5 months postpartum

mtxgalera6148
mtxgalera6148 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 28 in Motivation and Support
I am 5 months postpartum. I had gained a total of 50 pounds from my pregnancy. After delivery, I’ve only lost 18 pounds! I started my weight loss journey at 188 lbs. I’m now down to 176. My goal is to be 145, but the ultimate goal is to be 135 lbs.

I am also breast feeding so I can’t really “diet”. I try to eat healthy 70% of the time. I’m really really conscious about my belly fat and it doesn’t help that I get fat shamed by my own family. I mean I just gave birth 5 months ago. Give me a break.

Any moms going through the same? Any advice on weight loss?

Replies

  • Krista_Knits52
    Krista_Knits52 Posts: 44 Member
    I'm 5.5 months postpartum and breastfeeding/supplementing as well. I lost 40 lbs prior to pregnancy and gained 35 of it back 😕 I'm restarting today.
    It's hard with breast feeding and not getting enough sleep yet but I figured I need to get back on track at some point.
    I'll send you a friend request!
  • amgreenwell
    amgreenwell Posts: 1,267 Member
    I'm 13 months post partum after two babies in two years. First, don't listen to your family. Weight loss takes time and patience and when you are breastfeeding it can take a bit longer. Secondly, sounds like you are already on the road to your goal weight. Continue to eat healthy and stay within your calories. Make sure you don't deprive yourself of anything and indulge when you need to. You JUST gave birth to a human and deserve some pampering and extra chocolate from time to time.
    My only advice on weight loss is to log your food every day, honestly and make sure you stay within your calories. If you can get in some exercise, even better but CICO is what works best for me. Add me if you'd like. My diary is open to friends and I'm just a few lbs from my goal weight, which is about 130.
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
    zipmilk.org. ask a professional. often paid by health ins too. <3
  • Sherryanngodfrey
    Sherryanngodfrey Posts: 2 Member
    I'm 4 months post partum with my first child. I gained 59 lbs, and have lost 29 of them without really trying...but now I've stalled out and I'm going to have to really try to lose 40 more! (I was 10 lbs over goal weight when I got pregnant). I am also breast feeding, so I'm in the same boat with not being able to diet very much. I've been struggling to get the balance right with food, especially when I'm tired from getting up with the baby, and then I have to make it through work the next day. It makes me angry on your behalf that you family is fat shaming you! My family has been very supportive, if I say something about losing weight they tell me that I just had the baby and not to worry about it! So it's definitely your family's problem, not yours! Best of luck to you, I hope we all reach our goals!
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    I also gained 50 lbs with my pregnancies, and you can diet while breastfeeding. If you set your MFP setting to half a pound loss per week, then manually add in 500 cal a day to account for the production of breast milk, then you should be able to lose slowly and still have plenty of calories available for your nutrition and the babies nutrition.

    The biggest nutrients to watch are iron, calcium, and omegas - the baby gets them before your body does, so make sure to eat plenty of foods rich in those items.

  • apparations
    apparations Posts: 264 Member
    DomesticKat wrote: »
    Congratulations on your baby! I'm so sorry your family is being so insensitive towards you. That is horrible of them!

    Breastfeeding burns a significant number of calories per day. Unfortunately, none of us can tell you how many it burns because it's dependent on the nursing habits and demand of your baby. This will go up and down over the course of your nursing relationship depending on how much your baby is nursing. For that reason, I recommend starting out by eating at least at maintenance for your current weight. Get in the habit of logging your food consistently and accurately for 4-6 weeks, a food scale can help you be more accurate, and track your weight with a trending app like Libra to help determine what kind of deficit breastfeeding is creating. Visit the sticky threads to learn more about logging your food and picking accurate entries from the database.

    Losing more than one pound a week is discouraged while breastfeeding in order to protect your milk supply and health. If you are exclusively breastfeeding and tracking all of your food properly, it's highly unlikely you'll need to eat below your maintenance calories. If you exercise, eat your exercise calories back and make sure you set the appropriate activity level to get the proper amount of calories. It's vital that you collect your own data over time and manually adjust your calories as you go along.

    I'll give you an example of how this can work. Say your maintenance calories are 2000, and we estimate that breastfeeding creates a deficit of 550 calories a day after logging and tracking weight loss for 4-6 weeks. That means you can eat 2050 calories a day to lose one pound a week. If you exercise and burn 200 that day, that means you need to eat 2250 calories. Eat a wide and varied diet of whatever makes you feel happy and energized.

