Trying to loose weight while breastfeeding

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juliaarndt
juliaarndt Posts: 5 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I'm 9 months post pardom. My son is exclusively breast fed and I have just been packing on the pounds. My journey only started today with exercise and trying to eat better....I feel like tracking what I eat is going to help me out a lot....any tips appreciated.
Thank you!

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  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    Welcome to MFP, and congratulations on having your son! Tracking your food and incorporating some exercise are great places to start. Here are a couple of good threads that discuss losing while breastfeeding; some of this information may be interesting:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10176233/gaining-weight-during-pregnancy-and-losing-it-post-partum

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/639-post-partum-pack
  • CoffeenSquats
    CoffeenSquats Posts: 982 Member
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    Welcome! I agree, tracking your food and incorporating some daily activity (exercise) is the best place to start so you're doing great so far!
  • mrskimwilliams
    mrskimwilliams Posts: 1 Member
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    I could've written this myself. I, too, have a 9 month old who is almost exclusively breastfed. He's a giant baby, too, so keeping him satisfied makes me hungry! And I, too, have been putting on weight like crazy. It is so disheartening. I have PCOS, so it makes it extra challenging to lose weight and easy to gain it. ☹️. I hope that tracking what I eat can help me stay on the right path. For now, I'm trying to focus on making healthy choices rather than counting exact calories to start off with so that I don't get overwhelmed with making such a huge change at once. I am tracking what I eat to help me pay attention to what I am actually eating from day to day. I'm bad to snack on junk throughout the day.
  • rhiannsu
    rhiannsu Posts: 15 Member
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    I had the same problem when I was breastfeeding, and it was so disappointing because all I had ever heard was "oh, if you breastfeed, the weight just falls off!" This is a great step in the right direction though.
  • lexiehtown
    lexiehtown Posts: 30 Member
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    rhiannsu wrote: »
    I had the same problem when I was breastfeeding, and it was so disappointing because all I had ever heard was "oh, if you breastfeed, the weight just falls off!" This is a great step in the right direction though.

    Yes exactly! Who are these unicorn mom's? Because I'm constantly eating. Way more with cravings than when I was pregnant! 12 week old ebf mom here... Going to try the whole 30 with the Breastfeeding extras
  • jwalton830
    jwalton830 Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi there! I'm totally with you. My daughter is 10 months old... she gets breast milk in a bottle at daycare while I'm at work but she's breastfed when she's with me.
    Don't get mad... I eat non-stop but I've managed to drop my weight 20 pounds below my pre pregnancy weight! It took a lot of research and mustering up willpower I didn't know I had... I made it to my goal weight, I'm putting more weight on the bar in the gym, and I'm still successfully breast feeding!
    Where the calories come from count! Only 1% of my calories come from some kind of added sweeter, if any at all. Believe me, this was the last thing I wanted to do! I love sweets, but I wanted to successfully do pull ups more. Something in my lifestyle had to change if my body was going to.
    I consume lactose from cheese & cream, and I consume fructose from whole fruit sources only... but I typically avoid all refined sugar and artificial sweeteners... including honey, maple syrup, and agave. It was a hard transition. I do celebrate holidays, birthdays, and my wedding anniversary by indulging a little... but those indulgences are planned.
    My milk supply hasn't suffered- if I were to guess, I think I get between 1750 and 1900 calories a day... sparing the calories from sugar allows me to eat more complex carbs (oatmeal is great for milk production) and yummy fat.
    Good luck to you! First and foremost, enjoy feeding your baby! They're only this little today! ❤
  • Christiee1993x
    Christiee1993x Posts: 67 Member
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    Noone tells you breastfeeding cravings are worse than pregnancy ones.
    Tbh though, I know it goes without saying, but eat clean, exercise and calorie count.

    Eat to maintain and use breastfeeding as your deficit. Only count vigorous exercise. You'll get there. Baby getting the best is worth feeling a bit frumpy

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