Gave birth almost three weeks ago and only lost 10lbs!?

Holy crap woman! Losing weight should be the LAST thing on your mind right now. Take care of your baby and go get some rest. And for God's sake EAT more!!! You are breastfeeding. Health of your baby is priority, not your vanity.

So, I had my 7lb 14oz baby 3 weeks ago, and have only lost 10 lbs?! I am breastfeeding exclusively, and sticking to 1500 calories a day. I have no idea how I'm not losing.

I gained 45lbs with this baby and had a homebirth. With my first child I gained 65 and lost 30 in the first 2 days before leaving the hospital!

Am I doing something wrong? Should I only be eating 1200 calories? TIA for any advice

I heard somewhere that breastfeeding burns about 500 calories per day. And all you're doing is sitting there! So, 1500 calories is probably not enough for you. Your caloric needs are probably closer to 2000.

It is a little surprising that you only lost 10 lbs after having a nearly 8 lb baby. The extra fluid, placenta, etc. is usually more than 2 lbs. I'm guessing your weight was higher than you thought right before the baby.

Like the others said, losing weight shouldn't be your priority right now. Give yourself a break - it's only been three weeks. And dear God NO, don't drop down to 1200 calories. Providing your child with adequate nutrition should be your number one concern.

Eat more! And worry about your weight less. You just had a baby, so cut your poor body some slack.

Most women lose ~10 lbs pretty quickly after being pregnant because a lot of it is fluids and you are back to moving in your "regular" body.

I would make sure you are eating an adequate amount for your baby. 1200 is not enough.

You will still lose pounds eating more.

If you care more about your weight than feeding you baby, buy formula.

Congrats on your little one!! Yay!

But, back to business - it literally took me at least a month to see any budge in the scale after the initial 10 lb weight loss from the hospital (my baby is almost 3 months old). It seemed like I had a lot of water weight going on and it came off when it decided to come off and all of the sudden 20 pounds dropped off quickly after that first month and a half.

And for the people saying to stop being so vain and whatnot. Newsflash: of course it's not the last thing on our minds. We just endured 9 months of packing on the pounds and we're not supposed to be concerned about when or how to jump back on the workout wagon and lose the weight? Maybe I'm neurotic, but I think it's somewhat healthy to worry about that kind of stuff.

Edit: I didn't breastfeed, so I can't help you on that one, just be sure to be eating enough and drinking enough water, the weight will eventually come off after a couple months.

So, I had my 7lb 14oz baby 3 weeks ago, and have only lost 10 lbs?! I am breastfeeding exclusively, and sticking to 1500 calories a day. I have no idea how I'm not losing.

I gained 45lbs with this baby and had a homebirth. With my first child I gained 65 and lost 30 in the first 2 days before leaving the hospital!

Am I doing something wrong? Should I only be eating 1200 calories? TIA for any advice

I heard somewhere that breastfeeding burns about 500 calories per day. And all you're doing is sitting there! So, 1500 calories is probably not enough for you. Your caloric needs are probably closer to 2000.

It is a little surprising that you only lost 10 lbs after having a nearly 8 lb baby. The extra fluid, placenta, etc. is usually more than 2 lbs. I'm guessing your weight was higher than you thought right before the baby.

Like the others said, losing weight shouldn't be your priority right now. Give yourself a break - it's only been three weeks. And dear God NO, don't drop down to 1200 calories. Providing your child with adequate nutrition should be your number one concern.

You need to eat more. Breastfeeding exclusively burns around 500 calories per day. Not to mention the fact that your body is still healing from childbirth. It needs fuel to heal properly.

You are not doing anything wrong. It's only been 3 weeks. Give yourself time and patience. Every pregnancy is different, so it stands to reason that your body wouldn't react to this one the same as the last.

Drink plenty of water to keep your milk supply steady and to help shed any water weight. Eat healthy foods, including good protein and fats. Take your vitamins, since if you are deficient in anything your body will give it to the baby before giving it to you, and you could end up malnourished if you're restricting your diet. And don't focus too much on the scale right now. I'm not saying not to try to lose weight -- I'm saying that your body is going through a LOT of hormonal changes right now, and it may not react in the way you expect it to, so don't get so discouraged about the number on the scale. You're losing, and that's movement in the right direction. Pat yourself on the back for that, and just enjoy that sweet babe.

