Breastfeeding help, please explain this to me!!!
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I agree that it sounds like water weight.
But, unless your cycles are back to normal, hormonal fluctuations could be at play here, too. Your baby is only 5 months. I certainly was still hormonally out of whack at that point after my babies.2 -
marshageroli wrote: »Thanks for the replies! I do have days where I'm ravenous and can't seem to get enough to eat, yet other days where I'm satisfied under my 1700. That is why I was curious about the 1900, for those days when I need some extra calories. My milk supply has not had any problems, a blessing I think I sometimes take for granted because I know so many moms who do have them. I'm super aggressive with weight loss now because this is my last child of four and I have been overweight almost my whole teenage and adult life. I want to take advantage of the extra calories from breastfeeding, but would stop in a heart beat if it started to affect my baby at all. I know it seems extremely shallow... ): however, I think I may try going to 1900 for a month and seeing what happens.
I was starving when I was breastfeeding. I dropped a lot of weight initially but stayed the same weight after that (I wasn't trying to diet at that time though). Maybe, since you're in the upper range of the healthy BMI scale try maintaining that and try restricting more when you've weaned your baby? I lost quite a bit of weight after I'd weaned because my appetite dropped and I was running after a toddler (ymmv since you have three other children though!)1 -
marshageroli wrote: »Thanks for the replies! I do have days where I'm ravenous and can't seem to get enough to eat, yet other days where I'm satisfied under my 1700. That is why I was curious about the 1900, for those days when I need some extra calories. My milk supply has not had any problems, a blessing I think I sometimes take for granted because I know so many moms who do have them. I'm super aggressive with weight loss now because this is my last child of four and I have been overweight almost my whole teenage and adult life. I want to take advantage of the extra calories from breastfeeding, but would stop in a heart beat if it started to affect my baby at all. I know it seems extremely shallow... ): however, I think I may try going to 1900 for a month and seeing what happens.
supply is one thing..quality of the milk is another...1 -
marshageroli wrote: »Thanks for the replies! I do have days where I'm ravenous and can't seem to get enough to eat, yet other days where I'm satisfied under my 1700. That is why I was curious about the 1900, for those days when I need some extra calories. My milk supply has not had any problems, a blessing I think I sometimes take for granted because I know so many moms who do have them. I'm super aggressive with weight loss now because this is my last child of four and I have been overweight almost my whole teenage and adult life. I want to take advantage of the extra calories from breastfeeding, but would stop in a heart beat if it started to affect my baby at all. I know it seems extremely shallow... ): however, I think I may try going to 1900 for a month and seeing what happens.
supply is one thing..quality of the milk is another...
How would you know if your quality is bad? I'm checking all my nutrients to make sure I reach them and my baby is healthy, happy, and in the 80 - 90 percentiles for height and weight.2 -
marshageroli wrote: »marshageroli wrote: »Thanks for the replies! I do have days where I'm ravenous and can't seem to get enough to eat, yet other days where I'm satisfied under my 1700. That is why I was curious about the 1900, for those days when I need some extra calories. My milk supply has not had any problems, a blessing I think I sometimes take for granted because I know so many moms who do have them. I'm super aggressive with weight loss now because this is my last child of four and I have been overweight almost my whole teenage and adult life. I want to take advantage of the extra calories from breastfeeding, but would stop in a heart beat if it started to affect my baby at all. I know it seems extremely shallow... ): however, I think I may try going to 1900 for a month and seeing what happens.
supply is one thing..quality of the milk is another...
How would you know if your quality is bad? I'm checking all my nutrients to make sure I reach them and my baby is healthy, happy, and in the 80 - 90 percentiles for height and weight.
because of your statements like
"Im super aggressive about weight loss"
"under 1700"
"try to eat 1900" never mind the fact it takes a min of 500 a day to breast feed so you are really eating 1200 to 1400 which isn't enough for quality milk...
former breast feeder here.0 -
marshageroli wrote: »marshageroli wrote: »Thanks for the replies! I do have days where I'm ravenous and can't seem to get enough to eat, yet other days where I'm satisfied under my 1700. That is why I was curious about the 1900, for those days when I need some extra calories. My milk supply has not had any problems, a blessing I think I sometimes take for granted because I know so many moms who do have them. I'm super aggressive with weight loss now because this is my last child of four and I have been overweight almost my whole teenage and adult life. I want to take advantage of the extra calories from breastfeeding, but would stop in a heart beat if it started to affect my baby at all. I know it seems extremely shallow... ): however, I think I may try going to 1900 for a month and seeing what happens.
supply is one thing..quality of the milk is another...
