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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

I thought breastfeeding was supposed to slim me down?

47 replies

Applecrumble0110 · 02/02/2025 20:13

Aibu for relying on breastfeeding to make me slim cos all I've heard is how everyone who bf loses the weight? My baby is 9 weeks old and I'm just getting fatter and not really overeating either. Just my normal amount

OP posts:
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GloriousBlue · 03/02/2025 00:53

With both my babies, I BF

I ate what I wanted and slowly lost weight, though didn't lose any weight in the first few months.

By their first birthdays, I was at my pre pregnancy weight without trying.

For me, I was never going to lose weight quickly while still BFing

PotaytoPotahhto · 03/02/2025 00:43

Raynexxbow · 03/02/2025 00:27

From what I've seen , women eat wtf they like and that's all

So your comment lacked any scientific knowledge or understanding and was instead based on your own anecdotal experience.

Well that makes complete sense!

Raynexxbow · 03/02/2025 00:27

From what I've seen , women eat wtf they like and that's all

YankSplaining · 03/02/2025 00:25

Breastfeeding made me so ravenously hungry, for the first time I could relate to those teenage boys who want third and fourth helpings. I didn’t lose any weight (though I didn’t gain any either).

PotaytoPotahhto · 03/02/2025 00:20

Raynexxbow · 03/02/2025 00:17

Bf slims you down if you eat normal amounts of food.

Not true.

Some women burn calories when breastfeeding. Others have their metabolism slow down so that they burn less so they have a reserve for their child.

Raynexxbow · 03/02/2025 00:17

Bf slims you down if you eat normal amounts of food.

Applecrumble0110 · 03/02/2025 00:14

Thanks ladies for the advice and comforting words! I will give myself some grace for a few more months and then really look at my diet and walk lots more outdoors (if the British weather co operates)! ❤️

OP posts:
Lola3034 · 03/02/2025 00:09

Plaided · 02/02/2025 20:56

I put on 20kg when I breastfed. I only put on 3kg in my entire pregnancy! Took me so long to lose, still trying to lose in now 4yrs later!

Same! Barely put any weight in pregnancy, 2 weeks after giving birth I was slimmer then before getting pregnant but the sleep deprivation caught up with me and I was craving sugar all the time. My weight started creeping up and up. It didn't get any better when I stopped breastfeeding. I tried dieting but after one too many failures ended up on Mounjaro.

PeloMom · 03/02/2025 00:03

i only lost the weight once I stopped breastfeeding

Phoden · 03/02/2025 00:01

I’m gutted too - I stopped losing weight when DS was two weeks old. He’s now 4.5 months and I’ve stayed exactly the same since then, despite EBF. 12kg heavier than I was before I got pregnant!

junebirthdaygirl · 02/02/2025 23:49

I breastfeeding fed three for about a year each. You may not like this but l only started losing weight after a few months and when l stopped the weight fell off me especially on my thighs. So just relax, it will come off but unfortunately not in 9 weeks. As the weather improves you will be able to get walking with baby, drink plenty of water and healthy snacks..lots of them as you will be extra hungry.

Theresidents · 02/02/2025 22:26

9 weeks is nothing. You still have internal swelling.

RomeoRivers · 02/02/2025 22:23

I heard that too, but with DC1 I didn’t lose anything until I started dieting hard at 3 months postpartum- lost 3 stone in 3 months.

With DC2 I dieted more gently and got the 3st off in 6 months.

I’m now 10 weeks PP with DC3, lost 1st 9lbs so far, but I still have another 2st to go 🙄 I use Noom.

I always bf for 10 months, but find it only helps the weight loss up to 6m PP, once I start weaning I guess my calorie burn reduces. Definitely frustrating that it doesn’t fall off easily.

intrepidgiraffe · 02/02/2025 22:03

First baby dropped off straight away. Second baby took ages but then all dropped off at once (whilst still breastfeeding)

PinacoladaV · 02/02/2025 21:57

All of my weight literally dropped off me the weeks after I stopped breastfeeding. Wish I would have known, I fed DC for 3 Years! 🙈

mumsiemoo2 · 02/02/2025 21:57

I lost a lot of weight breastfeeding both my children, but to be fair it wasn't immediately. My second is now 7 months and it's probably only the last 3 months or so that's it's becoming noticeable.

