til 8 weeks pp and my doc cleared me. I wanted to start before lol.. but I knew it was best to wait, bc I had a c section. My milk supply is pretty good, my healthier diet isn't cutting into it, so I'll just try to stress less about it and just see what happens once he weans, hopefully at a year. Thanks again! You guys rock

I'm in almost the exact same boat as you...had my 2nd daughter in October and have been holding on to these last 10 lbs. I gained during my pregnancy. I've been getting frustrated as well...glad to see all this positive advice.

Also, for me (still testing this out to see if it works) I think I wasn't eating enough. I was set to lose a pound a week, I've been exercising, and was still seeing NOTHING change on the scale. So I changed my settings to lose 1/2 a pound a week, and I FINALLY saw the scale move. So maybe you should eat more...?

All that to say, guess we'll just keep doing what we're doing and hope something happens soon! But, I feel your pain!:)

I had my third daughter 10-25! I am breastfeeding too and can not lose any weight!! With my other two I lost a lot of weight breastfeeding but not this time. I am watching this thread to hopefully get advice!

Just to answer a few questions, I am breastfeeding him exclusively and he is about 9 weeks old. I am so glad I asked this, bc the majority of you said that I would hold on to around 10-15 lbs, I had no idea about that! But it definitely makes sense. Thanks so much for all of your helpful input. Oh and just fyi, I didn't start shred til 8 weeks pp and my doc cleared me. I wanted to start before lol.. but I knew it was best to wait, bc I had a c section. My milk supply is pretty good, my healthier diet isn't cutting into it, so I'll just try to stress less about it and just see what happens once he weans, hopefully at a year. Thanks again! You guys rock

That's great, the best attitude is to just be healthy. Trust me if you spend the first year stressing about your weight you will look back and wish you had just enjoyed it. They grow up so fast, enjoy him while you can, he'll soon be giving you to run around which will burn some calories

I didn't have much luck losing weight with my first two, but it's been very different with my 3rd.

I'm also 5'2" and settled at around 165-170 after each pregnancy (even though I was 125-130 pre kids). I didn't start trying to lose weight with #3 until she was over 3 months old. The first month the only thing I did was keep an eye on what I was eating, didn't log anything, didn't count calories. Was just mindful of my portions, how much I ate out and quit drinking so much diet soda. I lost 11lbs. that first month. Continued doing the same in October but things slowed down a bit. I still lost another 4-5lbs. but it kept fluctating and was harder to get off.

At the beginning of November I decided to start tracking, fired back up my MFP account and started doing the 30 Day Shred. I found the In Place of a Roadmap thread shortly after and have adjusted my calories to that. I was eating upwards of 2000+ calories a day (now it's a bit less since I'm closer to my goal weight and my numbers are lower), do a JM video 5x a week on average (finished the 30 Day Shred, now on level 3 of Ripped in 30) and am still exclusively BFing my now 7 1/2 month old (we've introduced some solids and she eats off my plate occasionally but not enough to cut my BF calories yet). I've been consistently losing an average of 2lbs. per week since early November and my supply is great and my baby is right on her growth curve, she's actually grown a bit faster than projected

I think it just really depends on each person and even each pregnancy. I tried the exact same plan with my first two and didn't see a pound drop until I weaned, or if I did lose weight my supply suffered. Keep eating healthy, stay active, enjoy your little one and you're already ahead of the game even if the pounds aren't coming off yet. It may happen when you least expect it