Breastfeeding toddler twins, gained 17 pounds taking zoloft
angedoc
Posts: 8 Member
I need some direction. My babies are 24 months and nurse 8ish times a day. I get 2-3 hours of uninterrupted sleep chunks. I was losing weight until 10 months postpartum. By 20 months pp id gained 10 pounds. I realized around 18months pp that I'd started stress eating (not sure for how long) and drastically cut back on that. By 23 months pp id gained another 7 pounds! I've no idea why this is happening. I do tend to eat grains, and sometimes have to rely on them because I'm so dang Hangry that I become really impatient and snappy with my children. And eating wheat thins or pretzels helps (mentally at least).
I have three young boys, who I'm constantly rescuing from danger, so chronic stress is unavoidable.
Any insight?
I have three young boys, who I'm constantly rescuing from danger, so chronic stress is unavoidable.
Any insight?
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Replies
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Are counting your calorie intake? I used to snack like that and then I started counting calories, lol and behold I was eating more then I thought.1
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I just started counting them. Set at losing two pounds per week, I have 160 calories left for today. Which I could eat another meal at this point I'm so hungry again.0
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Change your setting to .5 to 1 pound per week. Do you eat your exercise calories back and do you add breastfeeding calories?2
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I don't know about eating the exercise calories back. I don't log exercise but do have my step counter linked. I add "breastfeeding -400 calories to breakfast". Since it's twins I'm guessing that's low, but have no way to know.
I started at 1 pound a week and had nearly 700 calories left for today- which would give me that second supper. But then my eating habits today are very typical of every day, so I do not understand this 7 pound weight gain the past 3 months.0 -
Do you weigh all your food with a food scale?2
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Is your weight slowly going up or this weight gain within just a few days?0
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Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink wrote: »Is your weight slowly going up or this weight gain within just a few days?
17 pounds in 15 months with 7 pounds being in the last three months.
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That'll be it, I can pretty much guarantee it. Not weight accurately (or at all) means you're eating more calories than you think; even pre-packed food as a 20% margin of error with their weight.3 -
Get your thyroid checked, just in case.
Set your rate of loss to 1 lb/week, not 2.
About 400 cal might be right, might be wrong. Toddlers make it hard to guess. Keep that credit, and slow your attempted rate of loss, and you'll be happier.
Antidepressants can mess with your appetite, but they won't make you gain without those extra calories. I'm losing my post-baby (lol, she's nearly 4), post-breastfeeding, post-zoloft weight. It's taken since New Year's to get 16 lb off, but it's going. I'm at the point where I sleep like a non-parent, though, and it does help. Time will help. Do what you can, and be kind to yourself.2 -
Well weighing your food is not that important in the scheme of things but something has to give. You are hungry, so eat more but yet you are putting on weight slowly and that means you are eating more then you need. Can't have it both ways.
Try eating more nutrient dense foods like vegetables, fruits and lean meats.
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I don't weigh my portions. Still losing fine. She gained weight while not tracking at all, as I understood it. It's easy to do, particularly if you've been breastfeeding twins which means essentially it was near impossible to overeat prior to the weight gain (likely paired with less overall milk intake by the babies).0
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I'm curious as to how many calories us mommas burn nursing our littles... how do you know?! I wanna know0
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It may just be a side effect from the medication it may not cause weight gain but it can stimulate 'hunger' maybe go speak with your doctor about your concerns and ask for a recommendation. Other than that one of the things I am doing now to keep myself satiated is drinking a glass of water then adding chia seeds soaked into a glass with 1/3 ice, 1/3 chia seed gel, and 1/3 juice. It will use up your 120 calories around that depending on how much you use, but it will keep you 'full' by one making you chew your drink therefore drinking it slower, it is really refreshing, and the seeds will continue to expand in your stomach and keep you full longer.0
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On average, it peaks around 500 cal/day/baby. Milk is approx. 22 cal/oz, and babies eat around 24-30 oz/day. I lost all my baby weight, plus 10 lb to my lowest adult weight, while breastfeeding. Then I forgot to stop eating everything, and gained it back, plus 20 lb, to my highest adult non-pregnant weight after weaning.amanduhh828 wrote: »I'm curious as to how many calories us mommas burn nursing our littles... how do you know?! I wanna know
It varies person to person, and some will swear they couldn't lose while breastfeeding, but it was a dream weight loss technique for me.1 -
annacole94 wrote: »
On average, it peaks around 500 cal/day/baby. Milk is approx. 22 cal/oz, and babies eat around 24-30 oz/day. I lost all my baby weight, plus 10 lb to my lowest adult weight, while breastfeeding. Then I forgot to stop eating everything, and gained it back, plus 20 lb, to my highest adult non-pregnant weight after weaning.amanduhh828 wrote: »I'm curious as to how many calories us mommas burn nursing our littles... how do you know?! I wanna know
It varies person to person, and some will swear they couldn't lose while breastfeeding, but it was a dream weight loss technique for me.