    I've lost almost 70lbs. while breastfeeding and logging my food. My baby will turn 16 months this month and is still nursing.

    This is soooo helpful, i have tried and failed at logging while breastfeeding so many times over the past year. I always tried to log but was always way too far under calories trying to create a deficit. Thank you!!!!
  • DomesticKat
    DomesticKat Posts: 565 Member
    apparations wrote: »
    DomesticKat wrote: »
    Congratulations on your baby! I'm so sorry your family is being so insensitive towards you. That is horrible of them!

    Breastfeeding burns a significant number of calories per day. Unfortunately, none of us can tell you how many it burns because it's dependent on the nursing habits and demand of your baby. This will go up and down over the course of your nursing relationship depending on how much your baby is nursing. For that reason, I recommend starting out by eating at least at maintenance for your current weight. Get in the habit of logging your food consistently and accurately for 4-6 weeks, a food scale can help you be more accurate, and track your weight with a trending app like Libra to help determine what kind of deficit breastfeeding is creating. Visit the sticky threads to learn more about logging your food and picking accurate entries from the database.

    Losing more than one pound a week is discouraged while breastfeeding in order to protect your milk supply and health. If you are exclusively breastfeeding and tracking all of your food properly, it's highly unlikely you'll need to eat below your maintenance calories. If you exercise, eat your exercise calories back and make sure you set the appropriate activity level to get the proper amount of calories. It's vital that you collect your own data over time and manually adjust your calories as you go along.

    I'll give you an example of how this can work. Say your maintenance calories are 2000, and we estimate that breastfeeding creates a deficit of 550 calories a day after logging and tracking weight loss for 4-6 weeks. That means you can eat 2050 calories a day to lose one pound a week. If you exercise and burn 200 that day, that means you need to eat 2250 calories. Eat a wide and varied diet of whatever makes you feel happy and energized.

    I've lost almost 70lbs. while breastfeeding and logging my food. My baby will turn 16 months this month and is still nursing.

    This is soooo helpful, i have tried and failed at logging while breastfeeding so many times over the past year. I always tried to log but was always way too far under calories trying to create a deficit. Thank you!!!!

    Yes, if you're logging accurately you really don't need to create a deficit on top of breastfeeding. It creates one for you. It is more challenging to figure out the "calories out" while breastfeeding and it can take longer to lose weight for a variety of reasons, but CICO still applies.
  • marya730
    marya730 Posts: 6 Member
    8 months post-partum, here! It is definitely a slow road, especially for me with #2. I gained at least 50 pounds with my last pregnancy. I lost about 35 without even trying, by simply breastfeeding...then it slowed, and the last pounds are being very stubborn. I’m having to supplement now because of mastitis in one breast, so I’m less worried about my supply being the sole source of food, and so now I’m starting to track calories again. And it’s working - slowly. I’ve lost 4 pounds in the last 2 months, without much real exercise. I hope that number doesn’t sound discouraging - slow and steady for me!

    It’s especially hard when you are not sleeping and trying to care for a baby. I struggle with putting my own needs first. I pack amazing, healthy lunches for kiddo #1, packed with veggies and homemade foods. Then I’m so frazzled I forget to eat myself or get fast food. Sigh. You’re not alone, mama. Ignore what your family and celebrity magazines tell you, and know you can do it, at your own pace.
  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
    DomesticKat wrote: »
    Congratulations on your baby! I'm so sorry your family is being so insensitive towards you. That is horrible of them!

    Breastfeeding burns a significant number of calories per day. Unfortunately, none of us can tell you how many it burns because it's dependent on the nursing habits and demand of your baby. This will go up and down over the course of your nursing relationship depending on how much your baby is nursing. For that reason, I recommend starting out by eating at least at maintenance for your current weight. Get in the habit of logging your food consistently and accurately for 4-6 weeks, a food scale can help you be more accurate, and track your weight with a trending app like Libra to help determine what kind of deficit breastfeeding is creating. Visit the sticky threads to learn more about logging your food and picking accurate entries from the database.

    Losing more than one pound a week is discouraged while breastfeeding in order to protect your milk supply and health. If you are exclusively breastfeeding and tracking all of your food properly, it's highly unlikely you'll need to eat below your maintenance calories. If you exercise, eat your exercise calories back and make sure you set the appropriate activity level to get the proper amount of calories. It's vital that you collect your own data over time and manually adjust your calories as you go along.

