No weight loss exclusively breastfeeding!

hinamir88
hinamir88 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone expereinced that?

I have a 9 month old who is ebf. I have been trying to lose weight thorugh healthy eating and some excersice since 6 months now and the scale has not moved one bit!

With my first baby I lost all the weight within 5 months, I didn't ebf him though. Anyone else experienced this?

Any help/advice greatly apprecisted.

Thankss
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Replies

  • courtvt10
    courtvt10 Posts: 1 Member
    I'm dealing with this too. The scale isn't moving :-( definitely doesn't help being hungry all the time.
  • sarah8326
    sarah8326 Posts: 2 Member
    EBFing a 4 month old here and hoping to start losing soon. I didn't really lose EBFing my first baby, but just set this app to maintenance and will let nursing make up deficit. Saw that on another thread. Hoping it works!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I didn't lose any while breastfeeding and was extremely hungry, just like @Chef_Barbell wrote.
  • hinamir88
    hinamir88 Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks for the replies ladies! It is reassuring to see I am not the only one. I hope we all reach our goals soon
  • SafioraLinnea
    SafioraLinnea Posts: 628 Member
    I've lost 55 pounds eating at maintenance and using breastfeeding to create a deficit. My 7 month old is a happy little nurseling.
  • ashluv2sing
    ashluv2sing Posts: 42 Member
    I didn't lose any until after breastfeeding. My body was one of the ones that likes to hold on to fat while feeding.
  • nancy939393
    nancy939393 Posts: 12 Member
    I just recently stopped breastfeeding and have started losing weight. (4 pounds the first week not breast feeding) My weight stayed exactly the same the whole time I was breastfeeding.
  • Move4Abs
    Move4Abs Posts: 22 Member
    same as most above...I had tried to limit calories from 2000 to 1500 with the goal of weight loss- saw a significant drop in milk within 3 days. Decided to just focus on being healthy and having a healthy baby, went back to 2000. Didn't start losing until we finished breastfeeding. So, give yourself credit for maintaining and eating healthy...you'll have time to lose weight later and your baby needs its healthy mama now.
  • awegner24
    awegner24 Posts: 1 Member
    I'm really looking to start a healthier diet, and lose a few pounds.. But don't eant to lose my supply. Anyone have any suggestions? I have quite a bit to lose, and just am feeling uncomfortable in my own skin. Suggestions? Tips?
  • ksz1104
    ksz1104 Posts: 260 Member
    Yikes, I'm sorry, I started dropping about a week post partum due to EBF but packed on the pounds one we got down to one feeding a day. I guess we are all wired differently!
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    SafioraLinnea wrote: »
    I've lost 55 pounds eating at maintenance and using breastfeeding to create a deficit. My 7 month old is a happy little nurseling.

    This is what I'm doing. Hasn't impacted my supply at all and I'm losing about .5-1lb a week. The weight didn't start moving until about 8 weeks post partum even though I haven't changed anything.
  • trjjoy
    trjjoy Posts: 666 Member
    Our bodies do not "hold onto" fat reserves while we're nursing. You need to create a caloric deficit to lose weight. Eat at maintenance and you'll lose weight as breastfeeding creates the deficit.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    trjjoy wrote: »
    Our bodies do not "hold onto" fat reserves while we're nursing. You need to create a caloric deficit to lose weight. Eat at maintenance and you'll lose weight as breastfeeding creates the deficit.

    I am glad you are having such an easy time losing while breastfeeding, but it is not the same for everyone. Some women cannot lose without compromising supply and their hunger skyrockets to the point where weight loss becomes extremely difficult.

    Also as you get leaner personally I think it becomes more difficult to lose fat (vs muscle) while nursing. For example, trying to get under 18% BF is really struggles. I have tried in the past and my body would rather take away muscle from my ankles than lose the last bit of fat (PS my child was over 1.5 years so I wasn't worried about supply). I am just curious if it is actually possible or the hormones can mess with me getting super lean. We will see how things go this time around.
  • danielleisms
    danielleisms Posts: 42 Member
    All women are different. Many women (including myself) don't lose weight until they stop nursing. Have you heard of Bikini Body Mommy? I am doing her workouts and watching my food intake here and am making some progress.
  • gerla_k
    gerla_k Posts: 495 Member
    I didn't lose any weight while EBF. I was hungry all the time, and actually lost my milk as soon as I started reducing calories and had to bottle feed at 7 months pp. Weight started to come off after I weaned my baby. Everybody is different.
  • SafioraLinnea
    SafioraLinnea Posts: 628 Member
    I have doubt that people who claim they can't lose are accurately tracking their intake and activity levels. Every single person I have talked to about post baby fat loss and has done what I do find success.

    I'm more than 30 pounds below my pre-pregnant weight. I eat at maintenance calories. I use breastfeeding to create a deficit. If I exercise (and I do!) I eat back those calories.

    In the last six months it has been 5 pounds a month averaged out over that time. I lost about 25 pounds before my 6w postpartum check up but that was not intentional as I did not try to lose until after that checkup.

    If you eat at maintenance and nurse you will lose weight. It is not a linear process - some weeks I lose next to nothing and others I lose 3lbs - but with patience and time and persistence and accurate logging it will happen.

    The purpose of eating at maintenance is to not lose your milk supply. So the post-baby steps to successful fat loss:
    1. Do nothing until after your 6w check up. This allows your body to heal, hormones to balance and milk supply to be secured.
    2. Accurately calculate your maintenance calories. Use several different calculators to get an idea of the accuracy of the number. MFP underestimates my maintenance calories, scooby does a decent job.
    3. Eat ALL of your maintenance calories and no more! Regardless of how hungry you think you are. Maintenance is all you need.
    4. Breastfeeding creates a deficit.
    5. If you exercise, accurately calculate your exercise calories and eat all of those.
    6. Follow this accurately and over a long period of time. A week is not enough. A month is probably enough to see some difference.
    7. If you lose 5 pounds or more recalculate your maintenance calories.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    SafioraLinnea wrote: »
    I have doubt that people who claim they can't lose are accurately tracking their intake and activity levels. Every single person I have talked to about post baby fat loss and has done what I do find success.

    I'm more than 30 pounds below my pre-pregnant weight. I eat at maintenance calories. I use breastfeeding to create a deficit. If I exercise (and I do!) I eat back those calories.

    In the last six months it has been 5 pounds a month averaged out over that time. I lost about 25 pounds before my 6w postpartum check up but that was not intentional as I did not try to lose until after that checkup.

    If you eat at maintenance and nurse you will lose weight. It is not a linear process - some weeks I lose next to nothing and others I lose 3lbs - but with patience and time and persistence and accurate logging it will happen.

    The purpose of eating at maintenance is to not lose your milk supply. So the post-baby steps to successful fat loss:
    1. Do nothing until after your 6w check up. This allows your body to heal, hormones to balance and milk supply to be secured.
    2. Accurately calculate your maintenance calories. Use several different calculators to get an idea of the accuracy of the number. MFP underestimates my maintenance calories, scooby does a decent job.
    3. Eat ALL of your maintenance calories and no more! Regardless of how hungry you think you are. Maintenance is all you need.
    4. Breastfeeding creates a deficit.
    5. If you exercise, accurately calculate your exercise calories and eat all of those.
    6. Follow this accurately and over a long period of time. A week is not enough. A month is probably enough to see some difference.
    7. If you lose 5 pounds or more recalculate your maintenance calories.

    Yeah no.

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