Breastfeeding help, please explain this to me!!!

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  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    ashliedelgado wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    suzievv wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    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.

    Thank you...I appreciate the time you took to respond.

    Blunt and to the point I am...

    I do feel that a lot of woman I see posting here are too concerned with weight while they are breastfeeding.

    I am in no way advocating over eating I just wish there were more who logged to ensure they didn't lose weight while breastfeeding...it pains me how many posts there actually are about it.
  • ashliedelgado
    ashliedelgado Posts: 814 Member
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    It's hammered into our heads during pregnancy that breastfeeding is this magical thing that makes us lose weight. And for a good chunk of us, that's not the case. So we think we're doing something wrong, when the reality is every body is different in how it handles hormones and milk production.
  • marshageroli
    marshageroli Posts: 41 Member
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    Thank you! I totally agree. I would much rather have truth over self esteem lifting. I believe that if I had seen this post without knowing what I know I would have jumped on the same boat. What pulled at me was the comment about putting my weight over the health of the baby. I truly thought that she was trying to say I was a bad mother and that I was hurting my child to better myself. I apologize that I misinterpreted it. Reading things has a way of changing meanings since you can't hear tone of voice or see expressions. I overreacted.....again lol. Sorry for the extra drama. I really do appreciate all of the feedback and support everyone is willing to give. I am still learning and figuring out balance because I do want to be healthy and have it stick
  • maggibailey
    maggibailey Posts: 289 Member
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    My guess would be that you are not miscounting your calories if you are weighing everything, but that you might be over estimating your calories out. I'm 5'10and I maintain right at 1700. I realize I'm not breast feeding but I'm a lot taller than you. At 2200 I'd gain. And burning 500 calories a day is not as easy a task as you would think. I only burn about 160 (still probably and over estimate) walking for an hour. So three hours on a treadmill is still not 500 calories. And lifting weights while amazing for you burns even less. My point being you may not be burning enough to eat 2200 calories. I would guess that the doctor telling you that your baby is healthy and happy is probably a better indicator of your parenting than a person on the internet making a judgment based off your calorie counting :)
  • marshageroli
    marshageroli Posts: 41 Member
    edited October 2017
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    maggibailey wrote: »
    My guess would be that you are not miscounting your calories if you are weighing everything, but that you might be over estimating your calories out. I'm 5'10and I maintain right at 1700. I realize I'm not breast feeding but I'm a lot taller than you. At 2200 I'd gain. And burning 500 calories a day is not as easy a task as you would think. I only burn about 160 (still probably and over estimate) walking for an hour. So three hours on a treadmill is still not 500 calories. And lifting weights while amazing for you burns even less. My point being you may not be burning enough to eat 2200 calories. I would guess that the doctor telling you that your baby is healthy and happy is probably a better indicator of your parenting than a person on the internet making a judgment based off your calorie counting :)

    Thanks for the input! You may be right. I run at a 5.5 on the treadmill for an hour and a half and in mfp it actually says the exercise calories were more, but I may be overestimating. Maybe I'll try to only eat 50% back and see what happens. I am extremely short lol
  • kavahni
    kavahni Posts: 313 Member
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    I’m just going to throw out here: genetics. I come from a family of women who blew up like a inflatable rafts when they were pregnant. I was 42 (to their twenties) when I was pregnant, gained 10 pounds, and delivered an 8 pound baby. So, including fluid weight and the placenta, I probably actually lost weight during my pregnancy. Not that I was trying! I lived in Italy at the time, and ate a whole a lot of really great food, But also did a lot more walking than I had while living in the states.
    My big fantasy was that I would give like a Guernsey, my baby would be fat and wrinkled like a Shar-Pei, and we’d both be utterly ecstatic. I breast-fed him for 31 months. He didn’t get any solid foods until he was nine months old. He breast-fed to his hearts content, and stayed skinny, which he still is today at age 15, even on whole milk products. I never lost a pound. I may not have gained like my sisters did, but All of us have a very hard time losing weight even when we really concentrate on it.
    Might just be your body not falling into anyone’s graph.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    marshageroli wrote: »
    maggibailey wrote: »
    My guess would be that you are not miscounting your calories if you are weighing everything, but that you might be over estimating your calories out. I'm 5'10and I maintain right at 1700. I realize I'm not breast feeding but I'm a lot taller than you. At 2200 I'd gain. And burning 500 calories a day is not as easy a task as you would think. I only burn about 160 (still probably and over estimate) walking for an hour. So three hours on a treadmill is still not 500 calories. And lifting weights while amazing for you burns even less. My point being you may not be burning enough to eat 2200 calories. I would guess that the doctor telling you that your baby is healthy and happy is probably a better indicator of your parenting than a person on the internet making a judgment based off your calorie counting :)

    Thanks for the input! You may be right. I run at a 5.5 on the treadmill for an hour and a half and in mfp it actually says the exercise calories were more, but I may be overestimating. Maybe I'll try to only eat 50% back and see what happens. I am extremely short lol

    Try this - more accurate than HRM - select NET option to at least only add the calories burned by the exercise.
    This is different than any database, HRM, machine given calorie burn out there (except for watts on a bike which is underestimate).

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

    If you assume 50%, you are getting into the same issue of creating bigger deficit than desired.

    And lifting if you do it is about same calories as walking 3.3 mph for reps 5-15 and sets 3-5 and rests 2-4 min.
    For that MFP estimate is actually right on.
  • shaunshaikh
    shaunshaikh Posts: 616 Member
    edited October 2017
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    A few things to consider:
    1. Water weight can be responsible for fluctuations in weight up to 10 pounds. Women, especially, go through water weight fluctuations due to menstrual cycle changes. Eating more carbs and sodium can affect water weight as well. I assume that hormonal fluctuations post-partum while breast feeding have an effect as well. When you say you gain like crazy, if you're saying the number on the scale, I have to remind you that the number on the scale is not a direct correlation to FAT gain. If your horomones are causing you to feel ravenous and eat very high sodium and carb meals, gaining a few pounds due to water weight eating at maintenance is something very explainable. If you're confident in calculating your calories out and calories in, then trust the process and look at long term trends along with measurements and pictures. I'd suggest trending your weight over a long time period to iron out the ups and downs.

    2. Just so you know, you burn 20 calories to generate an ounce of breast milk. If you're pumping and have a good idea of your daily production, maybe you can fine tune that number a bit more

    3. I wouldn't change the way you account for exercise calories if you're losing weight over the long term the way you expect to and hope to. You're just creating a bigger deficit.

    4. Good luck.

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