Breast Feeding and slow weigth loss

zainabimam
zainabimam Posts: 5 Member
in Success Stories
well, I m kind of pissed off. i have Heard BF help weight loss. but in my case it does not help at all. from last 1 year im BF my daughter (no formula milk ever) but it never helped with my weight loss i am using weight watchers from last 3 months .. never crossed my calorie limit... but in3 months i just Went down 6,5kg.. i was 94.5 when i started and last Monday i was 88 kg.. is this all i get. i bf to my 1 year old daughter and im physically Active. i dnt knw what wrong am i doing. started MFP 5 days ago ... I’m with in my budget all these Days... I have to weigh in tomorrow lets see ... any tips from mommies...... plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help ... what is that im doing wrong

Replies

  • arains89
    arains89 Posts: 442 Member
    Breast feeding helps release a hormone that helps your uterus to contract thus helping your body internally go back to its natural state. It also burns calories so that is good for weight loss but often you eat back those calories as you need more in order to keep up milk production so it is sort of negligible. Breast feeding is good for your baby so keep at it. Often times, women hold onto an additional 10 ponds or so until they finish breast feeding. It is sort of your body's way to keep storage for milk production for your baby in case you don't feed it enough. That is my little bit of knowledge. Breast fed both of my two. Just keep eating right feeding that baby and working out it will come off even if it is slowly :)

    ETA and 14 pounds in 3 months is a great loss! It has taken me 5 months to lose 19. You are doing fine!
  • lenamae23
    lenamae23 Posts: 60 Member
    I think your loss is great. For me breastfeeding never helped me lose weight. Im still breastfeeding now and its definetely is hard to get the weight off. Don't rush it. It will come off, just be patient.
  • Improvised
    Improvised Posts: 925 Member
    Weightloss is soooooooo slow when I'm breastfeeding. :/ Its not just the last ten lbs, its the whole journey! No advice, but I hear ya.
  • cherryblossomrose
    cherryblossomrose Posts: 41
    Hiya

    I had a similar but different problem. I found that I was ravenous when breast feeding and would eat choc and bics cos my body was starving and was crying out for sweet things! I managed to stay about the same weight.... then I stopped breast feeding but did not stop eating and the weight piled on. I eventually saw some photos of me at a wedding and I was shocked into action. It took me 4 yrs to realise what had happened, which is when I found MFP.

    With breastfeeding I think your body is there with your child in mind, so if you starve yourself to try to loose weight, your metabolism will slow down in order to make sure there is enough calories for the baby - related to hormones too I guess, like your last comment says.

    Also remember, that slow loss is best - around 1lb/week is fine ... if breastfeeding, it will be slower for reasons above, I would guess. Just remember to really apply MFP once the breastfeeding is over.

    Hope this helps, and good luck
  • zainabimam
    zainabimam Posts: 5 Member
    ya .... That’s my case... it’s not the 10 Pounds ... it’s a pile of 10 Pounds... :cry: .. actually I’m disappointed when there is no loss after a whole week of struggle ..... it kind of demotivates ......hope to get back in shape soon...
  • dandelyon
    dandelyon Posts: 620 Member
    I am breastfeeding. I had a hard time losing weight initially because my body was changing and my weight fluctuated drastically, so I stopped tracking my food until around 10 months postpartum. At that point, I found that I was able to lose weight if I was really dedicated about tracking, and I started working out a few months after that.

    Still, it's taken me about 8 months to lose these 39 lbs... although I won't say I've been dedicated every single week ;)
  • crystalnichle
    crystalnichle Posts: 126 Member
    My little guy is exclusively breast fed.. he just turned 6 months. I lost a ton of weight in the beginning but ever since about 4 months I've been slowly gaining weight...seems like the more he eats the hungrier I am and i feel like its impossible to lose!
  • gottalose55
    gottalose55 Posts: 44 Member
    I didn't lose weight when I breast fed, for the entire 8 months. SO, I get pissed when I hear all the BF weight loss stories. I guess the take away is, it works for SOME people, but it is not a fact that if works for everyone. In fact, it impeded my loss.
  • spunkychelsea
    spunkychelsea Posts: 316 Member
    First time around I lost 23 lbs from birth and no more weight after that. Looking back I must have been eating all of my calories back. At 6 months post partum I joined a gym, continued eating whatever I wanted and lost 10 lbs in 3 months. Got pregnant again 9 months postpartum. Right after I stopped breastfeeding when my son was 13 months old and I was 4 months pregnant I packed on 5 pounds in less than a month - my doctor said a rebound from no longer burning the calories nursing but still eating whatever I wanted. Gained 46 pounds with my daughter and lost 22 lbs from birth. I started watching what I ate when she was 2 months old (not really supposed to do a lot before then if you don't want to risk milk supply), and since then I've lost the last 24 (and 1 more!) pound. I am not exercising and eating 1600-1800 calories. There are conflicting reports on how many to eat, I make 1600 my minimum and will happily go over if I want up to 2000 calories. The research I found said do not go below 1500, some people say 1800. Now that I only have about 11 pounds to go I think I'm going to up my calories some more.