How would you know if your quality is bad? I'm checking all my nutrients to make sure I reach them and my baby is healthy, happy, and in the 80 - 90 percentiles for height and weight.
because of your statements like
"Im super aggressive about weight loss"
"under 1700"
"try to eat 1900" never mind the fact it takes a min of 500 a day to breast feed so you are really eating 1200 to 1400 which isn't enough for quality milk...
former breast feeder here.
But what are you basing this off of quality wise? If her baby is gaining weight, hitting milestones, and is at the top of the percentiles-in what way is quality lacking?1 -
Thanks for asking this! I'm 5'3.5 and exclusively breastfeeding my 2.5 month old. I was 172 when I delivered and 139 now. I have noticed the same thing - when I log carefully and stay at 1700 calories, I'm able to lose 2 pounds a week. When I go over that, I gain very quickly. I am so jealous when I read about women who eat over 2,000 calories and have weight drop off of them.
No, you cannot lose 2 lbs a week @ 1700 then gain if you eat more than 1700. The math just doesn't work like that. If you're losing 2 lbs per week, you're eating at a 1,000 per day deficit. So you'd have to eat at 3000 to gain .5 per week. There's a few things you're not telling us!
PS you should lose 2 lb per week only if you have more than 50 lbs to lose otherwise it's unhealthily fast.3 -
marshageroli wrote: »marshageroli wrote: »Thanks for the replies! I do have days where I'm ravenous and can't seem to get enough to eat, yet other days where I'm satisfied under my 1700. That is why I was curious about the 1900, for those days when I need some extra calories. My milk supply has not had any problems, a blessing I think I sometimes take for granted because I know so many moms who do have them. I'm super aggressive with weight loss now because this is my last child of four and I have been overweight almost my whole teenage and adult life. I want to take advantage of the extra calories from breastfeeding, but would stop in a heart beat if it started to affect my baby at all. I know it seems extremely shallow... ): however, I think I may try going to 1900 for a month and seeing what happens.
supply is one thing..quality of the milk is another...
How would you know if your quality is bad? I'm checking all my nutrients to make sure I reach them and my baby is healthy, happy, and in the 80 - 90 percentiles for height and weight.
It's more likely that you will suffer not milk quality. If your not taking in enough nutrients as milk is made from your blood it will take your stores to make up the difference
You need to eat enough calories to keep your supply up and enough nutrients for both your milk and you
I had bloods taken at birth by the nice, all my levels were perfect. I became a milk donor, all tests on my milk showed it was great quality, high in good fats, vitamins etc........ but by 6 months post partum i was severely deficient in several nutrients.
I had been under eating due to the stress of having a very sick baby who was on oxygen and tube fed until 6 months. My stores were tapped out making me I'll while he thrived
1 -
marshageroli wrote: »marshageroli wrote: »Thanks for the replies! I do have days where I'm ravenous and can't seem to get enough to eat, yet other days where I'm satisfied under my 1700. That is why I was curious about the 1900, for those days when I need some extra calories. My milk supply has not had any problems, a blessing I think I sometimes take for granted because I know so many moms who do have them. I'm super aggressive with weight loss now because this is my last child of four and I have been overweight almost my whole teenage and adult life. I want to take advantage of the extra calories from breastfeeding, but would stop in a heart beat if it started to affect my baby at all. I know it seems extremely shallow... ): however, I think I may try going to 1900 for a month and seeing what happens.
supply is one thing..quality of the milk is another...
How would you know if your quality is bad? I'm checking all my nutrients to make sure I reach them and my baby is healthy, happy, and in the 80 - 90 percentiles for height and weight.
because of your statements like
"Im super aggressive about weight loss"
"under 1700"
"try to eat 1900" never mind the fact it takes a min of 500 a day to breast feed so you are really eating 1200 to 1400 which isn't enough for quality milk...
former breast feeder here.
