breastfeeding to help lose weight

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amyloveskevyn
amyloveskevyn Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
was wondering has this worked for anyone or is it a load of **** they tell you yo make you breastfwed?

im still going to breastfeed because its whats best for my son but was wondering has it worked for anyone...
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  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
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    It works for some people. It worked for my sister. It didn't work for me. But everyone is different.
  • CrazyCatLadylovescats
    CrazyCatLadylovescats Posts: 107 Member
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    I think it helped some for me, but not loads. What it REALLY did was save my sanity. When breastfeeding at night, I could get back to sleep so easy. One stopped early - before he was sleeping through the night, and it was horrible - I couldn't get back to sleep. And I REALLY need my sleep. And, when I have had enough sleep, I am not as likely to overeat.
  • vickiessecret
    vickiessecret Posts: 119 Member
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    Everyone is different. I've heard that it helped some people that their weight melted right off & other it made them hang on to their weight till the stopped. It is the best thing for the baby, so as long as your eating healthy, I wouldn't worry. Good Luck :)
  • chrisandleah2004
    chrisandleah2004 Posts: 13 Member
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    Breastfeeding helped me lose the weight I gained from pregnancy, but it did not help me lose the extra weight I had before I got pregnant. I nursed pretty much all day every day in the beginning, and I was back down to pre-pregnancy weight within a few weeks after each of my kids was born.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    It works for some people. It worked for my sister. It didn't work for me. But everyone is different.

    Didn't work for me either. I guess it just depends on the person.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    It will work if you are eating at a modest calorie deficit while taking extra breast feeding calories into account.

    For the people it worked for, they were eating fewer calories than they were expending.

    For the people it didn't work for, they were eating more calories than they were expending.

    It's not the breast feeding that helps you lose weight but the amount of food you eat and the amount of activity you undertake.
  • JenRun1
    JenRun1 Posts: 212
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    One of the benefits to BF is the calories you burn by feeding them to your baby. Although this should not be your end all be all calorie burn. For me it was not a great deal of weight loss and I did other things too so hard to say if it was strictly from BF.
  • walleymama
    walleymama Posts: 174 Member
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    To lose weight, you have to be in a caloric deficit. Breastfeeding or not.

    The benefit of breastfeeding is it adds a lot of calories to your daily burn, upwards of 500 calories per day depending on the age of your baby. So all other things being equal, yes it will help you lose weight. But not if you eat back those calories and more.
  • Julzanne72
    Julzanne72 Posts: 467 Member
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    I think everyone is different, and I would never do it just to lose weight, I did it because, same as you best for infants, and honestly, I only breastfed 1 of my 3 kids(youngest) and wish I would have done it with all 3, was truly one the best experiences I had. I loved getting up for feedings and bonding like that, I know some will say I am wacked, but it's truly such a gift!
  • melissa44
    melissa44 Posts: 57 Member
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    Hiya Everyone :)

    My name is Melissa and I have been a RN and IBCLC Lactation Consultant for over 25 years, Studies show that a woman burns an additional 500 calories breastfeeding :)

    Does it help you lose weight? It can if you are not eating back your calories that you lost :)
  • waltcote
    waltcote Posts: 372 Member
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    i'm all for breastfeeding just can't find a steady doner :devil:
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
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    Everyone is different. It helped me lose some weight, but not all, but I saved a TON of money not having to buy formula and it was great in the night when I didn't have to prepare a bottle - I could just sit in the rocker with my son, and of course, it's great nutrition for the little one!
  • Cadori
    Cadori Posts: 4,810 Member
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    It will work if you are eating at a modest calorie deficit while taking extra breast feeding calories into account.

    For the people it worked for, they were eating fewer calories than they were expending.

    For the people it didn't work for, they were eating more calories than they were expending.

    It's not the breast feeding that helps you lose weight but the amount of food you eat and the amount of activity you undertake.

    ^^^ This. I added the 500 calories a day while having a 1 pound a week loss goal. I lost the baby weight and 30 additional pounds within 9 months.

    It is not license to eat whatever you want.
  • JDubIsShrinking
    JDubIsShrinking Posts: 207 Member
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    Don't nurse just to lose weight - although it did help me.
    I lost a TON of weight when I was nursing (all weight gained during pregnancy, and then some). For me, it was the easiest diet ever. haha However, if you're not careful, it comes right back when you're finished nursing.
  • Cadori
    Cadori Posts: 4,810 Member
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    Don't nurse just to lose weight - although it did help me.
    I lost a TON of weight when I was nursing (all weight gained during pregnancy, and then some). For me, it was the easiest diet ever. haha However, if you're not careful, it comes right back when you're finished nursing.

    ^^^This too. It's happened twice now. And I was careful the second time so I didn't balloon up 40 pounds like the first time, but 20 pounds have come creeping back. :(
  • christy1027
    christy1027 Posts: 10 Member
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    I will not have a baby to breastfeed after I give birth (since i will be a surrogate for someone else), but i plan on pumping as much as i can and donating the milk... I will let ya'll know how the weight loss thing works out ;)
  • soupandcookies
    soupandcookies Posts: 212 Member
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    I will not have a baby to breastfeed after I give birth (since i will be a surrogate for someone else), but i plan on pumping as much as i can and donating the milk... I will let ya'll know how the weight loss thing works out ;)

    That's wonderful! Good for you!

    With my first 2 kids, I lost the weight very very easily, while breastfeeding. With my most recent baby (he'll be 10 months next week), I found myself totally unable to lose the weight. That being said, I was very stressed and definitely eating way too much....
  • VictoryGarden
    VictoryGarden Posts: 194 Member
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    It is not an automatic thing. I for instance, don't have the weight just magically melt off. HOWEVER, if you are using MFP, you can set yourself to allot for extra calories and STILL lose weight. (Trust me, you need those extra calories to keep up your milk supply!) But BFing is so TOTALLY worth it, though it isn't always an easy road. The first couple weeks can be so stressful or discouraging, but after that, most women have got it down. It is recommended to not start actively dieting until your babe is 2 months old to make sure you have established a good milk supply.
  • mjunebugt
    mjunebugt Posts: 3
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    It has been very hard for me to lose weight while breastfeeding. It doesn't work for everyone. I know people that have lost a ton while breastfeeding, though. The point is, it varies from person to person and you shouldn't depend on it to make you lose weight.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Weight loss comes from a caloric deficit. Breast feeding burns calories. If you can find the fine line between being at a deficit and yet eating enough not to hamper your milk supply then you'll lose. It's no different than losing weight any other time except instead of doing 500 calories worth of exercise, you get to feed a baby.

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