With my boys it seemed to melt off, but with my little girl who I'm nursing now at 3 months, it just seems I'm eating non stop and still just a hair heavier then when I delivered. It's depressing. I can't fit any of my clothes. With my boys I got right back into my jeans and had no issues losing the weight.0 -
I did get my thyroid checked and it was 2, so my doctor is keeping my medication thand same. I know that in the past year the babies have decreased from 60oz to 25-30 oz, and I'd have no way of knowing how many fewer calories I'd need to eat to compensate for the decreasing milk production. So here I am I guess.
My tummy says eat to cover 70 oz and they're only eating half that.
So the mfp gives me 2700 calories a day to lose a pound a week. I need easy, fast things l and that's where I'm struggling too.
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So 600-700 calories I used to be using to make milk that I'm no longer burning.0
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That's awesome you're still BFing! (I have twin boys as well and BFing was quite challenging for me.)
2700 cals/day to lose 1 lb/wk does seem a bit high even with BFing the two toddlers though, but of course that depends on your stats and activity level.
I can definitely understand being somewhat in survival mode at this point with 1+twins at those ages. Weighing food can seem overwhelming but once you get the hang of it, it is really quick and it can make a great difference in helping you achieve your goals.1 -
macchiatto wrote: »That's awesome you're still BFing! (I have twin boys as well and BFing was quite challenging for me.)
2700 cals/day to lose 1 lb/wk does seem a bit high even with BFing the two toddlers though, but of course that depends on your stats and activity level.
I can definitely understand being somewhat in survival mode at this point with 1+twins at those ages. Weighing food can seem overwhelming but once you get the hang of it, it is really quick and it can make a great difference in helping you achieve your goals.
Yes, it was very, very hard for the first two months. They were 33+0 and in the Nicu for 21 and 23 days. Thankfully I'd nursed my older son into my first trimester and he'd also been a preemie.
I'm 6'3" so I'm not the average size woman. 1 -
You have been through a lot!
And yes, that would definitely make a difference. 0 -
Wow! 24 months bf! Awesome!
I packed on the pounds each time my kids weaned...I kept eating like I was breastfeeding, and I was starving! This last time, I put on 15 lbs in about 3 months. Seriously..the hunger was crazy. I couldnt stop eating! I checked my my gp, over the weight gain, and she had my thyroid checked..sure enough it was low. And the hormones are still out of wack.
I waited until we were basically done breastfeeding before cutting calories, but then I went to healthier eating and lower calories..it's like my own version of south beach.
I know people will say lower carbs won't impact the scale, and that it's a calorie deficit, which I fully support. However the "diet" of south beach made me feel fuller, longer, making the calorie deficit possible.
It just gave me the back ground and knowledge of healthier food to get started. Then pairing that with mfp, it got a lot easier.
Good luck 0 -
macchiatto wrote: »That's awesome you're still BFing! (I have twin boys as well and BFing was quite challenging for me.)
2700 cals/day to lose 1 lb/wk does seem a bit high even with BFing the two toddlers though, but of course that depends on your stats and activity level.