But what are you basing this off of quality wise? If her baby is gaining weight, hitting milestones, and is at the top of the percentiles-in what way is quality lacking?
truth is this...no one knows exactly what is happening.
We can speculate based on the statements of the OP and when they are as contradictory as these ones are along with the others such as "lose 2lbs a week on 1700 but gain on 2k"...something is off.
I am going to speculate these things
OP is eating more than they think
they want to lose the weight badly but not bad enough to do what is needed
the OP needs to stop and consider the health of her child before her vanity.0 -
Thanks for asking this! I'm 5'3.5 and exclusively breastfeeding my 2.5 month old. I was 172 when I delivered and 139 now. I have noticed the same thing - when I log carefully and stay at 1700 calories, I'm able to lose 2 pounds a week. When I go over that, I gain very quickly. I am so jealous when I read about women who eat over 2,000 calories and have weight drop off of them.
if you lose 2lbs on 1700 cals then your maintenance is 2700, so you wont gain till you're eating more than that...
don't mistake water fluctuations for fat gain.3 -
I am going to speculate these things
OP is eating more than they think
they want to lose the weight badly but not bad enough to do what is needed
the OP needs to stop and consider the health of her child before her vanity.[/quote]
Ok, so I found out from the doctor that my thyroid has been having a lot of issues, therefore causing the weight issues, at least that is what they told me. I really try to be open minded because I realize EVERYONE has an opinion and generally one or more opinion can be extremely helpful. I do not, however, appreciate the judgemental attitudes of people that do not even know me. As I stated above, I eat my exercise calories back, which is usually around 500, therefore I am eating around 2200 a day. Do you know that if you eat healthy foods instead of processed junk you can fit in all the nutrients you need with that number? My baby is very healthy, of what I'm aware of, and very chubby and happy. I will admit to being a little vein, as I do want to be healthy and look and feel good, since I feel like that is the one thing in my life I can control. I will not ever admit to doing anything to harm my baby. As I said above, if my diet was affecting him in any way, I would stop immediately. How dare you attack me as a mother. Shame on you.
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marshageroli wrote: »I am going to speculate these things
OP is eating more than they think
they want to lose the weight badly but not bad enough to do what is needed
the OP needs to stop and consider the health of her child before her vanity.
Ok, so I found out from the doctor that my thyroid has been having a lot of issues, therefore causing the weight issues, at least that is what they told me. I really try to be open minded because I realize EVERYONE has an opinion and generally one or more opinion can be extremely helpful. I do not, however, appreciate the judgemental attitudes of people that do not even know me. As I stated above, I eat my exercise calories back, which is usually around 500, therefore I am eating around 2200 a day. Do you know that if you eat healthy foods instead of processed junk you can fit in all the nutrients you need with that number? My baby is very healthy, of what I'm aware of, and very chubby and happy. I will admit to being a little vein, as I do want to be healthy and look and feel good, since I feel like that is the one thing in my life I can control. I will not ever admit to doing anything to harm my baby. As I said above, if my diet was affecting him in any way, I would stop immediately. How dare you attack me as a mother. Shame on you.
HOw am I being judgemental you said you wanted to lose the weight and it was vain?
I am just repeating your statements...
Shame on your for projecting on me.
ETA: then you aren't losing on 1700 and gaining on 1800....boy I wish people would get facts straight before they post...1 -
You don't suddenly gain fat from going from 1700 calories to 2000 when you're losing on 1700. You're just gaining water weight.
People always end up freaking out when they gain once they start eating more, but it takes weeks to really know if you're actually gaining weight or if it's just water weight fluctuations. And yeah... you're breastfeeding, your hormones are a mess, so it can take longer to lose water weight too.
Just an example, I'm the type of person who ONLY loses weight after my period. At some point when I was close to my goal and still had a 500 calorie deficit, I started missing a period or two... I never lost a pound in those 2 months, but as soon as my period came back, I lost 6 lbs in 10 days from dropping all that water weight. Did you get your period back yet?
Don't rely on the scale that much... I know it's easier said than done, but for women water fluctuations can really drive you crazy (I'm probably a special snowflake because I retain a LOT of water and bloat like crazy before/during my period though).
