breastfeeding and weight loss

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Laviegurl25
Laviegurl25 Posts: 121 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm a new mom to a 2 month little girl. I am breast feeding at the moment. I have been watching what i'm eating and working out 4-5 times a week. I'm not losing much weight at all and it has me a little upset. I'm losing inches but not weight. Any suggestions on how to get the weight to come off? I thought you were suppose to lose weight while breast feeding, but i'm finding it harder then ever!

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  • kmbutler09
    kmbutler09 Posts: 29 Member
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    I have been exclusively breastfeeding for a little over 9 months. I started to lose weight only when I started restricting calories and I workout 7 days a week. My supply has suffered, I have to use frozen stash for daycare as I haven't pumped in so long. Some people drop weight like crazy from breastfeeding alone, but some people hold onto that extra fat the whole time. Add me as a friend if you'd like, I'd love to have someone else in the same boat as me :)
  • sweetjanet2k
    sweetjanet2k Posts: 28 Member
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    How many calories are you consuming a day?
  • Laviegurl25
    Laviegurl25 Posts: 121 Member
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    yeah i have read that sometimes while breast feeding the body hangs onto the fat in your hips. I'm consuming less calories then what i need to in a day. or so says myfitnesspal. so anywhere from 1200-1600 calories a day when i can consume 1800
  • run_momma_run
    run_momma_run Posts: 319
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    When I was pregnant and then breastfeeding, I discovered that the nutritional requirements are the same - you need an extra 300 calories per day to have a healthy baby, and then to maintain a healthy supply of breastmilk.

    So perhaps you've got to increase your calorie intake??
  • EdensMummy
    EdensMummy Posts: 106 Member
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    Have you been to the doctor? Here in the UK they do a 6 or 8 week checkup for new mums and during that appointment you can ask them about losing weight in relation to breastfeeding etc. I didn't breastfeed my daughter but if I were you I would speak to either a health visitor or your doctor just so they can advise you on how to eat healthily to lose weight without compromising your milk supply.

    Good luck!
  • CristineD
    CristineD Posts: 59 Member
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    i have heard that women fall into two categories when breastfeeding - those who shed and those who keep it all on until you stop. Only things to consider that have affected my loss (which is slow and steady) is:
    1. How much water are you drinking? I'm only breastfeeding twice a day but try to drink at least 12 - 14 glasses a day.
    2. Is your diet high in carbs and fat and sodium? All of those can affect if you're exceeding you daily allowances.
    3. Are you eating all your calories? Especially when breastfeeding, I think it's important to eat just over to make sure that you're still getting the bare minimum.
    4. How many extra calories are you giving yourself for breastfeeding?

    Know I might sound like a bit of a know-it-all but have walked this road for the last 3 months with my son. Been a hard one not seeing the weight come off like my non-breastfeeding friends are but with a few tweeks here and there to your diary, you should hopefully start to see it come off in little bits.

    P.S. Inches lost is awesome by the way! Well done on that! :)
  • TripleJ3
    TripleJ3 Posts: 945 Member
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    Some people are able to lose weight while breastfeeding. Some like me and other friends of mine lose to a point then hang on to 10-15lbs.

    How much did you gain? I pretty much gained 60lbs all three of my pregnancies although I tried really hard not too! Usually it was all gone about 4 months after birth, it was the weight I gained before I was pregnant that wants to stick around. I was usually more hungrier breastfeeding than while pregnant! Focus on eating when hungry and making every bite count with occasional splurges. Make sure you are adding about 500 extra calories and if you do work out eat those calories back. Also try to eat every 3 hours or so. Oatmeal is great for boosting your milk flow. You can google to find out all the other foods that are great to eat to help with breastfeeding.

