Losing weight while nursing

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katfio
katfio Posts: 11 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have a 7 month old baby girl who I have been exclusively nursing. While I am very proud that I lost my baby weight (31 lbs!) plus maybe 5 or 6 more, I feel like I am stuck! (This has been since November) I do not want to under eat & know I should be consuming extra cal's each day while nursing, but why can't I lose any more weight? I exercise 5/6x/week- usually gaining anywhere from 300-400 extra calories + I should eat 500 extra/day while nursing. I still want to lose another 30 lbs. and definitely have it to lose-- so why is my weight so stubborn? is anyone else struggling with this? And is there a spot on my profile that I can check a box that I'm nursing so my cal.'s on mfp adjust? Any help would be appreciated!

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  • katfio
    katfio Posts: 11 Member
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    I have a 7 month old baby girl who I have been exclusively nursing. While I am very proud that I lost my baby weight (31 lbs!) plus maybe 5 or 6 more, I feel like I am stuck! (This has been since November) I do not want to under eat & know I should be consuming extra cal's each day while nursing, but why can't I lose any more weight? I exercise 5/6x/week- usually gaining anywhere from 300-400 extra calories + I should eat 500 extra/day while nursing. I still want to lose another 30 lbs. and definitely have it to lose-- so why is my weight so stubborn? is anyone else struggling with this? And is there a spot on my profile that I can check a box that I'm nursing so my cal.'s on mfp adjust? Any help would be appreciated!

    95583.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Food Diary
  • ldsupergirl
    ldsupergirl Posts: 45
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    I lost all my weight while nursing my last child. I ate about 2400 cals per day when not exercising and 3000 when I exercised. I also ate over 20 g of lean protein per day but now I found out I should have been eating 35-45g protein per day. All my proteins were vegetable derived but my sister also lost weight while nursing and she ate meat. I would suggest adding a lot of natural fiber, 250mg vitamin C 4 times daily, and the protein. It worked for my sister and I both.
  • Renae_Nae
    Renae_Nae Posts: 935 Member
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    Make sure you are getting enough calories! I up'd mine by 200 net calories and dropped more weight in the last 4 days than I did last month!
  • 3babybeans
    3babybeans Posts: 8,268 Member
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    What a lot of other nursing moms do to count for the cals is to make it a new exercise with 500 cals burned. That way it shows up in your food cals.

    My first 2 kids, I couldn't lose weight to save my life while I was nursing. I read somewhere that sometimes when that happens, it is b/c "nature" is keeping the extra fat around to 1)help support the milk production 2) prepare for another pregnancy. I don't know if there is any truth or science to it, but it made me feel better at least! :laugh:

    Maybe since your baby is now 7months old, you should dial back the breastfeeding calories by 100 or so. She isn't nursing as much as she was when she was 2 months old & the breastmilk is (more than likely) more dense, but less in volume, therefore, the calories needed to produce it are fewer, kwim? Well, at least that's my theory on it! My daughter is 10 months old & I only count about 250 cals a day for it now. Good luck to you!
  • katfio
    katfio Posts: 11 Member
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    Thanks everyone for responding-- i think it's a great idea to add in nursing as "exercise" so i get those calories counted on mfp & i will eat them all. I also have heard that sometimes your body hangs onto the fat while nursing, and it did make me feel better, too- except that i have more than enough to lose! I will try the recommenations & thank you for replying!
  • abillings9
    abillings9 Posts: 165
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    I would just add it as exercise cals. If you're still nursing her exclusively, then I imagine she's probably still nursing a good 8 times a day+, right? (I know my dd nursed like crazy for a looong time a good 10 times a day, even after she started eating solids around 7-8 months!)
    It is true that your body will store a bit more fat than normal while nursing, but don't let that hold you back! I lost 25 lbs just by working out and eating right while I was still nursing my dd at 6-7 months old. (Took me about 3.5 months to lose it all, and I worked hard!!)
    Hang in there, it IS possible, the closer you get to your goal weight, the harder it will get though, just a heads up! Good for you for nursing your dd exclusively for so long! :flowerforyou:

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