nursing moms...

kurlieq2
kurlieq2 Posts: 2
edited September 24 in Health and Weight Loss
I was just wondering if there were any other nursing mom's on here that are NOT losing weight....
I am on my second month of exercising at least 5 - 6 times a week, watching my diet and water intake and I have managed to gain 4 pounds.
I have heard that you should lose a lot of weight because of the nursing, not continue packing on the pounds.

Replies

  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
    Are you sure you're eating enough? Nursing takes a lot of calories, so if you're not eating enough, your body is going to hold onto its fat stores. Make sure you're eating at least 1500 to 1800 calories per day (or 500 more than what MFP recommends), and eat your exercise calories.
  • cameola
    cameola Posts: 4
    I don't know many woman that nurse but some lost weight very fast in the first few weeks and then a few (including myself) do not lose ANY weight until AFTER the baby is weaned. You should drink as much water as your body wants and just keep eating healthy and exercising, the weight WILL come off eventually though even if it's holding on tight for now.
  • Mommareed4
    Mommareed4 Posts: 144
    Me! Lol I have been at it since January, and I was able to loose 2 lbs just to gain it back..since then (probably about a month and a half) I haven't weighted my self on the scale...I don't want the discouragement lol. I have really been wanting to weigh myself the past few days so I will see..
  • soleste
    soleste Posts: 34
    I gained 10+ lbs when I was nursing. And kept it (at the expense of my milk supply) until I stopped nursing. When I stopped nursing I lost the 10 I gained, and still had the pregnancy weight to loose. Just keep active and drink plenty of water. When you wean it will probably drop right off. Right now feeding your baby is most important.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    You shouldn't be trying to lose weight if you're nursing. You should be eating your maintenance calories plus 300-500 extra calories depending on how much your baby nurses. If you exercise you should be eating all of your exercise calories.

    If you start cutting calories you risk losing your milk supply and/or compromising the nutritional quality of your milk.
  • rodegghero
    rodegghero Posts: 212 Member
    It is split about 50/50 some moms lose and some do not. It is a myth that everyone does. I am one of the stay the same/ low gain Moms! I reduced my extra nursing cals from 500 to 300 and I am still produing enough and finally lost. 2 it is a delicate balance
  • jennlloyd
    jennlloyd Posts: 33 Member
    I am a nursing mom. I lost a bunch of weight when my baby was born, then I couldn't lose anything for months. In January I started MFP and I have actually lost almost 10 pounds. I make sure to go over a little on what MFP recommends for calories for me to lose one pound a week. I also make sure to eat all my exercise calories. Hope this helps!
  • alyssa92982
    alyssa92982 Posts: 1,093 Member
    be careful-I cut my calories back and increased exercise and I can tell my milk has slowed down-my weight started to shed at the same time my supply slowed-prior to that though it was fine(before I lost anyweight) it took me about 8 weeks till id drop a pound here and there
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
    You shouldn't be trying to lose weight if you're nursing. You should be eating your maintenance calories plus 300-500 extra calories depending on how much your baby nurses. If you exercise you should be eating all of your exercise calories.

    If you start cutting calories you risk losing your milk supply and/or compromising the nutritional quality of your milk.

    This is false. You absolutely can lose weight safely while nursing. You need to avoid a sudden drop in calories (or a sudden increase in exercise activity), because that can impact supply. But losing weight does not affect milk quality. It CAN affect mother's health, because if you're not getting enough nutrition, your body will pull nutrients from your body to use in the milk -- a nursing mom's body operates on a "baby first" priority system, so if you don't get enough nutrition, the baby will probably not notice, but YOU can become unhealthy.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    You shouldn't be trying to lose weight if you're nursing. You should be eating your maintenance calories plus 300-500 extra calories depending on how much your baby nurses. If you exercise you should be eating all of your exercise calories.

    If you start cutting calories you risk losing your milk supply and/or compromising the nutritional quality of your milk.

    This is false. You absolutely can lose weight safely while nursing. You need to avoid a sudden drop in calories (or a sudden increase in exercise activity), because that can impact supply. But losing weight does not affect milk quality. It CAN affect mother's health, because if you're not getting enough nutrition, your body will pull nutrients from your body to use in the milk -- a nursing mom's body operates on a "baby first" priority system, so if you don't get enough nutrition, the baby will probably not notice, but YOU can become unhealthy.

    I said you shouldn't TRY to lose weight, not that natural weight loss is unhealthy. And yes, a lack of adequate nutrition will affect breastmilk. Maybe not at first, but it will happen eventually. If the mother's body isn't getting what it needs it can go into starvation mod much easier than a non-nursing mom and the body will stop all non-essential functions, one of which is milk production.
  • WildcatMom82
    WildcatMom82 Posts: 564 Member
    I lost 20 lbs in 2 weeks postpartum....then gained it all back in the following months. In January my daughter started napping in her crib (at 8 months old, she was napping on/with me up until then) and I finally found time for exercise. I also found MFP! I think I wasn't eating enough before because the first month on here I felt like I was constantly eating, even when I wasn't hungry. I have my profile set to lose 1 lb a week, add 300 calories extra for nursing (since my baby is older and not nursing as much) and eat all of my exercise cals. Even starting off slow my supply dropped a bit so I stepped it back and ate an extra couple hundred cals for awhile....it's all about experimenting. But I'm all about trying MORE calories before I'd ever try less.
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