    The health of your baby is more important. The weight will come off as long as you aren't going overboard. Congrats on the new baby! Just like everyone says, they grow in a blink of the eye so enjoy that baby as much as you can!!!
  • bethberg12
    bethberg12 Posts: 40 Member
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    Nursing mom here, too. My son is about 7 months old and my supply is starting to dwindle. I need to find the balance of calories again.
  • CaelaXO
    CaelaXO Posts: 44 Member
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    I was one of the people who didnt lose much weight while breastfeeding. I did in the beginning but then nothing. Anytime i started to work out or restrict calories, my supply dropped. So I was chunky for the first first 12 months of my baby's life. Since I stopped, I have lost over 20 lbs, as i have been able to exercise and watch my calories. The health of the baby is the most important thing so dont get crazy if you have a few pounds hanging around. A chubby healthy baby is totally worth it =)
  • Improvised
    Improvised Posts: 925 Member
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    I'm able to lose a pound a week by writing down EVERYTHING I eat, EVERY day (not calorie counting, just being aware of what I'm eating), and walking 10,000 steps a day (I have a pedometer), and exercising and cleaning when I can. I would rather lose more than a pound a week of course, but I'll take what I can. Oh, and I drink water like crazy.
  • Laviegurl25
    Laviegurl25 Posts: 121 Member
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    i gained 60lbs during my pregnancy and have lost 32 lbs of it within 3 weeks. now the rest is just hanging out. I have an appt tomorrow with the health nurse in town, since Saphira has her 2 month shots. So i'll definately ask suggestions then. It depends on the day on how much water i drink. I find i'm not overly thirsty, but will drink a minimum of 6 glasses a day, even though i know it should be higher. I usually am watching my sodium and sugar intake. I have taken a program before i got pregnant that helped me a lot to look at what your consuming and what have you. Maybe this week i'll take a different approach to what i'm eating. I eat when i'm hungry, healthy snacks of course, such as crackers, fruits and yogurts.
  • bethberg12
    bethberg12 Posts: 40 Member
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    i gained 60lbs during my pregnancy and have lost 32 lbs of it within 3 weeks. now the rest is just hanging out. I have an appt tomorrow with the health nurse in town, since Saphira has her 2 month shots. So i'll definately ask suggestions then. It depends on the day on how much water i drink. I find i'm not overly thirsty, but will drink a minimum of 6 glasses a day, even though i know it should be higher. I usually am watching my sodium and sugar intake. I have taken a program before i got pregnant that helped me a lot to look at what your consuming and what have you. Maybe this week i'll take a different approach to what i'm eating. I eat when i'm hungry, healthy snacks of course, such as crackers, fruits and yogurts.
    I never got really thirsty during my nursing sessions, either. A lot of people told me "Oh, you'll just be PARCHED!" but it never happened. I actually started buying Clear Splash (flavored sparkling water) and just lugging one of them around the house because I found that easier to drink than plain water.
  • ibbray04
    ibbray04 Posts: 227 Member
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    I am one of those women who hold on to the weight while breastfeeding. I gained 21 lbs while pregnant and 14 months later still had 12 lbs to lose to be at my prepregnancy weight. I just weaned my daugher at 14 months a few weeks ago, and the weight started coming off. I am always starving when breastfeeding (even more so than when pregnant). Same thing happened after my first child.

    So my advice: while I understand that you want to lose weight, do not overdo it. Eat enough, and drink a lot of water. Providing nutrition to your baby should be the number one priority, and just know that the weight will come off once you stop breastfeeding.
  • irridia
    irridia Posts: 527 Member
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    Firstly, losing inches counts, in many ways it is more important than losing weight, so start by considering your efforts successful!!!

    I nursed all 5 of my kids. The only one that I actually lost weight with was my youngest.

    What made the difference?

    1. I dropped consumption of all sugary drinks including juice, if I needed the vitamins, I ate the fruit. That is actually the single most important thing you can do besides exersizing.

    2. Eat grains to keep up your milk flow and drink water, probably 1/2 your weight in ounces of water plus an extra 3-4 glasses. (check www.lalecheleague.org for the exact amount)

    3. Regular exersize, cardio and mamma yoga and use that baby as a weight, they totally think it is fun! Wear your baby on walks, switch to a stroller if your arms get tired. (other than baby as a weight, be very carefull of lifing much during the first year, especially if you feel like your hips tend to want to slip out of place) Swimming is a great non joint stressing form of cardio.

    4. The other very most important thing you can do for weight loss, sleep. Get as much as you can.


    Good luck!
  • ajmalbaby
    ajmalbaby Posts: 18 Member
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    Im 6 months postpartum and started losing 1 pound per week at 4 months but the weightloss just stopped after 2 months of losing 10 pounds. I have 10 more pounds left to lose, I really hope this weight comes off when im done breastfeeding.
  • Bearbo25
    Bearbo25 Posts: 28 Member
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    I breastfed my now 1 year old until she was 9 months old when my supply dropped bad and I couldn't bring it back. I was one of the unluckly ones and I didn't start losing weight until I stopped breastfeeding. My supply was super sensitive and if I restricted calories in the least bit then I would have a supply drop and spend weeks bringing it back up. It was really difficult seeing friends of mine lose all the baby weight plus some while having a super supply while I struggled but the breastfeeding was more important to me than weight loss so I just waited. When I stopped breastfeeding I came here to mfp and within the first month lost around 15lbs. I have since lost almost another 10 more since. I would be patient with it.
  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
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    9 months on, 9 months off. My priorities may be different but I would rather hold onto the "extra" weight (which may come off easily when you wean) and keep breastfeeding than risk losing my supply. You are building the foundation on which your child's health stands on. Their risk (and your risk!) of developing Type 2 diabetes is linked to the length of breastfeeding. The risk of obesity is tied somewhat to length of breastfeeding (many women in the US don't breastfeed long enough for good data but longer is better). You can always lose the remaining weight a year from now. Two to three years from now you'll have a built-in exercise machine (just let them loose outdoors!). Everybody's a little pudgy after having a baby. The only reason the celebrities seem like they bounce back so well is because that's ALL they do... They diet like their life depends on it and they train like a maniac. In the end, they get photoshopped anyway.
  • aggieali04
    aggieali04 Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm in the same boat. My son is 10.5 months old and is bf about 5-6x a day. I gained about 35 lbs. during pregnancy and almost all of it is still there. :( Honestly I haven't put in the work to get it off (haven't binged or anything, just haven't been recording and REALLY counting cals) because I was hoping the nursing would help out on that. Not so much. Hoping that I can cut calories a bit and still keep my supply up enough for at least the next month and a half since bf until 1 year (at least) is my personal goal. GL!

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