breastfeeding mom in need of advice

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niecy227
niecy227 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I had my daughter about four months ago and I am a breastfeeding mom in need of some help. I want and need to eat better I just don't know where to start. Before I got pregnant with my daughter I was already overweight, now I'm stuck with about 80. Pounds I can't seem to get rid of.

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  • sinnybri
    sinnybri Posts: 1,174 Member
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    Hi! I'm also a BFing mom have lost 1st 5lb in six weeks on MFP but I can't drop below 1800cals or it will effect supply.

    Firstly take into account that your baby at 4months is still completely reliant on Breastmilk and your body works very hard to produce milk for an exclusively breastfed baby. You are burning 500calories just by breastfeeding. The good news is if you eat healthy, breastfeeding will help you get down that weight quicker.. Most women need 1800 calories to maintain supply and if baby is EBF you may need more than that drop the calories down slowly by about 50-100 calories every few days until you are at 1800-2000 calories a day that way your body won't jump into starvation mode and stop all non essential bodily functions like milk production. I'm sure baby comes first so take it slow and steady. The best way forward is eat healthily and move more. Get out walking with the buggy and you will start to see the scale moving. This is very doable! Be kind to yourself having a new baby is tough x x
  • AOdell79
    AOdell79 Posts: 94 Member
    edited November 2015
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    I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old and breastfed them both. First let me say you are doing awesome! It's so important to keep your calories up so you keep the milk coming. I wasn't really able to shed any pounds until each of my kids were down to nursing only two or three times a day. That's when the hunger subsided.

    My advice is that it's still early yet. You have time. Breast feeding is hard and it makes you hungry. Being a new mom is hard and tiring. Give yourself a break. It will be easier when your little one is bigger. Don't be discouraged if people tell you all their baby weight fell off. It's not like that for everyone. Take care of yourself and the baby. Get your rest of you can. It gets easier! Good luck!
  • ragenhay1
    ragenhay1 Posts: 158 Member
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    I'm right where you are. My son is 3.5 months now and I have a total of 80lbs to lose. I started when he was two months and I'm down almost 20lbs.it is tricky finding just the right amount of calories so you can lose weight and have it not affect your milk supply. I bounced around between 1500 and 2000 calories until finally settling on 1500 plus an extra 300 for breastfeeding. I also eat back my exercise calories. Breastfeeding is great because it burns extra calories! I go to a gym with a daycare so while my oldest is at kindergarten the baby goes to the daycare and I take group fitness Classes. There are great videos on you tube for work outs at home.
  • gradchica27
    gradchica27 Posts: 777 Member
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    I have a 3 month old that I'm bf'ing now (and nursed 3 others over a year each). It is not as easy to lose while nursing as I once hoped--you will need to figure out your cals & how milk production is affected. Restrict too much & production drops and you feel run down. I'm 5'4", now 151, and I'm losing on 1820 (plus I eat back almost all my exercise cals). I might bump up a bit bc I think I'm losing too quickly.

    For good answers on dieting & exercising while breastfeeding, I can't recommend kellymom.com enough. Lots of studies, facts to back up recommendations.
  • gradchica27
    gradchica27 Posts: 777 Member
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    And really, take heart. It took 9 mo to put on those pounds, they will come off with a sensible diet (your breastfeeding can be the deficit), but it will take time. I lost 60 lbs of baby weight multiple times, but it took 8 months to a year. Not what any of want to hear when we see celebs (or, in my case, a few friends) seemingly drop the weight overnight, but slow and steady keeps you and baby healthy :)

    Feel free to add me and check out my diary just to get ideas. I always appreciate seeing what other moms are doing. Mine keeps it real :)
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Start eating to a calorie defecit ..use MFP settings plus 500 for breastfeeding

    Eat a wide range of colourful vegetables, lean proteins, dairy, fats, carbs to choice

    Drink adequate liquids so that your urine is pale straw coloured

    Get the baby in a buggy and walk ...lots ..baby will love it, you will benefit from it ...explore your neighbourhood, parks, make friends with new babies

    Sleep whenever you can

    Enjoy your baby ...the weight will come off

    Give yourself time ..you've just made an entire human being and it takes time to recover
  • rencawdor24
    rencawdor24 Posts: 157 Member
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    My baby is approaching 3 months and I'm starting to think about losing the weight. I have 2 stones to drop. Im thinking of setting my mfp as maintaining weight and relying on the calories that breastfeeding burns as my deficit.
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,521 Member
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    I bf-ed both of my kids for 14 months each; I had lost all the baby weight by 9 months with the first and 8 with the second. I considered bf-ing to equate about 500 calories for the first 6 months (until the kids started on some solid foods). I reduced it to about 300 calories from 6 months to about 10+ months; after that I think I usually allocated about 100+ calories since the majority of their food was actual food. I did start walking on the treadmill around the 2-4 month mark (very light exercise and increased over time). Seemed to work for me.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
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    Be patient! Bfing is hard work! I bf my three for over a year each, for me if I dropped cal below 2000 my milk production stopped. Overnight. Very unsettling. Working out was very hard because of how well endowed I became while nursing so walking was my workout. I live in a hilly town so my legs looked awesome! I ended up eating over 2000cal for the full year each time and lost very little weight in the year I bf each. The weight came off easily after the first two when I quit nursing and the third took more work. But like was stated, it took a while to put it on and it takes a while to come off. I shared my experience just for reference. You and your babe need to stay healthy. That is the most important thing! Enjoy that baby!

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