To wonder WTF is going on with my weight pp?

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7 months pp, before bubs used to just do intermittent fasting when I wanted to lose a pound here or there. Currently about 3.5stone overweight for my (short) height but occasionally still breastfeeding a couple of times a day, so can't just skip breakfast for a couple of weeks to start shifting the weight in case it tanks my milk supply.

I'm being super, super good about my diet, and eating very varied, good & healthy mix of foods, but nothing i do seems to have an impact on the scales! I've logged it in MFP and I'm eating about 1800 calories a day which I think is balanced for my 5' 2" height.. yet it's not shifting at all! I've been eating "well" like this for about 4 months, and nada!

AIBU to be wondering what's going on pp with my body? I like to think I'm fairly clued up on having a varied, rich, fresh/filled-with-filling-but-low-cal foods... but I'm bamboozled.

1. Did anyone find that their understanding of how THEY can lose weight changed after a baby? Am I mental or is that possible, for the body to just shift into needing a different approach?

2. Is simply eating "healthily" pp isn't enough sometimes?

I'll paste a "typical" day for me below - rip it to shreds and tell me I'm mad if needed.

--

Breakfast:
Usually 2x wholemeal toast with 2x pat's of butter
Banana
Filter coffee just with a splash of semi-skimmed milk

OR

Bowel of self-made porridge (no sugar, just oats and half milk/half water to cook)
Sometimes 1x TSP of honey

OR
On weekends, 2x wholemeal toast w 2 scrambled eggs or kippers

Lunch:
2x wholemeal bread slices
Tin of veg soups (usually carrots or mixed veg. Occasionally oxtail or mulligatawny or lentil soup)

Dinner:
Varies hugely, but typically:
1 Fish cake with chips (quarter of plate), plus half plate of salad (spinach, tomato, chopped carrots, pickle onion or cabbage, gerkin), tbsp of coleslaw
OR
First size baked potato w similar salad, 1x tin tuna, similar fist of grated cheddar
OR
Tin salmon, half a plate of frozen veg, boiled baby potatoes
OR
Liver, onion, 2 eggs, chips, half the plate full of salad
OR
Fish curry w bowl of veg added, salad, 1 small naan, tbsp mango chutney
OR
Homdemade spag bol w half mince/half soy mince, bowl of spag that is like a small saucer to about 2cm depth, salad, 3 slices of garlic bread (i.e. just less than half a baguette)

Snacks/supper (usually two of per day):
Apple with hot drink
Banana
Third of a punnet of grapes
Tub of raspberries
Whole mango sliced up
Couple of fresh pears
Greek yoghurt
Rarely: 3x square crackers with 2x palm size slices cheddar

Drinks
*only tea and Americano with splash of milk, or tap water or a glass of semi-skimmed milk. No juice, no fizzy drinks at all, no alcohol, no sugar in any drink, no added salt or oils or flavourings.

Forgot to add.. my 6foot 3, v slightly overweight DH has been eating like this for the last 4 months as well and has lost 2 stone (!). I feel like giving up/crying/throwing a tantrum because it feels unfair but i know that's just being childish

I'm surprised you can get that all in for 1800. Are you weighing out your foods and counting extras like cooking oil? What are your macros like on MFP?

Also, I'm eating 1300 to lose, 1800 would maintain for me. What are your stats, have you overestimated your activity level and have you worked out your TDEE (calculators online).

How are you cooking your chips? Also is your mince 5% fat?

1800 cal seems high for your height. Im marginally shorter and need about 1200 to maintain and less to lose. Just a thought.

I’m 5 foot 2 and need to eat 1200 a day to lose.... I think you are eating too many calories a day if you want a loss.

Although this is obviously dependent on the level of activity you do and other factors - have you worked out your TDEE? There is a formula, just google, you can work out what you need to eat to lose.

Good luck.

I think it's too many calories. I'm 7mo and breastfeeding multiple times (5+) a day still and am about the same number of stones overweight as you. I only lose when I'm on 1600 calories or so and even then it's rarely gradual. The 'breastfeeding burns 500 cals thing' is a bit of a myth, and actually breastfeeding can make weight loss harder for some women.

Er I'm 7mo pp, not old...

