Breastfeeding and losing weight

Breastfeeding momma here! My babe is 3 months old, I haven't weighed myself for a while but just trying to focus on eating within my calorie range ( what MFP gives me plus 300 for exclusively breastfeeding) and exercising regularly. My thoughts are not to really focus on the number on the scale at the moment just to be consistent with tracking and exercising!

I've lost 15kg while breastfeeding. I set mfp to maintenance and let the breastfeeding be my defecit. I eat 50-70% of my exercise calories (I work out 6 days a week, either running or hiit at the gym). I'm still feeding my 19 month old (though we'll be wrapping up soon), and I'm the slimmest and fittest I've ever been.

DON'T drop too low too quick. I dropped too low at the start and was miserable, angry, and exhausted (in addition to how miserable angry and exhausted I already was at having 2 under 2 at the time...).

I'm still breastfeeding my 15 month old. He is my 5th. So this isn't my first rodeo

Not all women lose easily while breastfeeding. My experience seems that maybe half do. So, first of all, have patience. Work on making the best food choices possible and developing good exercise habits (you can workout when lactating, most babies don't care). Be active with baby - go for walks and on other outings. Play active games. Make it fun for both of you. Eat the kinds of foods you want your little one to eat (lots of vegetables, fruits, etc)

I wouldn't give yourself more than 300 calories extra for bf, if baby has started on solids. But don't drop too low, either. Make sure you are drinking lots of water, and then listen to your body. If you start to feel run down or overly tired, increase your calories a bit or reduce your exercise amounts. Also develop the habit of logging regularly and accurately, it will make a big difference.

Remember, you are still your baby's primary source of nutrition. So developing nutritious habits is important, both for your milk supply now and for the example you're going to be setting for years to come. When your body is ready to let go of the weight (if it's being stubborn now, like a lot of women are) having those habits in place will really help. And if your body is one of those that makes it easier to lose weight, those are the things that will help you along. For me, it was always close to a year post-partum before I was able to lose much weight, but after that point, things got easier even though I wasn't yet weaning.

Just stick with it. Develop a healthy you for you and your baby. HTH

aggelikik wrote: »

vemaddox wrote: »

I had my baby almost 6 months ago and I am ready to start losing weight. I am still breastfeeding though. Are there any other moms out there that have/are breastfeeding and losing weight? Any tips?

I have breastfed 3 kids, always I ended up at a ridiculously low weight towards 1 year or so. Breastfeeding burns a lot of calories, so if you eat as you woudl to maintain weight, the weight falls off. Just do not get into the mindset of "I must eat for two, or my milk will be gone". No need for 1000 calorie diets obviously, and this would hurt, but eating as you normally would, will help you lose weight.

I will say that for some of us, "eating as you normally would" can be a bit tricky to measure when breastfeeding, as hunger can be increased beyond the actual additional caloric requirement. That's one reason calorie counting has been so helpful for me while breastfeeding (and while getting into running: the runger is real!)

I gained 20kgs and lost 15kgs so far in 12weeks. Any diet is not necessary, you still need to eat for your breastfeed but just make sure you eat plenty of healthy food and not starve yourself. Mine is lots of veggies, fruits and drink plenty of water. I have carb and sugar here and there but not much. I go for a walk 5 days a week as a minimum, if I don't walk I do some other exercise such as weight lifting or yoga. You don't need to do 1-2 hrs a day, some day 15-30mins is still ok, I'm sure carrying baby around or house work you will already burn a lot.

If you are not losing weight at all probably mean you still eating way too much more than you burn.

I know I gained a lot because I have been eating a lot and it's all about sweet and carb. Now that I don't pregnant anymore I change my eating habit and weight will just come down itself.

I only start calorie counting 1-2 weeks ago, basically I'm still eating the same way but just want to see how many calories I did a day / track my exercise and see result.

Ps. I try low carb 2-3 days but waste of time. Eating normal I still loose anyway. Good luck feel free to add me I have my diary open!

While most people lose weight easily breastfeeding, it's not applicable to all. Despite cutting calories my weight didn't drop until I stopped breastfeeding completely. I'm just saying don't put too much pressure on yourself. Make sure you are leading a healthy and active lifestyle and the weight will come off when it's ready to.