excessive hunger with bfing - I can't stop putting on weight!

[reastie]

Please help me! I've posted before about my manic hunger when bfing and have been told this is normal . Seriously - it feels like it's geting worse and worse as time progresses .

To put this in context, I had a really tough pg and put on about 3 stone (well, that is 6 weeks pp I weighed 3 stone more than pre preg, so when I was pg I was prob more like 4 stone heavier). Since having DD I have overcome alot of problems to get to bf and am really proud that i have managed it abd do enjoy it ;. but i find i continue to put on weight and find the hunger really hard to deal with - i have to eat about every couple of hrs in the day and have big portionss at meals yet i'm still hungry alot. if i don't eat so much i find i very quickly become dizzy, feeling sick and faint. my dd is 5mo. i don't want to stop bfing at all but am really struggling with self esteem issues re my weight to the point i dont like meeting friends as i look so different to pre preg (and alot of people havent seen me since prepreg as i was so unwell) so feeling so hungry and eating so much is so soul destroying

[ShowOfHands]

You need to do several things. One, look at how much you're drinking as thirst and hunger feel the same and bfing makes you quite thirsty. Two, look at what you're eating. Are you eating the right kinds of things to sustain you as opposed to causing sugar rushes and crashes? Three, make sure you are not anaemic, have no thyroid/hormone issues that are causing the dizziness.

I couldn't lose weight while bfing until I took up some serious exercise either.

[thisisyesterday]

i would go and see your doctor. it is normal to feel hungrier whilst breastfeeding but not necessarily to that extent so perhaps there is something else going on too?

[thisisyesterday]

and yes to everything SoH has just said too!

drink plenty, and eat sensibly

[MamaChocoholic]

I sympathise with your hunger. both times bf I have put on weight. it helps to watch what I eat (rather than how much). I find the more chocolate, sweet stuff I eat, the more I crave. If I just eat larger healthy meals it is better, eg I had two pieces of fish for dinner tonight when everyone else had one. I have an extra cheese salad sandwich mid morning. I use oatcakes as a snack - low GI means they don't raise my blood sugar and set off the sugar craving. It's tough, but if I am strict about filling up on healthier things, then I find it's hard to eat too much.

I think around 5mo there's a growth spurt which means I felt more hungry than ever, so this is the perfect time to get things under control - you are using extra energy making more milk, so eating less calorie wise could even start some weight loss :) also think about exercise. I've been unlucky that all my dc would sleep better in a buggy than a cot, so I try and get at least one big walk in every day for morning nap.

well done for bf this far. the hunger will tail off when your dd starts weaning and has less milk.

[reastie]

i drink alot - i'd say at least 12 - 15 big glasses of water a day which surely must be enough . I do eat some naughty things but on the whole my diet isn't terrible, i just eat too much, which i know i do and feel embarassed by . I eat alot of muesli/corn flakes as snacks as it helps fill me up and do quite a bit of home cooking so know what's in my food, just portions/frequency is too much but like I say if I decrease I feel terrible. My blood sugar has always been really sensitive though so maybe my disposition is to have problems . Maybe i'm just one of those people not to lose weight when bfing but I can't keep putting on weight like this

[WhippedCream]

my doctor told me there are 2 types of women's bodies for breast feeding

1. the lucky cow who loses weight fast through the milk
   
2. the dairy cow who puts on weight to breast feed.
   

I was a dairy cow, sympathies!!

nb she was a woman.

[reastie]

dairy cow here too then. Thing is, I've gone from a fit and healthy size 14/16 to a size 20/22. I hate myself. Nothing wrong with being that size but it's just to have that big change in a year is too much. I'm struggling with excercising as I have a back problem which limits me to walking and I had a coil put in a couple of weeks ago which gives me terrible cramps when I go walking (am seeing the gp re: this) so just stuck in a nasty hole, and I am so unfit and sweat so much all the time it makes me too . I'm just rubbish in general really :(

[MamaChocoholic]

well cornflakes is a high GI food, www.gilisting.com/glycemic-index/2007/02/gi-of-cornflakes-breakfast.html, and muesli may not be great if swiss style or if it contains a lot of dried fruit. If you're getting dizzy if you don't eat that's probably (assuming you're not anaemic) due to fluctuating blood sugar, which is where focusing on GI can help. at least, this is what I have to focus on to be able to not gain weight whilst bf. it could be worth looking up some of your favourite foods?

it's awful to have your body affect your self esteem :(

[Shanster]

I am having the same issue - this is my second baby and both times to begin with I lost nearly all my pregnancy weight within 4 weeks, but then the crazy hunger started. DC2 is now nearly 6 months old and I have put on nearly half a stone. I am hungry constantly and for evil stuff like chips and chocolate. I know I need to eat better, buy it is hard when I am hungry so much. As for exercise, I have a full time job and two kids under 2, I don't have time to sleep never mind work out.
I know that when I stop feeding, I will be able to control my appetite better and lose the weight.

[OrangeMochaFrappucino]

Dairy cow here! I too get dizzy/sick quickly when hungry and also put on weight in first six months of breastfeeding. Now weaning is well under way with my nearly seven-month old, my hunger is far less powerful. Also, we are baby-led weaning so the baby eats what we eat - so I have no choice but to eat healthily! If your baby is five months old, you have not got long to go before starting to wean and it really will help!

[reastie]

so I guess hope I can lose the weight and get less hungry once weaning is underway

[Hopefully]

I don't get a ridiculous appetite when BFing (although it is definitely much bigger than normal), but I've found both times that I didn't lose an ounce until I started to do a reasonable amount of exercise.

I would prioritise seeing GP re coil (can you just get it taken out and use condoms if body issues are causing you real problems? No idea if coil can be removed easily), and meantime even if you can sit in a chair and do some shadow boxing or lift some tins of beans, it will improve things. I always try to work on the theory that even a tiny bit of exercise is better than no exercise, so an extra trip up and down the stairs is better than not moving at all. It all adds up, right?

I've just been on a bit of a diet for my wedding, while BFing, and one of my biggest successes was forcing myself to eat a massive portion of salad before or with lunch and dinner (like, a large cereal bowl full - lettuce, grated carrot, cucumber, tomatoes, bit of sweetcorn). If your stomach is physically full of salad, it's harder to stock up on more calorific things.

Sympathies though, it is hard to lose weight when BFing.