I can definitely understand being somewhat in survival mode at this point with 1+twins at those ages. Weighing food can seem overwhelming but once you get the hang of it, it is really quick and it can make a great difference in helping you achieve your goals.
Yes, it was very, very hard for the first two months. They were 33+0 and in the Nicu for 21 and 23 days. Thankfully I'd nursed my older son into my first trimester and he'd also been a preemie.
I'm 6'3" so I'm not the average size woman.
NICU nurse here, congratulations! I'm sure your babies are beautiful!0 -
My son is 22 months and we just weaned, bravo on nursing TWO for 24 months! It takes a lot out of you, emotionally and physically. AND the lack of sleep, I could not function when my son slept that way!
I know that when I was nursing round the clock and sleeping poorly, my eating habits were horrendous. I stopped nursing at night at 1 year, it was making me so miserable. Now, I sleep 9 hours at night and I do find that I naturally am hungry less (it's stopping myself eating when I'm full that's my biggest problem).
So instead of giving you an arbitrary calorie goal or food advice that may or may not work, have you attempted sleep training? I know with twins plus more kids it may be darn near impossible, but even a 6 hour stretch of sleep will do WONDERS for your mood and health.2 -
I would stop assuming the nursing is eating away that many calories. I know it burns a lot of calories in the beginning when breastmilk is the babies' only source of nutrition, but as they get bigger the milk changes to suit their needs and might be more "liquid" as they get more and more nutrition from table food. I would bet that's why you've stalled on the loss and started to gain.1
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I nursed mine until 3 and 2. The older one just barely accepted weaning (he personally counted down the days) and I weaned the younger one on his second birthday, which was a piece of cake by comparison. The older one is more difficult in everything but especially when it came to sleeping. I resented still waking up to nurse him after his second birthday, nursing in bed was easy when he was tiny but disturbed my sleep immensely as he got bigger. I hated sleeping in little chunks and frequently started the day in a terrible mood.
Anyway, being sleep deprived is not good for appetite control or stress management. Making and enforcing boundaries at night time can feel cruel but a more rested "Daytime Mommy" will benefit them so much.0 -
Log everything and replace high calorie snacks with veggies and fruits. Stop drinking soda and other high cal drinks such as juice. Drink lots of water throughout the day. I am a breastfeeding mom and it can be impossible to cook yourself a well rounded good for you meal let alone eat anything at all. I gained lots of weight because of snacking on easy to grab foods (pop-tarts, granola bars, chocolate, juice, peanut butter honey sandwiches, more chocolates) and didn't pay any attention to portion control. Of course hormones are fun too.
My son is almost a year and started self weaning this week (sad face) and my daughter did the same when she was little. I started snacking on fruits and veggies and pre-packed healthy foods for myself whenever I had a moment. I log everything and hold myself accountable for what I eat. I've recently started finding time to work out which helps so much with my mood. When I've eaten recently and feel hungry I drink water or coffee (I'm addicted to coffee) to help subside the feeling and move on. I eat less grains and more protein and veggies. It seems daunting at first but if you get into the habit of pre packing food for yourself it really helps.
The best way to care for your littles is to care for yourself. Make yourself a priority and don't let yourself sit on the back burner. Make little changes at first and don't give up.
Good luck!
Sincerely,
A fellow sleep deprived mom1 -
FreyasRebirth wrote: »...The older one is more difficult in everything but especially when it came to sleeping. I resented still waking up to nurse him after his second birthday, nursing in bed was easy when he was tiny but disturbed my sleep immensely as he got bigger. I hated sleeping in little chunks and frequently started the day in a terrible mood.
Anyway, being sleep deprived is not good for appetite control or stress management. Making and enforcing boundaries at night time can feel cruel but a more rested "Daytime Mommy" will benefit them so much.
Along these lines, are your toddlers eating table food as well? If so, there may no longer be a need to nurse overnight as they are getting sufficient nutrition from the other food (and their stomachs are larger as well). It might be time to train them to sleep through the night and give up the overnight comfort feedings so that you can get a better night's sleep. Sleep deprivation has an effects on many hormones (notably cortisol) which can affect your metabolism and your ability to lose weight.
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