    Some women lose weight while BFing some don't due to the body trying to hold onto it to feed baby. Try to stay active and eat reasonably and that's the best you can do.
  • mommy3457
    mommy3457 Posts: 361 Member
    Eat only 200-300 calories more than you are supposed to. That is what I was told to do, but I didn't get to breast feed. Take lots of walk so you can lose calories while not overdoing it.
  • kts3639
    kts3639 Posts: 188 Member
    Breastfeeding alone did not help me lose weight, at all. Once I finally started counting calories (I eat between 2100-2300 calories) and working out, it decided to slowly come off. Still have a bit to go, but I'm getting there :) And I think you've done great in three months! You should be proud of yourself!
  • sunshyncatra
    sunshyncatra Posts: 598 Member
    well, I m kind of pissed off. i have Heard BF help weight loss. but in my case it does not help at all. from last 1 year im BF my daughter (no formula milk ever) but it never helped with my weight loss i am using weight watchers from last 3 months .. never crossed my calorie limit... but in3 months i just Went down 6,5kg.. i was 94.5 when i started and last Monday i was 88 kg.. is this all i get. i bf to my 1 year old daughter and im physically Active. i dnt knw what wrong am i doing. started MFP 5 days ago ... I’m with in my budget all these Days... I have to weigh in tomorrow lets see ... any tips from mommies...... plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help ... what is that im doing wrong

    Over 14 pounds in three months is great progress for anyone, and I wouldn't aim for much more than that when breastfeeding. You need your nutrients!
  • holliebevineau
    holliebevineau Posts: 441 Member
    I breastfed all four of my kids up to a year I did loose weight quickly with the first one. Every time after it got harder to loose even with the breast feeding. I will say that once I was abel to ween them off I lost much faster. You wont be as hungry. My youngest is 2 and I weened her at 7 months and I was 220 pounds by the time she was 1 I had lost 20 pounds and I was not even trying. Enjoy this special time with your baby. the weight will come off.
  • trentwiggly
    trentwiggly Posts: 74 Member
    Breast feeding helps release a hormone that helps your uterus to contract thus helping your body internally go back to its natural state. It also burns calories so that is good for weight loss but often you eat back those calories as you need more in order to keep up milk production so it is sort of negligible. Breast feeding is good for your baby so keep at it. Often times, women hold onto an additional 10 ponds or so until they finish breast feeding. It is sort of your body's way to keep storage for milk production for your baby in case you don't feed it enough. That is my little bit of knowledge. Breast fed both of my two. Just keep eating right feeding that baby and working out it will come off even if it is slowly :)

    ETA and 14 pounds in 3 months is a great loss! It has taken me 5 months to lose 19. You are doing fine!

    ^^ This. I exclusively BF my kids. Extended BF-ing too. I never did lose until we stopped. Don't let that be incentive for you to stop because this is absolutely irreplaceable time and nutrition for your baby. You will never have a do-over. :) A little extra padding is well worth it, there's plenty of time to lose weight.
  • tracijo50
    tracijo50 Posts: 32 Member
    My daughter is 11w and 4d old. I lost the initial 20 lbs within the first couple of weeks. Since April I haven't been about to lose anything despite my efforts of exercising and counting calories. I don't know what to do. Its depressing and disappointing in many ways. Everyone said you will lose weight faster with breastfeeding and I haven't. People still ask me if I'm pregnant. Its embarrassing. I need to lose 20 more lbs to get to the weight I was when I found out I was pregnant. And about 25-30 to get to my average weight. Do other people have this issue and what are some things that I can do to help keep my head up?
  • desertcrafty
    desertcrafty Posts: 50 Member
    For my first I did not lose one pound, (not ONE!!) after the day he was born. I never got back to my pre-preg weight.

    With my second, who is now 9 months I have lost weight but it took me about 4 months to lose 10 lbs. I stay within my calories. I add 400 calories a day to account for milk production (make sure you do this). I exercise at least 4 days a week.