Also I wouldn't say I particularly eat anymore than I used to and I'm pretty sure a huge part of it is down to lack of sleep also 🤣

I think it just takes a bit of time.

JandamiHash · 02/02/2025 21:45

I breastfed but I only lost weight because my babies didn’t sleep so I didn’t have time to eat.

wonderstuff · 02/02/2025 21:43

I gained weight with my first, I’ve never been so hungry than when I was breastfeeding! I cut out the massive amounts of cake and chocolate and I eventually got back to a similar weight than before pregnancy. Never got back to the same shape though! My boobs went down a cup and and my tummy remains quite wobbly.

Caterguin · 02/02/2025 21:38

I ached all the time though. All my joints, all the time. Thought it was carrying / bending etc all the time, but it magically stopped when I stopped bf.

Rose459Beach · 02/02/2025 21:25

Hahahahhahahaa yeah I got told bf would help me lose weight.

All it did was make me hungry. And I was mega sleep deprived. And had no time for a proper healthy meal. So I'd graze all the time. Probably adding thousands and thousands of calories.

pelargoniums · 02/02/2025 21:22

I was skeletal breastfeeding my first baby but she used to get up at the crack of dawn and only nap in the sling and only if I did a full Riverdance throughout the nap, 20 minutes at a time, 8 times a day. Fed hourly as well, round the clock. I was a HUSK.

Baby No.2 had studied the baby books and understood the assignment: sleep for four months. He’d periodically stir for a feed but largely I sat on the sofa watching all 628 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy and eating an obscene volume of Audrey’s violet creams; DP was on extended paternity so he did all the school runs while I rested… and rested… and rested… and ballooned…

It’s less the breastfeeding and more the riverdancing, imo.

SwerveCity · 02/02/2025 21:02

strangerontheinternet · 02/02/2025 20:14

Lost a ton of weight breastfeeding 1st baby. Have not lost weight BFing baby 2 🙃🙃

Exactly the same as me. I lost loads with my first, became slimmer than I was before I even got pregnant. Second baby, I didn’t lose any at all, put more on in fact.

DramaAlpaca · 02/02/2025 20:59

I didn't lose a thing until I stopped when DC1 was 9 months. However, I was already pregnant with DC2 so I put it on again pretty fast.

Drivingoverlemons · 02/02/2025 20:59

TheEllisGreyMethod · 02/02/2025 20:28

I don't think it works that way really. I lost weight, because I was spending hours attached to DD cluster feeding and she was a clinger so I could never put her down to have a drink or make food, and DH worked 7 days to fund my mat leave. I felt horrendous and I probably looked like I was stuffing my face to the outside as whenever I went out and someone else could hold her - I did stuff my face.

Same here!

spinningbirds · 02/02/2025 20:58

Hey you, you total hero ! God you must be exhausted, your'e doing an amazing job :)

I didn't lose weight breastfeeding either, with both kids. I was also frustrated by it, everyone said I would, I couldn't understand!

I guess I was too bloody tired and hungry and bored and overstimulated to even contemplate regulating my eating though, so I just gave up thinking about it. I breastfed for six months.

Eventually after baby was over a year old and sleeping well, I found I could regulate my life more, and slowly slowly slowly lost tiny amounts of weight, with the help of weight-lifting and exercise mainly. It probably took nearly 3 years until I was a weight I was happy with again.

We're all different aren't we - so go easy on yourself right now. Eat loads of good veg and drink plenty of water and try to make sure your prioritise your own sleep over most other things (a tidy clean house can bugger off, for example!!) and know that you'll get there in good time.