Breastfeeding and weight loss HELP?!!!!

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KkBlowin25
KkBlowin25 Posts: 45 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am suprised as there is not any topics on breast feeding and losing weight. I am looking for an experienced person or momma to help answer some questions.. so stats. Im 5'4 & 162 pounds. My baby is 6 almost 7 months exclusively breastfeeding, and also eating solids. . I did gradually lose some weight while starting up counting calories and excersizing just normally according to age , height, and weight. And without troubling my milk supply. But now ive came to a hault in weight loss and afraid i might have cut down to much to lose weight while breastfeeding.. i just learned theres a way to log the breastfeeding in my daily diary, and today is my first day adding it in there. So one question is do i go off the mfp calorie calculator projection and just add the breastfeeding and eat in total of the remaining 1500 calories now.. any help please.

Replies

  • Flapjack_Mollases
    Flapjack_Mollases Posts: 218 Member
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    Not speaking from personal experience, but my wife has trouble losing/maintaining weight while she breast fed our two sons, and now again with our daughter. She talked to her doctor about it, and obviously any weight loss pills are a no-no (not that that is the answer anyway) while you are breastfeeding. Basically the answer she got was hormones. Until you stop breast feeding, and your hormone levels return to normal, there's really nothing you can do about weight fluctuation. You can help keep it under control by eating healthy whole foods, but beyond that, there's nothing to do except ride it out.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    There are plenty of topics on BFing and weight loss. Just do a search.

    You have to play around with the numbers to see what works for you. It has been said that you add anywhere from 300-600 calories for EBFing.
  • Flapjack_Mollases
    Flapjack_Mollases Posts: 218 Member
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    Flapjack_Mollases wrote: »
    Not speaking from personal experience, but my wife has trouble losing/maintaining weight while she breast fed our two sons, and now again with our daughter. She talked to her doctor about it, and obviously any weight loss pills are a no-no (not that that is the answer anyway) while you are breastfeeding. Basically the answer she got was hormones. Until you stop breast feeding, and your hormone levels return to normal, there's really nothing you can do about weight fluctuation. You can help keep it under control by eating healthy whole foods, but beyond that, there's nothing to do except ride it out.

    Forgot to mention that she also told her it's not a good idea to cut calories too far while doing this either, as it can be bad for her health, as well as limiting the nutrients the baby is getting.
  • KkBlowin25
    KkBlowin25 Posts: 45 Member
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    Yeah im doing the whole natural thing. Do include a plant based soy protien some days i need the extra energy. Its hard to know what to cut and not cut out. I stick to the whole grain, fruits and veggies, cut out sugars and procesed foods. Ive lost a bit of pregnancy weight but now seem to be stuck around 160.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    KkBlowin25 wrote: »
    Yeah im doing the whole natural thing. Do include a plant based soy protien some days i need the extra energy. Its hard to know what to cut and not cut out. I stick to the whole grain, fruits and veggies, cut out sugars and procesed foods. Ive lost a bit of pregnancy weight but now seem to be stuck around 160.

    None of this has to do with weight loss. Calories in vs. calories out are all that matters. Do you weigh your food on a kitchen scale? And as the other post said, you might not be able to lower your calories without affecting your milk supply.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
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    KkBlowin25 wrote: »
    Yeah im doing the whole natural thing. Do include a plant based soy protien some days i need the extra energy. Its hard to know what to cut and not cut out. I stick to the whole grain, fruits and veggies, cut out sugars and procesed foods. Ive lost a bit of pregnancy weight but now seem to be stuck around 160.

    I lost the first half of my pregnancy weight very slowly by just "eating right and exercising". Then I got stuck. So, then I started weighing my food and logging everything and sticking to a calorie budget. The rest of the pregnancy weight came off *much* faster that way.
  • KkBlowin25
    KkBlowin25 Posts: 45 Member
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    I do have a scale and weigh everything i eat, or cook. I did gradually cut my calories as i lost weight so havnt had a problem with my milk supply in general just losing more weight from here. I guess just play around with the numbers and see what wotks best from here. Thank you all so much for ur help!!
  • Flapjack_Mollases
    Flapjack_Mollases Posts: 218 Member
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    My wife is kind of weird. She hasn't gained weight with any of our children until AFTER they are born. Her weight stays the same (within 3-5 lbs) when she is pregnant, and then gains 8-10 lbs afterwards. It bothers her (doesn't bother me because I know there's basically nothing she can do about it) because she doesn't like "getting fat", but based on what her Dr. said, she's pretty much helpless.

