To wonder WTF is going on with my weight pp?

[IronicalCallSign]

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.

You're eating too much, and far too many carbs to lose weight.
I'm 5'2" and if eat more than 1600ish on a regular basis I gain weight.

OP it took me about 18 months for my metabolism post-babies to return to normal. Like you I just couldn't shift the weight but it went eventually and I don't put on weight any easier than I did in my teens.

I am a bit about the calories thing, I definitely need upwards of 2000 a day but I'm taller I guess. Some people on here though who claim to gain weight on a small amount I really don't think are normal (at least not in my life experience).

I guess we're all different but the point is my metabolism definitely changed when I was pregnant and after. Generally I don't put weight on that easily but suddenly I did but it wasn't permanent.

You’re eating way too much and you’re breastfeeding if you want to lose.

I’m 5ft 10 and lost 10lbs (I was slim before) to take me down to a size 6-8 in the summer by cutting calories to 1200 a day using MFP. I had one day off a fortnight where I ate anything I wanted but every other day I tracked religiously.

Cut your cals to 1200 and it will come off. 1800 is to maintain for your height. Breastfeeding won’t be helping the situation either!

I'm on week 2 of a very strict diet and exercise 6 week body transform program... I should lose 20 pounds by the end. (Have about 2 stone to lose in total).

Some of my typical meals:

Breakfast: 150g of Greek yoghurt with a tbsp of natural peanut butter for breakfast/ poached eggs with smoked salmon/2 poached eggs on one slice of soy and linseed toast/breakfast smoothie made with 15g oats, 50g Greek yoghurt, 50ml coconut milk, handful of frozen raspberries, one egg white/2 boiled eggs with asparagus soldiers.

Lunch: bacon and lentil soup/ham omelette (2 eggs) with spinach and mushrooms/150g turkey breast with feta (30g) served with cauliflower rice and green veg/150g chicken breast, 50g prawns with green veg...

Dinner: one chicken drumstick served with 4 small potatoes (150g), asparagus, courgette and shredded cabbage/chilli made with 150g 5% mince, tinned tomatoes, half an onion served with 50g brown rice and green salad/baked salmon (150g) with asparagus and celeriac chips (half a Celeriac cut into chips and sprayed with fry light) baked in the oven.

Snacks: 30g of dark chocolate with 20g mixed nuts/carrot sticks and 80g hummus.. (one snack a day)

Green tea and water (splash of cordial if need be), one or two black coffees allowed.

Portion size has a lot to do with it op plus you are eating a lot of processed food and a LOT of carbs.

Are you exercising? I'm going 45 mins of cardio/resistance training 3 times a week plus 50 mins of jogging/walking/swimming another 2 or 3 times,

My diet is strict but actually it's giving me a kick up the back side and getting my body used to eating proper nutrition, exercising regularly and reminding me of portion sizes.

I used to do slimming world and whilst it worked initially I got lazy and didn't stick to controlling my portions. I also got into the habit of drinking wine every night so a 6 week break from alcohol will do my the world of good.

I'm planning on using what I've learnt and doing a mixture of slimming world (on the weekend eating "free food" and having 30 syns), then through the week sticking to the meal plans (using Michael Moseleys fast800 book as a guide to vary my meals).

I'm running the GNR next year and a 10k in Feb plus have a few 5ks coming up over the next few months.

I want to have a good relationship with food, alcohol and exercise so that my children understand naturally how to lead a healthy lifestyle.

It shouldn't be hard to be healthy it should be second-nature.

My naturally slim friends mostly have small
Portions, eat more good foods than bad, don't regularly drink to excess and exercise as part of their daily routine.

I think that the problem is the carbs - bread or potato at every meal. Can you look at a low GI/low GL diet - its the only one that works for me. Try a protein based breakfast - 2 microwaved scrambled or coddled eggs and a rasher of bacon (can microwave that too). Or Greek yogurt with grated apple? And a salad or veg soup (use a bean or chickpea based soup not a potato based one) for lunch with no bread. I find I can only lose weight by cutting the carbs.

Is 1800 calories what MFP has calculated for you? That seems huge compared to what it recommends for me to lose 0.5lb a week and I'm taller than you. I wonder if you're allowing calories burnt for breastfeeding which I don't think you should be at your current feeding frequency? I don't think the food you're eating sounds too bad, but of course portion size and oil make all the difference.

Oh I meant to say as well - my friend just could not shift any weight pp until she stopped breastfeeding, so it does happen like that for some women unfortunately.

I'm 5ft 2 also and wouldn't loose weight eating 1800 calories, that's maintenance for me. I need to cut down to at least 1400.