2 -
marshageroli wrote: »I am going to speculate these things
OP is eating more than they think
they want to lose the weight badly but not bad enough to do what is needed
the OP needs to stop and consider the health of her child before her vanity.
Ok, so I found out from the doctor that my thyroid has been having a lot of issues, therefore causing the weight issues, at least that is what they told me. I really try to be open minded because I realize EVERYONE has an opinion and generally one or more opinion can be extremely helpful. I do not, however, appreciate the judgemental attitudes of people that do not even know me. As I stated above, I eat my exercise calories back, which is usually around 500, therefore I am eating around 2200 a day. Do you know that if you eat healthy foods instead of processed junk you can fit in all the nutrients you need with that number? My baby is very healthy, of what I'm aware of, and very chubby and happy. I will admit to being a little vein, as I do want to be healthy and look and feel good, since I feel like that is the one thing in my life I can control. I will not ever admit to doing anything to harm my baby. As I said above, if my diet was affecting him in any way, I would stop immediately. How dare you attack me as a mother. Shame on you.
HOw am I being judgemental you said you wanted to lose the weight and it was vain?
I am just repeating your statements...
Shame on your for projecting on me.
ETA: then you aren't losing on 1700 and gaining on 1800....boy I wish people would get facts straight before they post...
She didn't know that she was having thyroid problems. She noticed something strange and thought maybe it had to do with the fact that she is losing weight while also breastfeeding. So she asked questions. No, you can't lose on 1700 and gain on 1900. But it's OK to be puzzled and ask questions. You are being very rude.5 -
marshageroli wrote: »
I am going to speculate these things
OP is eating more than they think
they want to lose the weight badly but not bad enough to do what is needed
the OP needs to stop and consider the health of her child before her vanity.
Ok, so I found out from the doctor that my thyroid has been having a lot of issues, therefore causing the weight issues, at least that is what they told me. I really try to be open minded because I realize EVERYONE has an opinion and generally one or more opinion can be extremely helpful. I do not, however, appreciate the judgemental attitudes of people that do not even know me. As I stated above, I eat my exercise calories back, which is usually around 500, therefore I am eating around 2200 a day. Do you know that if you eat healthy foods instead of processed junk you can fit in all the nutrients you need with that number? My baby is very healthy, of what I'm aware of, and very chubby and happy. I will admit to being a little vein, as I do want to be healthy and look and feel good, since I feel like that is the one thing in my life I can control. I will not ever admit to doing anything to harm my baby. As I said above, if my diet was affecting him in any way, I would stop immediately. How dare you attack me as a mother. Shame on you.
[/quote]
I'm sorry you're having thyroid issues. I have heard that thyroid problems can cause a lot of confusion with weight gain. I hope they can help you get it straightened out. As a mom, it sounds like you & Baby are doing great. Ignore the idiotic comments.
1 -
You don't suddenly gain fat from going from 1700 calories to 2000 when you're losing on 1700. You're just gaining water weight.
People always end up freaking out when they gain once they start eating more, but it takes weeks to really know if you're actually gaining weight or if it's just water weight fluctuations. And yeah... you're breastfeeding, your hormones are a mess, so it can take longer to lose water weight too.
Just an example, I'm the type of person who ONLY loses weight after my period. At some point when I was close to my goal and still had a 500 calorie deficit, I started missing a period or two... I never lost a pound in those 2 months, but as soon as my period came back, I lost 6 lbs in 10 days from dropping all that water weight. Did you get your period back yet?
Don't rely on the scale that much... I know it's easier said than done, but for women water fluctuations can really drive you crazy (I'm probably a special snowflake because I retain a LOT of water and bloat like crazy before/during my period though).
I still haven't gotten my period yet. I usually don't until I finish breast feeding. I think you are totally right about the water weight and hormones. I am so used to having water weight come off within a week so it did give me a little scare. I do tend to jump the gun and over react, which is definitely something I have to work on (: I swear sometimes losing weight makes me go crazy! Lol0 -
marshageroli wrote: »
I'm sorry you're having thyroid issues. I have heard that thyroid problems can cause a lot of confusion with weight gain. I hope they can help you get it straightened out. As a mom, it sounds like you & Baby are doing great. Ignore the idiotic comments.
