partial breastfeeding and not losing weight

ajodonnell
ajodonnell Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
I am only partially breastfeeding, as I do not make enough milk to feed my baby fully. I pump every 3-4 hours a day, though. At night we supplement with formula. Initially, after having the baby I lost 16 lbs. But since then I have not lost a single pound, and its been 11 weeks! I am eating around 1800 calories from what I track on myfitnesspal. I am excercising about 3-4/week, which includes DVD (JNL, jillian michaels- 30 min) or jogging 3 miles. should I be eating less/more calories? Can someone please help, I'm getting desperate!

Replies

  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    You sound eerily similar to me when I first had my baby. I didn't make enough, supplemented with formula at night, and I initially lost about 21 pounds without doing anything special.

    For weight loss, anyone will tell you that eating less and moving more will result in weight loss. I applied this equation to my own body for weight loss, and the only thing it resulted in was no milk for my baby and no weight loss.

    Other than my own story, I'm sorry I don't have any advice to give other than to be careful with what you're doing. Unfortunately, no one here can tell you how many calories YOU should eat because no one knows how many calories goes into breastfeeding. And every woman's body and hormones react differently when breastfeeding.
  • emilyisbonkers
    emilyisbonkers Posts: 373 Member
    off topic, but is your profile pic after a baby? you look amazing!
  • alibabes03
    alibabes03 Posts: 9
    i am looking for the same helpful advice too as im breastfeeding an dont want my supply to diminish either!
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    Does the 1800 calories you are eating include eating back your exercise calories and the additional calories for breastfeeding?
  • proudjmmom
    proudjmmom Posts: 145 Member
    Breastfeeding never made me lose weight like many women. For some women its the opposite.
  • MirandaDeCrane
    MirandaDeCrane Posts: 78 Member
    I actually gained weight while breastfeeding, while I had friends get downright skinny :( I was starving all them time. So-while I did get bigger, the baby was able to be exclusively nursed for over a year. My suggestion would be to find that perfect balance. That was hard to do. I literally had to eat and log and just see what ended up working for my specific body. I am just now starting to log. I'm eating around 1400 calories a day, but haven't seen a decrease in supply. I gain if I eat more than 1600 or so...

    PS-Awesome job with being dedicated to nursing...I consider myself a "lactivist" and it makes my heart smile to hear of babies getting mama milk :)
  • meganuhl1
    meganuhl1 Posts: 26 Member
    I nursed altogether 28 months between my two kids. With my first I didn't lose any if anything I gained part of which was due to depression. My second child I lost around 50 lbs from when I had her til my first yearly 13 months later. I only nursed her for 10 months. I didn't exercise during either time but my second go around I did watch my portion sizes. I think that you shouldn't worry about losing weight as more concentration should be put on nourishing your baby. As long as your weight stays the same and doesn't go up I think you are doing good. Focus on losing when your done nursing to make sure baby gets fed properly.
  • rosiereally2
    rosiereally2 Posts: 539 Member
    Breastfeeding never made me lose weight like many women. For some women its the opposite.

    This. And I worked from home and didn't pump. No real loss at all.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
    depending on how old your baby is you hormones might still be all over the place
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    A lot of my friends really struggled to lose baby weight even though they were exclusively nursing. I didn't nurse or pump but dropped what little I gained and plus another 15 pounds in 6 weeks. I really think a lot of it has to do with your hormones.
  • unFATuated
    unFATuated Posts: 204 Member
    How much have you got to lose? When you have little to lose it can go very slowly. Do you think your goal is realistic for right now? Might be time to take the pressure off yourself and just focus on eating well, moving a bit and nurturing and healing your body. By the sounds of it you have quite recently given birth so give it time.

    That said, the lack of movement on the scale might be down to a few things: It might be that your deficit isn't quite big enough to reflect on the scale, or that your logging isn't as accurate as you think it is; it might be that your activity level is causing some water retention to the muscles. Do you notice your clothes fitting better, or feeling looser? Are you measuring your body as well as weighing?

    When you log are you weighing your food with a scale? If not, you need to be - you may be eating more than you think. If you are being accurate with your logging, then maybe eating a few less calories is necessary. However, you are also making food for another person and you need to tread carefully to ensure you have enough calories to keep up what milk supply you do have.
  • katznkt
    katznkt Posts: 320 Member
    I nursed exclusively for 15 months with my first and a year with my second. Both times I lost all my pregnancy weight with in a few weeks of having the baby and then gained nonstop the rest of the time I nursed. I was starving. It didn't matter how little I ate or how much I exercised, I still couldn't lose. Second I stopped it started coming off. I don't regret nursing for a second though. Plenty of time after stopping to lose weight.

    I just wish I hadn't tortured myself so much while nursing. Eat healthy, exercise, watch portions, but don't stress. Some bodies seem to like to hold onto weight until nursing ends. Far easier for those unfortunate people to wait until weaning to push for loss.

    Those two years of nursing were so precious. Frustrating at the time but precious now. Enjoy!!!
  • broox80
    broox80 Posts: 1,195 Member
    Breastfeeding never made me lose weight like many women. For some women its the opposite.

    Here!!! I gained. My friend lost 40 pounds. She only gained 25 while pregnant. I hate my friend!!

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