to think the claim that breastfeeding helps you loose baby weight is from the same horseshit govt. propoganda campaign as that old chestnut "nits only like clean hair"?

[grubly]

I have always been a size ten but one mahoosive baby (11lbs) later took me up to a size 16. daily five mile walks and a sensible diet did nada. 6mths in, the baby established on solids and i went down two sizes over night. giving up breastfeeding totally at nine months was like taking off a fat suit. AIBU to think that the claim breastfeeding helps you loose baby weight is all a big fat con?

I think it might be different for everyone :)

Does for some people, doesn't for others - my mum was down to her pre-pregnancy weight within 6 weeks of giving birth, I'm 2 stone heavier after 5 months

has worked with all 3 of mine, and in the early days pulled my tummy muscles back in again v. quickly.

YANBU - IME eating the baby's weight in cake each day can mean putting on plenty of weight while BF. A good half stone for me at least.

Still BF but reduced cake to average greedy consumption and back to normal weight.

I put on weight after giving birth (directly caused by the truckloads of twirls I ate while sitting breastfeeding) but lost about 2 stone very quickly with no effort when I stopped breastfeeding. I think different people have different metabolisms/bodies react differently to breastfeeding and I know I was also eating out of boredrom because bfing involved a lot of sitting in the early days (but so would ff so who knows) - definitely still glad I bf for 8 months.

Different for everyone - my two big babies got my below pre-preg weight within 6 mo, despite a diet of muffins. A friend of mine who has a very slim build had a similar experience to you, though, so I guess it's down to individual metabolism. It would be interesting to see a proper study to see beyond anecdotes.

Every feed I dropped, I lost another few pounds, so no it didn't work for me.

Though it did affect my appetite & taste so i may have not helped my weight loss by eating cake

Gosh yabu. I keep my weight, which is vast after pg, for about six months after bf...which is generally when I stop stuffing my face like a pig!

Different with each baby too.

With ds couldn't lose an extra stone (eek) until I totally stopped feeding when he was 20 months, despite eating really healthily and exercising.

With dd (who was my second) it all fell off in the first 5 months even though I was doing nothing and eating cake like a pig.

There is not rhyme or reason.

Worked for me, I lost 2 stone! Big, hungry, non-sleeping baby, and we live at the top of a massive hill.

I dont go with it, i was constantly hungry when feeding so didn't lose much. When i stopped at 16 and 17 months my body seemed to recognise something had changed and the weight fell off both times. Agree that everyone is different, must be helpful to some women.

It's different for everyone, bf definately helped me lose weight. I weighed less 8 weeks after the birth than I did when I got pregnant. I was eating the same, so it must have been the bfing.

If the thought of losing weight is the one thing that makes a mother give it a go, it's worth it.

Must be different for all. I was down to pre-baby size by about 7 wks PP, now at 20 wks am smaller than was before fell pregnant. But I wasn't skinny before, approx a 14. But DD loved/loves her food, she was only 7lbs at birth and put approx 1lb a week on for a while. Now a chubba.

Made absolutely no difference to my weight. I am now down to pre pregnancy weight (2.5 years on and still bf) but believe me, I have counted every single sodding calorie.

TBH it was the tiredness that made me so hungry!

Must move to the top of a hill with a cake shop at the bottom!!

I think it's different for everyone, I lose weight quickly when I breastfeed and always put a bit back on when I stop (3 DC's) but I have heard of people having the opposite experience. I think it depends how your body stores fat.

How did having a baby take you from a size 10 to a size 16?

sooooo true in my case, weight only came off very very gradually regardless of any amount of exercise until stopped bfing and both times, whoosh all the weight came off..... very strange. Stopped with ds after two years, weight fell off. Stopped with dd after one, weight fell off.
Found it impossible to resist any form of food whilst bfing which has a lot to do with it, I expect! But whenever I tried to diet I felt AWFUL and it seemed to make the dcs so unhappy too.

Different for everyone

I lost loads though when bf (smaller than pre-pg)

And was eating like a horse

Doing the same thing this time as well (DC3)

There is no rhyme nor reason, it depends on the mother's metabolism and other factors. I breastfed for no more than three or four months with either son but have always lost weight for a good year after birth which I put down to adrenaline, stress, sleep deprivation, not having time to eat and not really being a comfort eater when I do.

Works for me, though the weight comes off odd places, My ribs are all skinny, my underbust is the size it was when my waist was 6" smaller. I'm all tits and arse now.

mutznutz: how did having a baby take me from 10-16? no idea. I was a stick with a whopping bump and then when the baby was born suddenly I was all huge tits and plumpness. its a mystery to me.

breast feeding my small babies made me extra skinny! With all my kids i breast fed and by 3 to 6 months was half a stone lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight. I even ate cake once a day and the weight just fell off. Stopped breast feeding about one year and put some weight back on each time.

It worked for me, but each person varies as others have said.
Iirc the claim is based on having to produce x calories in breastmilk so therefore if you're not eating anything extra whist BF you should lose weight as you burn/lose calories in breastmilk

breast feeding my small babies made me extra skinny! With all my kids i breast fed and by 3 to 6 months was half a stone lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight. I even ate cake once a day and the weight just fell off. Stopped breast feeding about one year and put some weight back on each time.