Breastfeeding and weight loss please help :(

tasaiar1
tasaiar1 Posts: 79 Member
edited November 26 in Health and Weight Loss
To all the ladies out there, I need some help. Ok my aim was to loose around a kilo a week (2.2 lb) and i was loosing around that by consuming 1300 calories, i was loosing 800g a week, i think it's just under 2lb.

I'm currently breastfeeding, and was advised not to go below 1800 calories a day, to prevent toxins from losing weight being secreted into my milk supply?
Anyways so i started logging into my food diary (breastfeeding -400) since then I've not managed to loose weight at all

Oh and with my first child i lost no weight while breastfeeding, i think hormones might be making harder for me, feeling so down right now

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    My daughter bf for 27 months and I never heard anything about toxins with regard to weight loss. My hunch is that it's an old wives tale, much like warnings not to drink alcohol while bfing.

    That being said, it is advised not to cut your calories too low because it may affect your supply. We're you having any supply problems at 1300 calories? How long were you eating at that level? How were you measuring your calories? We're you weighing most foods? Logging using good entries in the MFP database? (Verified entries, USDA entries, etc.) If not, it is possible that you were eating more than 1300 calories to begin with and upping by 400 per day has you eating way past 1700/1800.
  • jdenise85
    jdenise85 Posts: 2 Member
    I am so sick of the word toxins being used in regards to the human body. If eating under 1800 calories will affect your milk supply, that's one thing but the whole toxins idea is a little ridiculous ... In my opinion. I just think that word is being thrown around too casually.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    No to toxins, but yes to 1800+ to maintain milk supply.

    My baby is 9 months. I eat 1900 calories. I lose 2ish pounds a month. It's slow as all heck. But my baby is thriving and it's not a race to lose weight.
  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
    The toxins thing in regards to milk isn't totally off-base, but it's way less of an issue than most who talk about it would have you believe. Certain environmental contaminants such as dioxins and some pesticides are fat soluble and have been found to be excreted in milk.

    Anyway, they're not the reason to limit calorie restriction. Its mainly so your supply doesn't suffer. I currently am set to 1850 cals to lose 1 lb/week. I add another 500 calories to account for breastfeeding (my baby is almost 9 months and still nurses 8-10 times a day on top of solids) and I eat back my Fitbit activity calories. I am losing 1-3 lbs/week since I started this in September, ignoring the unknown gain I had when I went on vacation in October (didn't log, didn't weigh myself again until last week).

    If you aren't losing on 1700 calories then you aren't eating 1700 calories. Do you weigh and measure your food? Its very easy to overeat up to maintenance if you don't.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    How accurate is your logging?
    Do you use a food scale or measuring cups?
    Do you log everything?
    Are you willing to open your diary?
  • rsergeant79
    rsergeant79 Posts: 45 Member
    I didn't manage to lose any weight while breastfeeding - it only started to come off once I stopped - I guess some of us just hold onto the fat!
  • AmericanIdiot666
    AmericanIdiot666 Posts: 11 Member
    I found that when I reduced my calories while breast feeding that it was negatively affecting my milk supply. I made a hard decision to hold off on the weight loss until after I stopped breast feeding my daughter.

    I also did not lose ANY weight while breast feeding (while I watched several friends weight disappear withing 6 weeks). One observation was that my pumped milk had very little fat compared to their milk. It actually looked sort of like skim milk.
  • ragenhay1
    ragenhay1 Posts: 158 Member
    My son is 3 months and I exclusively breast fed him I started watching /restricting calories a month ago. It took some trial and error to find where I was comfortable at and not have my milk supply go down I've lost 15 lbs so far and my supply is still good. I heavy my calories set to 1680 plus I add in -300 for breastfeeding so I'm eating about 1900/day.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    Look at it this way OP, if "toxins" from losing fat were dangerous to your baby while losing weight during breastfeeding, how did the human race survive all this time with all the famines and the wars and the plagues and whatnot? You think you're the only woman to ever be losing weight while breastfeeding? That being said, pay close attention to your supply. If it dips, eat more, if you're producing fine, you can probably cut down over the period of a month or so, slowly, while watching your supply to make sure it stays fine.
  • tasaiar1
    tasaiar1 Posts: 79 Member
    Thank you everyone for the advice!
    I might just go back to logging like before at 1300, since I'm probably eating more than that like many of you suggested, because tbh i weigh my small meals but when i cook dinner, so many different ingredients, I tend to just give it an estimate

    Thanks again. I shall wait and see if there's any results :smiley:
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    tasaiar1 wrote: »
    To all the ladies out there, I need some help. Ok my aim was to loose around a kilo a week (2.2 lb) and i was loosing around that by consuming 1300 calories, i was loosing 800g a week, i think it's just under 2lb.

    I'm currently breastfeeding, and was advised not to go below 1800 calories a day, to prevent toxins from losing weight being secreted into my milk supply?
    Anyways so i started logging into my food diary (breastfeeding -400) since then I've not managed to loose weight at all

    Oh and with my first child i lost no weight while breastfeeding, i think hormones might be making harder for me, feeling so down right now

    There is no such thing, this is nonsense. If you starve you are at risk of (1) depriving your own body of nutrients, and (2) losing your milk supply. So, do not set too aggressive weight loss goals. If you were losing almost a kilo per week eating 1300 calories, I would suggest you try something like 1600-1700 for a couple of weeks and see what happens. If you are still losing really fast, up the calories a bit more, if you are not losing, start subtracting 100 or so and recheck every few weeks.
  • krithsai
    krithsai Posts: 668 Member
    tasaiar1 wrote: »
    To all the ladies out there, I need some help. Ok my aim was to loose around a kilo a week (2.2 lb) and i was loosing around that by consuming 1300 calories, i was loosing 800g a week, i think it's just under 2lb.

    I'm currently breastfeeding, and was advised not to go below 1800 calories a day, to prevent toxins from losing weight being secreted into my milk supply?
    Anyways so i started logging into my food diary (breastfeeding -400) since then I've not managed to loose weight at all

    Oh and with my first child i lost no weight while breastfeeding, i think hormones might be making harder for me, feeling so down right now

    I lost no weight while nursing my daughter. It's almost like magic how the weight started melting off once I weaned.
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