    It is frustrating to read about all the breastfeeding women who lose weight so quickly...but you (and I ) just have to accept that we are different and our body does it for a reason.

    Stick with it! Be nice to yourself.
  • shellebelle79
    shellebelle79 Posts: 52 Member
    My daughter is 11w and 4d old. I lost the initial 20 lbs within the first couple of weeks. Since April I haven't been about to lose anything despite my efforts of exercising and counting calories. I don't know what to do. Its depressing and disappointing in many ways. Everyone said you will lose weight faster with breastfeeding and I haven't. People still ask me if I'm pregnant. Its embarrassing. I need to lose 20 more lbs to get to the weight I was when I found out I was pregnant. And about 25-30 to get to my average weight. Do other people have this issue and what are some things that I can do to help keep my head up?


    I didn't lose much while Bfeeding, and my 3rd is 10.5 months old and my milk supply is extremely low so I'm sure I'll be stopping soon. But for all 3 I didn’t lose any while bfeeding. And most of the time when I would try to it affected my milk supply so I tried to focus on my baby getting enough milk and started staying within my calorie goal and added walking at least 30 min to an hour of walking during the day, this helped my maintain and occasionally loose 1 - 2 lbs. You are not going to lose the weight over night, it took 10 months to gain it and it will take time to lose it, just try to stay positive, something I have to keep reminding myself. I get discouraged every day and it is a struggle everyday to try and stay focused but keep trying and you will see results. Take the bad with the good and just keep trying! Good luck to you and to all the other momma's on here!
  • hilaryhill
    hilaryhill Posts: 156 Member
    Im breastfeeding my 6 mo old. For about a month and a half I was eating really clean and exercising 3-5x a week, but the weight wasnt coming off. I got really discouraged. Then I joined MFP and Ive lost 3 lbs in a little over a week. My net goal is 2200cal a day and I eat back most (if not all) of my exercise calories. You might not be eating enough?
  • christinamcglynn1
    christinamcglynn1 Posts: 12 Member
    Breastfeeding isn't helping me lose weight either, so it seems. I was steadily GAINING weight for the last few months. My daughter is 13 months and I'm still nursing on demand. As long as you aren't starving yourself your body will make enough milk for your baby. I eat when I'm hungry, it's just making the right choices that is hard! And PLENTY of water, it's a great way to keep hydrated, make lots of milk and aides in weight loss. I started doing lots of cardio and lost 10lbs in 2 weeks at the beginning of my journey. Keep at it, the weight will come off, and your baby will be healthier and happier because you made the choice to nurse! :)
  • geekmomof3
    geekmomof3 Posts: 18 Member
    Everyone body reacts differently.

    My SIL gets emaciated while BF but my body never dropped a lbs. There is not realy much you can do about it untill you stop BF because you could effect your Milk supply
  • dnunny70
    dnunny70 Posts: 411 Member
    I bf for 36 months, and never really saw a weight loss. I probably counteracted any weight loss with a craptastic diet.
  • nkmcginty
    nkmcginty Posts: 1 Member
    My son just turned 9 months and he's been exclusively breastfed this whole time. Hasn't even started solids yet! It's taken me 3.5 months to lose 12 lbs. I eat around 1800 cals and walk or do a Jillian michaels video a couple times a week. It's definitely going much much slower than it did pre-baby. With my first, I breastfed him for a year and gained weight. I was so hungry all the time and found it impossible to lose which demotivated me. As soon as I weaned, I dropped the 15lbs I was holding onto in 6 weeks without even trying. Everyone's bodies are different! Just keep being healthy and don't lose heart. It's just a season and will pass all too quickly!
  • Marll
    Marll Posts: 904 Member
    From experience watching friends and my wife, it sure appears that the difference is what the mother is eating when she is breastfeeding. If you are gorging on grains and other carbs that turn into sugar, the response seems to be sent to the brain that you NEED more food and therefore you eat more than needed carb wise.

    A friend of ours ate a high carb typical American diet with her first and gained quite a bit of weight when breastfeeding and changed completely to a lower carb/paleo diet with her 2nd child and lost with nearly no effort over 50lbs in 9 months. She kept breast feeding because of this for about 1.5 years and now (in our opinion) is too skinny.

    From what I've been reading, if you adopt a more whole foods approach (less processed foods), low sugar, low carb, high fat diet combined with breast feeding gives better results, but may still vary by individual.

    My wife will be trying this approach with our 2nd due in a couple of months, as she had other health issues/hormonal imbalances that caused her to not be able to breast feed our first for more than about 3 months, and her diet was complete crap during that time anyway.

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