I'm 5ft 9 and on 1400 cal to lose (only about a stone).

Looking at your meal plan, it doesn't seem that healthy to me tbh, chips regularly aren't going to be great, lose the garlic bread and coleslaw (or cut down) and are you really having a fist sized potato with a fist sized amount of cheese?! That can't be great!

Oh and yes work put your TDEE. My maintenance calories pre baby were only 1450.

It's definitely too many calories. I use mfp and it calculated 1200 per day for me and I am 5ft 5. I have been losing weight slowly ie a pound a week. If I relax the amount of calories to about 1500 I won't lose anything.

I'm also 5'2 and using MFP. Calculated for me to lose 1lb a week I'm on 1290 calories a day. But breastfeeding probably means you need a bit more?

Have you had your thyroid checked since having children? It can throw it out of whack, either temporarily or permanently. You can ask to get it checked as under active can make it difficult to lose weight.

Banana and toast in one breakfast is just carbs/sugar, can you swap the banana for something with protein?

Personally, if I ate the amount of carbs you list in your typical days, I would struggle to lose weight. Carb weight tends to go all on the belly/gut too. Try to switch one meal a day to low carb and see if that helps

Good luck, I had to lose 2 stone after my daughter so I know how you feel!

Personally found that I didn't lose my baby weight until I stopped breastfeeding 🤷at 3months post partum. Then if dropped off with no change in diet

That is a hell of a lot of food!!

I couldn't lose the weight at all whilst bf. As soon as I did it was easier.

Sorry lodged, that's a lot of food to eat when dieting. I'm that short and eat 1200 to maintain 1000 to loose. Cut out all your carbs, make your teas half the size

I can never lose weight when I’m breastfeeding. Ever. With my first pregnancies I stacked on weight and carried on gaining while breastfeeding, only losing weight once I’d totally stopped, and with no effort at all. I now have a 5 month old. I did slimming world through pregnancy as I didnt want to end up hugely overweight after pregnancy and it worked like a charm, I put on 15 pounds and had a healthy 9 pound baby, back to my pre pregnancy weight and clothes within a week. But I simply cannot shift anymore atm. Dd still breastfeeds loads through the day. I see it as a win at the moment that I’m not gaining. It’s frustrating but I’ve never been one of the lucky ones who had weight fall off while feeding, even the hungriest baby.

I'm 5'2 and on 1200 cals per day to lose. If I ate 1800 I'd at least stay the same if not gain.

I'm your height and for me, that would be too many calories to lose weight, I need to stick to 1500 or below to sustain, and between 900 and 1200 to lose. I have an under active thyroid though so these numbers may be extreme for those who have normal thyroid function.

I've been told to eat 1800 to maintain my current weight. I'm 5ft6.5 though. I'm not breastfeeding though.

Thats an awful lot of food.

Im 5’6” and active and I gain if i eat over 1400 calories.

Try cutting down to 1200 or easing up on the sugar and carbs.

Oh and my 1200 menu is
Bfast - two rice cakes with a smear of peanut butter and a banana mashed (half per rice cake). Cup of tea.
Lunch - Warburtons thin with a thin filling of tuna/lightmayo/sweet corn. Sticks of cucumber and pepper, a small orange. Water.
Dinner - A piece of salmon steamed in foil with loads of veg, slice of lemon, few thin slices of sweet potato in too. Water.
Snacks are 2 more cups of tea (I have my tea with a tiny dash of milk, no sugar), and if I've got calories left I'll have one choc digestive with my last cuppa.

I'm 5 foot 6 and according to MFP I need 1250 to lose, 1550 to maintain. If I was eating 1800 a day I'd be piling the pounds on.

How have you got 1800 cal on my fitness pal? Im 4 inches taller than you and my fitness pal has me maintaining on 1800 cal...

Check your height is in right

I’m 5 foot 2 and struggling to lose weight st the moment but if I had what you had in a day I would be really putting a lot more weight on. If you just start by cutting out half that amount of bread you will see a difference.

However I’m struggling myself and I’m not even on a plan.
I’m 10 stone 5 and it looks awful on me!

Are you doing a lot of exercise? That seems like a huge amount of food.