Thank you, we are working on it. (:0 -
marshageroli wrote: »I am going to speculate these things
OP is eating more than they think
they want to lose the weight badly but not bad enough to do what is needed
the OP needs to stop and consider the health of her child before her vanity.
Ok, so I found out from the doctor that my thyroid has been having a lot of issues, therefore causing the weight issues, at least that is what they told me. I really try to be open minded because I realize EVERYONE has an opinion and generally one or more opinion can be extremely helpful. I do not, however, appreciate the judgemental attitudes of people that do not even know me. As I stated above, I eat my exercise calories back, which is usually around 500, therefore I am eating around 2200 a day. Do you know that if you eat healthy foods instead of processed junk you can fit in all the nutrients you need with that number? My baby is very healthy, of what I'm aware of, and very chubby and happy. I will admit to being a little vein, as I do want to be healthy and look and feel good, since I feel like that is the one thing in my life I can control. I will not ever admit to doing anything to harm my baby. As I said above, if my diet was affecting him in any way, I would stop immediately. How dare you attack me as a mother. Shame on you.
HOw am I being judgemental you said you wanted to lose the weight and it was vain?
I am just repeating your statements...
Shame on your for projecting on me.
ETA: then you aren't losing on 1700 and gaining on 1800....boy I wish people would get facts straight before they post...
She didn't know that she was having thyroid problems. She noticed something strange and thought maybe it had to do with the fact that she is losing weight while also breastfeeding. So she asked questions. No, you can't lose on 1700 and gain on 1900. But it's OK to be puzzled and ask questions. You are being very rude.
HOw am I being rude...??? seriously?
by quoting what she said about being vain?
even with thyroid issues you only gain if you are eating more than you burn and again...eating more than the OP thought...not rude truth...and not even said rudely.
and how is saying the OP should be more concerned with teh health of her child than lowering calories to lose weight?
tell me how that is rude?2 -
Devil's advocate here - we ALSO didn't know you had a thyroid condition and Stef was commenting on the information we received. And while that may not be the case for you - that is the case for the majority of people who post. They are eating more than they think and can't figure out why their aggressive goals aren't coming to fruition.
Tough love is a lot of what you will get here, however you will get a lot of knowledge. And personally I'd rather get smacked by the truth with someone with 14k posts before coddled by someone with 170. The person with 14k probably has a better idea of what they are talking about.1 -
marshageroli wrote: »I am going to speculate these things
OP is eating more than they think
they want to lose the weight badly but not bad enough to do what is needed
the OP needs to stop and consider the health of her child before her vanity.
Ok, so I found out from the doctor that my thyroid has been having a lot of issues, therefore causing the weight issues, at least that is what they told me. I really try to be open minded because I realize EVERYONE has an opinion and generally one or more opinion can be extremely helpful. I do not, however, appreciate the judgemental attitudes of people that do not even know me. As I stated above, I eat my exercise calories back, which is usually around 500, therefore I am eating around 2200 a day. Do you know that if you eat healthy foods instead of processed junk you can fit in all the nutrients you need with that number? My baby is very healthy, of what I'm aware of, and very chubby and happy. I will admit to being a little vein, as I do want to be healthy and look and feel good, since I feel like that is the one thing in my life I can control. I will not ever admit to doing anything to harm my baby. As I said above, if my diet was affecting him in any way, I would stop immediately. How dare you attack me as a mother. Shame on you.
HOw am I being judgemental you said you wanted to lose the weight and it was vain?
I am just repeating your statements...
Shame on your for projecting on me.
ETA: then you aren't losing on 1700 and gaining on 1800....boy I wish people would get facts straight before they post...
She didn't know that she was having thyroid problems. She noticed something strange and thought maybe it had to do with the fact that she is losing weight while also breastfeeding. So she asked questions. No, you can't lose on 1700 and gain on 1900. But it's OK to be puzzled and ask questions. You are being very rude.
HOw am I being rude...??? seriously?
by quoting what she said about being vain?
even with thyroid issues you only gain if you are eating more than you burn and again...eating more than the OP thought...not rude truth...and not even said rudely.
and how is saying the OP should be more concerned with teh health of her child than lowering calories to lose weight?
tell me how that is rude?
I think it was the "consider the health of their child before their vanity" that has people up in arms. I agree though, it was blunt and to the point. And people are defensive because it hit home.1
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