    I'll give you an example of how this can work. Say your maintenance calories are 2000, and we estimate that breastfeeding creates a deficit of 550 calories a day after logging and tracking weight loss for 4-6 weeks. That means you can eat 2050 calories a day to lose one pound a week. If you exercise and burn 200 that day, that means you need to eat 2250 calories. Eat a wide and varied diet of whatever makes you feel happy and energized.

    I've lost almost 70lbs. while breastfeeding and logging my food. My baby will turn 16 months this month and is still nursing.

    Exactly this. I gave this same recommendation to a friend of mine who is about 4 months postpartum. She was struggling initially once she was cleared for exercise, but over the last month tracking her calories following this goal she has lost 5 pounds so far.
  • DomesticKat
    DomesticKat Posts: 565 Member
    Cassandraw3 wrote: »
    DomesticKat wrote: »
    Congratulations on your baby! I'm so sorry your family is being so insensitive towards you. That is horrible of them!

    Breastfeeding burns a significant number of calories per day. Unfortunately, none of us can tell you how many it burns because it's dependent on the nursing habits and demand of your baby. This will go up and down over the course of your nursing relationship depending on how much your baby is nursing. For that reason, I recommend starting out by eating at least at maintenance for your current weight. Get in the habit of logging your food consistently and accurately for 4-6 weeks, a food scale can help you be more accurate, and track your weight with a trending app like Libra to help determine what kind of deficit breastfeeding is creating. Visit the sticky threads to learn more about logging your food and picking accurate entries from the database.

    Losing more than one pound a week is discouraged while breastfeeding in order to protect your milk supply and health. If you are exclusively breastfeeding and tracking all of your food properly, it's highly unlikely you'll need to eat below your maintenance calories. If you exercise, eat your exercise calories back and make sure you set the appropriate activity level to get the proper amount of calories. It's vital that you collect your own data over time and manually adjust your calories as you go along.

    I'll give you an example of how this can work. Say your maintenance calories are 2000, and we estimate that breastfeeding creates a deficit of 550 calories a day after logging and tracking weight loss for 4-6 weeks. That means you can eat 2050 calories a day to lose one pound a week. If you exercise and burn 200 that day, that means you need to eat 2250 calories. Eat a wide and varied diet of whatever makes you feel happy and energized.

    I've lost almost 70lbs. while breastfeeding and logging my food. My baby will turn 16 months this month and is still nursing.

    Exactly this. I gave this same recommendation to a friend of mine who is about 4 months postpartum. She was struggling initially once she was cleared for exercise, but over the last month tracking her calories following this goal she has lost 5 pounds so far.

    I think the struggle often comes from trying to create too big of a deficit at first by not knowing breastfeeding burns so many calories all on it's own. Restricting calories too much leads to binging, which leads to inconsistency and yo-yoing, which leads to women thinking they can't lose weight while breastfeeding. By eating more and allowing breastfeeding to do the work, women are able to be much more consistent and see the weight come off over a long period of time and do it without feeling like they're starving to death. The key thing to understand is that it's going to take a long time and it's not going to be linear. I strongly recommend a food scale for increased accuracy and being able to eat as much as possible. Someone who is closer to a healthy weight will likely need to eat above maintenance and lose less every week, just as it's recommended for non-breastfeeding individuals.
  • malibutigger
    malibutigger Posts: 15 Member
    Just coming back on here. Baby is 4 weeks old today. I have a similar amount to you to lose. If you log breastfeeding as a food it will give you 500 extra calories a day which is less messing with goals I found.
  • betterwhenimdancin
    betterwhenimdancin Posts: 31 Member
    My stats were similar to yours when I started dieting 3 months post partum. I started at 188 went down to 133. 15 lbs lower than my pre pregnancy weight! I had a terrible milk supply to begin with so when I suddenly went to 1200 calories a day it dried up. I think it's different from everyone but I would suggest just making any calorie adjustments slowly to see how it affects your supply. I'd also suggest adding in more activity to your day so you have more calories to play with. Work up to 10,000 steps a day. Find a form of resistance training that you enjoy.
  • sramgirl
    sramgirl Posts: 17 Member
    I also log breastfeeding under my snack category to make sure to eat enough and to make it easier to adjust for. Definitely working out has helped. I have to plan when I will work out each beforehand. My 2yo and 10mo and husband demand so much time 😏
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