Why do some women drop the baby weight and others dont?

I'm not sure how it is determined... some I think is genetics. Some I think is how much you ate, what you ate and how active you were during your pregnancy. I think there's just a lot of factors to it.

I gained around 40lbs with my first daughter, dropped about 1/2 of it afterward and then gained it back while on hormonal birth control (apparently, my body doesn't react well to ANY hormonal birth control). When I got pregnant with my second daughter, I was at my heaviest weight. I didn't gain much with her, but only lost a small amount afterward. I contribute unhappiness, poor eating habits and pure laziness as to why it hung around for so long afterward.

it was easy to drop the baby weight after my first, but when i had my second i didn't lose the weight...even though I was breast feeding. I stayed at home and never really went out so I wasn't moving much. A year later I lost all the weight after getting a job and moving around. Then I gained it plus back and now I'm on here.

Because some women didn't over eat and gain "baby weight".

Breastfeeding can also play a factor.

It is not that simple. I gained 22 pounds while pregnant, and lost all but two of it within a month. I had massive supply issues and had to hugely overeat in order to maintain my supply ( while taking about a dozen supplements to boost supply). Gained back 14 pounds as a result, and kept that on, until my daughter self weaned at 14 months. I am now below my pre-baby weight, but nowhere near being in the same sort of shape.

I always wonder if it's just age, activity level, and attitude more than genetics. I've had at least three women tell me with absolute conviction that it is impossible to lose pregnancy weight. Those women are idiots.

Well, I'm 26 years old, and more active than before I got pregnant. I breastfeed, I fidget, and I still lost nothing. I ate healthy and everything. In the end, my attitude may be more the problem as I refuse to end up as my mom, overweight and unhappy. While it's not "impossible" to lose the pregnancy weight, I sure wish I could have an easier time of it. I'm still hoping I can drop a bunch when I'm done breastfeeding. A few months ago I worked out a lot and dropped 10 lbs. And then I stopped. I changed diet and exercise, nothing worked. I gave up and gained it back. Now I'm back at it using this website, I've not hit the 179 where I stopped before yet, but I'm a little scared it may not come off.

You're actually trying, which gives you a great shot at getting the weight off. These women were on the Little Debbie diet, and convinced they were fat because they still had pregnancy weight. "Difficult" is different from "impossible."

That's so sad! Little Debbie is amazing, but not for all time... although I did have ice cream for lunch today...

But on a serious note, as far as the eating of 300-500 calories for breastfeeding mothers, I figure I do it without realizing it. When I nurse I'm actually more thirsty than hungry every time. Even during my pregnancy I rarely felt hungry and if I did it was/is always in the morning and rarely, if ever, at night. However, the cravings were to a point that it was eat that amazing tasting pizza or nothing at all. I figured, being pregnant, starvation wasn't a good idea and took whatever calories I was able to eat.

I am wondering if it has something to do with your age when you have the baby. I was 39 when I had mine and the 40 pounds I gained just stayed as belly fat. When I came back to work, people even asked me if I had had the baby yet!!

Glad to know it is not just me! I lost weight SO much easier before the baby and the extra 40 lbs. is still here. i had her at 35. I think age does have to do with it...

I gained 60lbs with my twins (the vast majority of the weight was water weight from swelling and pre-e) by 2 weeks after having the boys I lost 50lbs. I can't say all of that was water weight or wait but it was gone, then the next ten pounds + slowly melted off as I was breastfeeding two babies. I couldn't eat or drink enough water, I was always thirsty it seemed. I was also very active during my pregnancy and after, I had to be taking care of twins and working full time. As things settled down and I quit nursing and became a stay at home mom, I slowly started gaining weight, just from being home eating, baking and cooking more. Really good foods, (dang that good food).

Like others have said, there are a lot of factors at play--eating habits, activity, age, genetics, weight prior to pregnancy, breastfeeding all come into play one way or another. When you are pregnant it is easy to develop bad eating habits because you are more lax about eating snacks, etc. Also, when breastfeeding I tended to lose weight pretty easily at first but then once they were close to a year old I started gaining.

I have four kids (youngest is 7 months old).

Baby #1--27 years old, starting weight 125, gained 55 lbs (was on bedrest for 10 weeks as well so no exercise). Breastfed for 9 months. Lost all but 5 of those lbs by the time he was 9 months old (don't remember exactly when I got to that weight).

Baby #2--29 years old, starting weight 135, gained 45lbs. Not on bedrest but restricted activity. Breastfed for 3 years. Was down to 122 by his first birthday. Then started a different job and developed really bad eating habits.

Baby #3--32 years old, starting weight 148. Gained 30lbs. Lost that and a little more by his first birthday, but then gained some back. Breastfed for 2 1/2 years.

Baby #4--36 years old. Starting weight 150. Gained 30 lbs. Am now at 145 and my goal is 120. I need to be really aware of what I am eating so that I don't start gaining again when he is closer to a year old.


That being said, I think some people are not as careful about what they are eating after having a baby as they think they are. I have a friend who has four kids as well. After having her last child in August she lost a good portion of her pregnancy weight, but has since been gaining more. She admits that she "eats like crap" but I have no idea what she is eating. So, she is not really trying to lose baby weight at this point, but the weight that she has gained since.

1.genetics
2. breast feeding
3.walked and exercised or worked during pregnacy
4. Ate properly not for two
5. Got right back on track after baby was born
6. May have not had post partum depression or upset hormones after
7. Lot's of support Im sure as well

I do think genetics plays a role in it as does activity level and how much you are eating. I had twins at 32 years old and gained 30 lbs. I was active the entire pregnancy and worked (in high heels..lol) up until a week before they were born. I didn't eat much more than I eat now. I didn't track at the time but definitely ate more frequent meals to help reduce nausea. I lived on tons of protein, eggs and chicken mostly and fruit and veggies, because that is what I craved. I also went swimming/walking in the pool several times a week in the end to reduce swelling. I was back to my pre pregnancy weight within a few pounds a few weeks later. I don't think nursing had much of an impact on this. I did nurse for a short period of time and couldn't produce enough milk. I didn't get back to working out until long (I mean LONG) after they were born and that didn't make much of a difference either.

magic