Smart answer. And congrats on the new little addition to your family!

PS: It took me five years to lose 60 pounds. Don't be so hard on yourself.

I actually have an oversupply of breastmilk and have been donating to the local milk bank. I would certainly not be trying to lose weight if nursing was even an issue. The fact is I am unable to wear maternity clothing that I wore the week I gave birth. I have a three year old son that deserves to leave the house, and I can't care for him properly if I can't get dressed or function. This is not me being vain. We also don't have the money for me to go out and buy new clothing. I was simply asking for advice because I have not even lost the weight of the baby+placenta+other fluids, not really asking to be berated for perceived vanity.

You still got your answer. You need to eat more. Not sure how you don't fit into maternity clothes even after losing 10 lbs?

Are you swollen? why can't you wear your maternity clothes that you wore presumably right before giving birth? Are they too tight in the boobs, that would be understandable, anything else would be cause for concern. Frankly, I'd talk to your doctor or midwife.

I would think you need to eat at least 2000 calories a day while breastfeeding, if not more.

And for the people saying to stop being so vain and whatnot. Newsflash: of course it's not the last thing on our minds. We just endured 9 months of packing on the pounds and we're not supposed to be concerned about when or how to jump back on the workout wagon and lose the weight? Maybe I'm neurotic, but I think it's somewhat healthy to worry about that kind of stuff.

I didn't even start to think about losing weight until my 6 week postpartum checkup with my doctor when he gave me the go ahead to start working out. At 3 weeks postpartum I didn't give a rat's what I looked like - all I cared about was making sure my baby was healthy and getting some sleep.

OP - sounds like you need to enlist the help of friends/family, maybe to take care of your 3 year old for a few hours. Take him/her to the park, etc.

Are you serious?

Being pregnant now, I am nothing of losing weight nor would I be when the baby is here and I'm breast feeding.

You should be eating your normal amount of calories + 300 extra for breast feeding.

So if you usually eat 1500 calories, then eat 1800. If you work out and burn 200 of those calories, eat 2000 total.

Be sure you keep taking your prenatal vitamins as well, it's all about nutrition for the baby.

Weightloss will come, for now, enjoy the life you have created and being a mom

Good luck!

I am not judging - really I'm not.

You have just had a baby - you are exclusively breastfeeding and I am sure you are up night and day and also have another one to look after.

What a way to put pressure on yourself that you don't need!

Really - and this is from the heart - don't diet just yet. Or track calories. I'm not suggesting you binge either or live off MacD's - my advice..? Just get good nutrition in for the benefit of you and baby, walk gently and increase slowly. Nourish yourself and don't give a single thought about weight loss for right now. You can attend to that later.

So long as you are sensible - so long as you feed yourself and therefore baby well - there really should be no major problems or weight gain. You will slowly and naturally slim down as your womb returns, as your breasts settle, as the water retention shifts - it will all come together..

Second babies do take longer to get back in to shape. If you are worried about swelling by all means get advice - I'm assuming you are not excessively bleeding which could point to retention of placenta?

Good luck with this and please, don't worry about the weight - if it's a clothing issue see your doc but, don't 'diet' or limit right now - slow and sensible does it.

Congrats on your baby! I read on Wikipedia (always a great source, right?) that when breastfeeding fat mobilization of fat stored during pregnancy increases substantially from 3-6 months, probably has something to do with nature trying to make sure baby won't starve. If you don't eat enough for both your needs and the breast milk, it will go to the breast milk, and you may not receive adequate nutrition. My only evidence of this is that a Doctor had to warn a relative that the baby was leaching minerals out of her bones because she didn't eat enough. Yikes!

Good luck!

Holy crap woman! Losing weight should be the LAST thing on your mind right now. Take care of your baby and go get some rest. And for God's sake EAT more!!! You are breastfeeding. Health of your baby is priority, not your vanity.

This. This was my first thought as well. :noway:

Its only been 3 weeks? at least give yourself 6 weeks to recover and heal from the birth then as advised re eating more calories and pregnancy/nursing care vitamins. (i had 4 babies within 5 years and breast fed, i was back in uk size 10 within a few months)

You can eat as much as you like, breast feeding will suck that tummy and muscles back in place in no time and congratulations on baby x