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 have lost more weight since DD started solids I think, but at the end of the day it depends how much you eat versus how much you feed. Eat too much and you'll keep the weight. Eat much too little and you keep the fat as your body thinks it's starving. Eat as normal and you'll burn extra calories and lose weight. That's how it works IME anyway.

DD is 6.5 months and I've lost a stone and a half since having her. Absolutely no deliberate dieting/exercising, simply no time/inclination to eat as much as I want to.

I managed to put on a stone while breastfeeding dd2. That urge for cake... I was constantly craving sweet food and feeling tired, throughout my breastfeeding time. When I stopped bf all my energy rushed back and the urge for cake subsided greatly.

Sorry that last sentence makes no sense. What I mean is I am hungry literally all the time but never get time to eat or don't actually feel like eating.

YANBU never lost a pound through BFing; it all came off after.

I think it depends on how much you have to lose. If you are close to normal weight I think it won't make much difference. The body (wisely) keeps reserves while you're BFing, which is why, as almost everyone on here has noted, you tend to lose a lot when you drop feeds or quit BFing. Your body won't let go of that cushion as long as you're the main source of nutrition to your baby -- what if there's a famine?!?

it burns down the calories while you are feeding. Mind you, not overeating at the same time.

Well, it was certainly the case for me. I struggled to keep the weight on while breastfeeding, eventually settling on a weight 5 pounds lower than pre-preg. I remained that weight until DD weaned at 13 months, within a couple of months the five pounds were back on...

YANBU
It is a con and propagated deliberately to encourage women to b/f

Sadly I think it's often a green light to eat which could be part of the problem

I've dropped several stone without much effort while breastfeeding, and was eating all day (mostly fruit though).

When I was pregnant, I lost nearly three stone (the day before I had DD, I was three stone lighter than when I started the pregnancy).
I b/f for 18 months. All the weight I didn't gain when pg was gained then. Arse.

"It is a con and propagated deliberately to encourage women to b/f"

Have you got any evidence at all to back up that extraordinary statement? I accept it isn't the case with everyone but it certainly was with me and other people I know. Fairer perhaps to say it can help with weight loss rather than it will help, but I think that's all that's said anyway!

And the amount I ate while breastfeeding was astonishing.

I lost all my baby weight while exclusively BF and I kept a bar of Galaxy on my night table which I would snarf down whilst feeding. I don't know how much I had of it per night but I do remember really liking it.

After a few weeks I changed to biscuit-based night-time chocolate.

It wasn't a conscious decision, it just suited me.

And yes I did have a terrible tooth abscess / removal a few weeks later.

I'm back in my pre-pregnancy jeans already and a dress size smaller than when I got pregnant. I'm exclusively breastfeeding and eating like a pig. Nothing is off limits. Buggered if I know how it's working as I normally have an underactive thyroid. It's a mystery to me as I know other mum's who've lost nothing when bf.

yabu - the claim that it helps you lose weight is true. you burn up more calories than if you weren't breast feeding.

which doesn't mean you will lose weight. that depends, of course, on whether you take in less than you burn off. and, as b-feeding often gives you a huge appetite, that can be tough.

I don't think it's a con as such, it is misleading though because although some BF mums will lose weight while some certainly won't.

Myself I lost all 2 stone of my baby weight plus another half a stone in 6 weeks while BF. I was back into all my pre-pregnancy clothes within 2 weeks despite stuffing my face and doing no exercise.

Unfortnately I've been weaning DD over the Christmas period and the combination of reduced feeds and over eating has lead me to put half a stone on. I am actually quite concerned that stopping BF totally when the time comes will leave me looking like a blimp :)

I lost my baby weight very quickly while breastfeeding (and ended up smaller than before I got pregnant). However, I was lulled into a false sense of security so upped the snacking... DD reduced her BFing when moving so solids but I was still snacking and the weight has piled on.

I guess I'm about 1.5st heavier now and working hard to lose it.

"I'm exclusively breastfeeding and eating like a pig". That was me and the weight melted off despite night chocolate.

Doesn't mean that's true for all and neither does it mean that it's a lie, con or horse-shit either

I can't believe someone asked you how you managed to go up three dress sizes! Isn't that something that's different for everyone, too?

I am bfing at 13 months. Lost no real weight until solids, but didn't move much either. Was at pre-pg weight by 10 months (9 months on, 9 months off..) and have lost a stone since then without really having to try.

No real incentive to stop bfing here!

Worked for me, always hovered between 12-14 tall 5 foot 8 dd was big lost it all v quickly to a size 10, put on the size 12 when finished feeding her at 15 months.

This time only had lost a stone by the time ds was 3 months so went to slimming world (HV and every single person I mentioned it to were very scathing so I stopped saying it) ds is now 11 months and I lost a futher 4 and a half stone. One thing for me is that I don't drink any alcohol at all whilst feeding so when I stop and have wine o'clock that doesn't help with the weight increase

Yes it's different for everyone...that's why I asked

Definitely worked for me. In the first week I could literally feel my tummy contracting during feeds and after just a fortnight I'm sure I could have fitted into my old jeans - not that I attempted to, I barely got out of my pyjamas for a month, but I'm sure I could have. And I was eating loads as DH made me three large square meals a day during his paternity leave - and snacks! Ah...those were the days.

11 months on I am still bfing and still keeping Cadburys in business so I do worry what will happen when I eventually stop. I've got very used to eating what I please and it not affecting my weight at all. Apologies if that sounds smug - it was certainly not the case pre-baby!

Lost my baby weight so fast it startled me, back in pre-pregnancy clothes after about 2 weeks, while bf DD at about 4 months old I was probably the lightest I'd been in years. Stopping bf however - the weight has crept back and brought a few chums along for the ride! I've no idea though if this would have been the same had I ff.

One thing I would say is that the weight thing is different for everyone but you can lose the weight if that's waht you want at any time. For me BF my gorgous dc has been worth it fat or thin .

I have lost all my baby weight (and I put on 3 stone when pg) plus a few pounds in 8 months of BFing and eating more or less whatever I want. Seems it's different for everyone! But if it takes something like an extra 500 calories a day to breastfeed, it's hardly an extravagant claim that it is likely to help you lose weight.

I also went from a size 10 to size 16 - I put on weight when pregnant and then more when breastfeeding, probably because I was eating so much (because I was always hungry). At 6 months moved onto mixed feeding (solids, FF and BM) and strict diet, stopped BM at 7.5 months. Have lost weight slowly over this period - roughly 2lbs a week, now adding up to 2 stone. Still have another stone to go.

So for me increased appetite when BFing more than compensated for the calories used. Loosing the weight is going to entail 4-5 months of very strict dieting.