Breastfeeding-can't stop eating?

[Milkybrew]

Is it normal to be constantly hungry when breastfeeding?! I'm eating as often as baby feeds! Anyone else finding/found this?

[orchidee]

Yes - constant hunger and thirst. I'm eating and drinking for two.

I haven't seen any advice on what constitutes a healthy diet when BF. There seemed to be loads of advice for pregnancy e.g. eat x portions a day/week of certain things. I'm eating loads and am not concerned about losing the baby weight but it seems to be shifting anyway(DS is 2 months old).

[EauRouge]

Yes, totally normal. I am tandem feeding and eat like a horse! Use your appetite as a guide and try and eat a wide range of stuff to make sure you've got enough energy and vitamins and whatnot. Actually, I've just put myself on a diet and by diet I mean I am going to stop mainlining Dairy Milk.

[Catslikehats]

Yes totally normal

EauRouge also put myslef on a diet as of today, which involves cutting down from three snickers a day

Having lost all my pregnancy weight pretty much as soon as DD was born she is now 19 wks and my weight is creeping up. I just can't stop myself and now understand what the word "ravenous" really means.

[EauRouge]

3 snickers, that's it? I think I was getting through 300g of Dairy Milk a day at one point. Have now limited myself to 75g a day. I'm still eating tons but more boring healthy stuff like bean salad. I lost weight really quickly to start with and got back to pre-DD2 weight within a couple of months. I'd like to shed half a stone by the end of September though and get back to pre-DD1 weight.

[Milkybrew]

Oh I'm glad it's not just me then! I'm not bothered, I've already lost the majority of the weight from pregnancy through breastfeeding and the whole pregnancy I was off my food so at least I've got my appetite back! During the pregnancy all I wanted was fruit, unfortunately that's now changed to biscuits! I'm eating really healthy meals and filling up on biscuits in between!

[IgnoringTheChildren]

Breastfeeding makes me crave cake/doughnuts and I ate a lot in the first few weeks months! I still lost a lot of the baby weight despite my less than healthy diet, however now my 7 month old DS2 doesn't really want much BM and my weight has started to creep up . I really must find a way to regulate my appetite back to pre-baby levels...

[shouldbeelswhere]

Yes, ate constantly but I did find that alot of the time I thought I was starving and craving sugar I was actually thirsty...you could up your fluids and see if that makes a difference but don't worry too much. I think it's a good idea to eat when your baby feeds (healthy stuff not so great living on choc though), think of all those calories you're using up being up in the night and chasing around after the baby, not to mention producing all that milk. :)

[worldgonecrazy]

Sounds perfectly normal. I used to go to sleep with two pints of sugary squash and chocolate cakes next to the bed, ready for my night feeds. Sometimes I couldn't get food into my mouth quick enough and made a right pig of myself.

[WiiUnfit]

I could have written most of your posts!

DS is nearly 5wo, ebf & turning me into a greedy pig eating machine, I'm constantly craving chocolate & sugary drinks. I read that your body does this as it's the quickest way to replace the energy lost through bf'ing.

Happy troffing snacking! :)

[MedicalEd]

Me too.
DD is 4.5 months and I eat like a horse. Lost about half the pregnancy weight straight away but can't shift any more.
Probably something to do with the galaxy hazelnut, toblerone, fruit and nut and bendicks mints I trough my way through.
I find I am often too tired to do any exercise so sit and eat chocolate instead

[Expelliarmus]

I got to about 4.5 months before I stopped craving cake and chocolate.
I'm very that some of you have lost weight through bfing. I put on over a stone :( I think I'm regulating myself a bit now as I can go a whole week without dairy milk!

[WiiUnfit]

Expelliarmus - I have lost about half my pregnancy weight but apparantly gained mass as my pre-pg jeans, that still fit me at 36w, no longer do despite a cs at 37w, go figure?