Breastfeeding and Weightloss

The smallest I ever was (until now) was while I was breastfeeding.

I didn't count calories or workout and the lbs just flew off of me post baby.

I think you should focus on your nutrition so that your baby is reaping the full benefits of the milk. Consult with your doctor to make sure you are eating enough too.

Good luck. I tried cutting calories when I was breastfeeding and my milk supply really suffered I lost about 10lbs but when it came down to choosing between my milk drying up or weight loss... i chose to keep the milk lol

Some people lose naturally while breastfeeding without counting calories and others don't. I was never that lucky.

Im not breast feeding any more but may I ask whos paying the 2000 dollars? Also each person loses weight differently including breastfeeding a child. But yea what viglet says. Why not worry about the nutrition for your child and your body instead of having a competition.. Why not do one after you are done BF

It's an online competition, not sure who's sponsoring. I plan on having another child in a year or so and will probably breastfeed for the next 5 years, so whether I'm in a competition or not I will lose this weight before the summer. I don't plan on starving myself, but there should be no reason why I can't eat healthy and lose weight and still produce enough milk hopefully.

Of course you can eat healthy and lose weight and all of the more luck to you cuz I heard some ladies actually gain weight while BF... I dont know personally cuz my oldest didnt latch on correctly and my youngest I couldnt keep up with her schedule and my older daughters school schedule and stuff like that. Wish I invested in a breast pump

300-500 calories is for exclusively nursing, it is less if you are supplementing at all or if the baby has started solids. Also, you are supposed to eat those calories back in order to keep up milk production, it's not an extra bonus calorie burn. Just telling you because there has been some confusion on that in the past and women have experienced supply issues.

As far as "can you lose weight," yes, you can, because I'm doing it while nursing a 20-month-old. Is there weight falling off of me? No. It did with my first baby, but I was in my 20's then. Losing weight has been a much different experience in my 30's. It is different for every person and with every pregnancy.

You can only reduce your calories so much while breastfeeding and maintain a supply. If your baby is young, then you have growth spurts coming up as well, which means some weeks it may be harder to lose weight than others because you might need additional calories during the spurt to keep up with the demand.

I can't really give you more advice without knowing your goals. How much weight do you want to lose? Are you exclusively nursing, or do you supplement? How old is your baby now? How long do you plan on nursing?

I'm currently breastfeeding my four month old. I lost all of my pregnancy weight by about 4 weeks postpartum without even really trying, then I joined mfp. I am now 5lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight, and have about 10 more lbs I want to lose. My supply is great, and my baby is healthy. It's very possible to lose weight while breastfeeding, and I see no harm at all in joining a weight loss competition.

300-500 calories is for exclusively nursing, it is less if you are supplementing at all or if the baby has started solids. Also, you are supposed to eat those calories back in order to keep up milk production, it's not an extra bonus calorie burn. Just telling you because there has been some confusion on that in the past and women have experienced supply issues.

As far as "can you lose weight," yes, you can, because I'm doing it while nursing a 20-month-old. Is there weight falling off of me? No. It did with my first baby, but I was in my 20's then. Losing weight has been a much different experience in my 30's. It is different for every person and with every pregnancy.

You can only reduce your calories so much while breastfeeding and maintain a supply. If your baby is young, then you have growth spurts coming up as well, which means some weeks it may be harder to lose weight than others because you might need additional calories during the spurt to keep up with the demand.

I can't really give you more advice without knowing your goals. How much weight do you want to lose? Are you exclusively nursing, or do you supplement? How old is your baby now? How long do you plan on nursing?

I'm going to need to lose 25 pounds, but I can get 10 pounds of that to be water weight, so 15 real pounds (approx 1.1 pounds a week). Does that seem doable?

With so little weight to lose, 1/2-1 lb per week is realistic. At 6 weeks postpartum, it's likely not going to be 10 lbs of water weight, and is probably 25 real lbs. If it makes you feel better, I've got 35 lbs of real weight still to lose. With a baby that young, you really need to make sure you are not cutting your calories too low, because you are going to need them to keep up with the growth in the first six months. You will also need to keep track of which TV show marathons are going on for growth spurts when the kiddo is hooked to you 24/7. Pro-tip: there is always an episode of Law & Order on somewhere.

So to give you an idea of your plan, it would be:

MFP Daily calorie goal (which already includes a 250-500 calorie deficit each day, creating a 1/2-1 lb weight loss per week per your settings)

PLUS

Breastfeeding calories, 300-500, which you will need to eat back (food diary has a way to enter this, just search for breastfeeding)

PLUS

Exercise calories, which add to your calorie deficit and you should be eating back. Most people do not eat all the calories back and leave a few for logging errors.

TL;DR: So your calories per day will be MFP Goal + (300-500 BF) + (exercise calories burned) = how much you need to eat each day to lose 1/2-1 lb per week while breastfeeding and theoretically maintain supply

I do not know how you set your goals in your challenge, but I would lean to the very conservative end of the spectrum. Weight loss is not linear and while you can estimate how long it will take you to lose weight based on lbs per week (so 25 weeks at 1 lb per week, assuming you lose that much every week, which you won't), it's going to take longer. You're also going to start burning less calories as your baby grows and nurses less frequently, begins solids, etc. The important thing is to monitor your milk production and tweak your calorie intake as needed to maintain supply. The other fun piece is that nursing does not guarantee amenorrhea and your period can come back at any time, bringing cravings and stupid water weight with it.

Make sure you drink plenty of water and keep up with your prenatals while BFing. You can absolutely lose weight while breastfeeding, you just can't be as aggressive as a non-BFing individual and you really need to make sure you are eating your calories back.