    In all honesty, I would worry about it, unless you are packing on 2-4 lbs per week. If your weight is staying pretty constant, or even gaining at a very slow rate, I would just be conscious about the food, but beyond that, wouldn't stress about it too much.
  • KkBlowin25
    KkBlowin25 Posts: 45 Member
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    Yes true. I have came a long way and should be happy where im at, atleast until baby is older and weening himself. Thank you. Flapjack. Idk how to copy your post as i reply lol
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    Try eating what Mfp gives you for maintenance. That way the calories you're using to breastfeed are creating your deficit (should be 300-500 calories, which is s reasonable deficit). If your supply drops too much, add 100 calories a week until you're happy with your supply. If you're not losing, but your supply is fine, drop 100 calories a week until you're losing 0.5 lbs a week.

    When you're breastfeeding, you need to be careful not to cut your calories drastically or you'll affect your supply. It will take a little time, patience, and experimenting to find the right ratio. Also, keep in mind that some women can't be at a deficit at all and keep their supply up. For those, they can only aim to maintain their weight I until they are dons breastfeeding.
  • KkBlowin25
    KkBlowin25 Posts: 45 Member
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    Perfect, thank you i will try this!!!
  • jessiefrancine
    jessiefrancine Posts: 271 Member
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    Would you say that your baby's milk consumption has decreased as her consumption of solid foods has increased? A woman's body is pretty good at producing breast milk as efficiently as possible - meaning it attempts to conserve resources by only producing the amount of milk needed. If your baby is consuming less milk, then your body is producing less milk and you are therefore expending fewer calories on the milk production process. That reduces your deficit and could help explain why you've hit a plateau and are having trouble losing more.

    If you think that's the cause, then adjust your intake or exercise accordingly to resume the deficit you had before. Good luck!
  • KrisJ125
    KrisJ125 Posts: 93 Member
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    SingRunTing wrote: »
    Try eating what Mfp gives you for maintenance. That way the calories you're using to breastfeed are creating your deficit (should be 300-500 calories, which is s reasonable deficit). If your supply drops too much, add 100 calories a week until you're happy with your supply. If you're not losing, but your supply is fine, drop 100 calories a week until you're losing 0.5 lbs a week.

    When you're breastfeeding, you need to be careful not to cut your calories drastically or you'll affect your supply. It will take a little time, patience, and experimenting to find the right ratio. Also, keep in mind that some women can't be at a deficit at all and keep their supply up. For those, they can only aim to maintain their weight I until they are dons breastfeeding.

    This is great advice. I went through this process three times and eating a maintenance diet and upping exercise a bit (mostly resistance/strength) is what helped me lose the pregnancy weight.
  • KkBlowin25
    KkBlowin25 Posts: 45 Member
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    Thank you all so much, it feels great knowing im not alone lol. I will be eating the full maintenance mfp is giving me and letting the breastfeeding be my dificit. And see if that helps. I do still breastfeed more then he eats in solids, and he eats all through the night, so i feel that will be the best approach right now while of course still keeping active.
  • shumm090
    shumm090 Posts: 23 Member
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    KkBlowin25 wrote: »
    Thank you all so much, it feels great knowing im not alone lol. I will be eating the full maintenance mfp is giving me and letting the breastfeeding be my dificit. And see if that helps. I do still breastfeed more then he eats in solids, and he eats all through the night, so i feel that will be the best approach right now while of course still keeping active.

    Good luck! Just give it some more time. I did just that, ate mostly at maintenance and allowed breastfeeding to be my deficit while being active. I usually consumed around 2000+ calories per day. In my experience my weight didn't really start dropping at a steady rate until after my period returned, darn hormones! Keep up the good work, it takes time.

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