I think people have different metabolisms and calories can't tell the full story. I've about a stone to shift at 10mo pp but I also believe it's the breastfeeding that's responsible. Doesn't that make sense evolutionarily? When you're feeding a baby, it would be sensible for the body to store extra resources in case of famine before weaning is complete. That's my excuse anyway. Postpartum thyroiditis is also common, not often diagnosed and usually sorts itself out in the fullness of time, I have read.

YABU for saying bubs 🙄

I agree with others about not losing weight when breastfeeding, I really found this. What worked for me was cutting out the beige food so the carbs came from elsewhere and I had a relatively low daily intake. Also upping water intake so I was drinking 2 litres without fail. Your calories sound a little high for weight loss and too much bread, Potatoes etc. As a PP says it’s not just a case of calories in calories out but what type of food. You don’t mention exercise. I know diet is the main consideration in weight loss but I have found nothing happens to my weight unless I pay attention to daily exercise of some sort. I found the Michael Mosley books helpful - sensible approach and not written by some wellness quack.

I agree with pp you are eating way too many calories and seem to be really underestimating how many calories is in what you eat.
The garlic bread alone will have around 300 cals for just under 1/2 a baguette. Then the things like coleslaw can really add up. You say a tablespoon of coleslaw, is that an actual tablespoon measure or is it a heaped spoonful. You can easily add a couple of hundred calories for that. A fist of grated cheese could have another few hundred.

Maybe let your body “be” while breastfeeding and come back to losing later. You probably won’t naturally overeat but maybe the awareness and stress of it is putting your body under pressure.

When it comes to losing weight what the food is makes no difference at all.

To borrow from Dickens. Eat 201 calories, use 200 you will lose. Eat 199 and use 200 you will lose.

If you are in any doubt google people who have done a "McDonald's" diet and still lost weight. (They've not been overly healthy, its not to be recommended but they've lost weight).

Most people overestimate the amount of food they need and underestimate the calories they consume. All diets will reduce the amount of calories you eat one way or another.

Post Partum Hypothyroid issues probably.

Tsh needs to be below 2.5 ideally and you shouldn't have any antithyroid antibodies.

Many many women get it after pregnancy as an autoimmune condition.

I can't eat gluten or dairy since having DS (2yra) as it makes the weight gain 10x worse.

I'm slowly losing weight without much affort since starting levothyroxine a few months ago.

Also the lack of sleep OP could be it. Raised cortisol levels can cause serious weight gain/prevent weight loss.

DS is 7 months. I am doing a version of intermittent fasting. I manage around 14 hours (finish dinner by 6.30, eat breakfast at 8.30). I am still feeding lots over night. I am seeing a very gradual weight loss. (Still eating a fair bit of cake etc). It hasn't impacted supply, although my supply has always been good.

The advantage of McDonalds is that portions are very standardised so the calorie counts are probably as near to accurate as you'll find anywhere. (Not that it's a great health food, although a you can do a lot worse than a chicken salad and water ) Portion size is the biggest hurdle with calorie counting, unless you meticulously weigh everything as it's so easy to overestimate sizes.

It does sound carby, and while carbs are delicious and have their functions, you do need a good mix of vegetables/ fruit and proteins too. I find a portion control plate handy for focusing on the balance of different foods.

A calorie is a calorie isn't untrue, too many will hinder losses/ cause gains, but going for nutrient rich foods with fibre, fats, proteins and complex carbs that take longer to digest than sugars and simple carbs make it easier to fill up on less calories without feeling deprived.

After birth I had to work on building muscle and my metabolism back up after many sedentary months from SPD then tough recovery births. While exercise is not a major calorie burner, lean muscle does help with healthy sustainable weight loss.

Breastfeeding calories are difficult to quantify and will need adjusting down through the weaning process.

Wow lots of advice, thank you all!!

I haven't ever had to look at lower level details like carbs Vs protein... But I can see you're right, on balance, I need to adjust.

Breastfeeding, well, I'd heard about the 500 Cal's thing so added it to the 1300 that mfp said.. naive!

Also my activities aren't at normal levels either.. fairly traumatic csection, recovery has been much, much harder than I'd realised. It's only in the last few weeks I've been able to e.g. walk at speeds without a hot burning stabbing pain at my belly button. I need to fix that

Sorry for using bubs too, sleep deprivation has kicked in twee mode without realising!

What a depressing thread! 3 meals a day with 2 snacks a day (of fruit usually!) is really not too much food! And she’s breastfeeding too!

I gave birth on 21 August and am exclusively formula feeding. I have about 5-7lb to lose to return to my pre-pregnancy weight. But I gained only just over a stone and a half during pregnancy by ignoring the advice to eat more calories during the third trimester: I just ate what I usually eat.

I now eat three meals a day, no snacks and stop when I feel full. Also trying to go out every afternoon for at least a half hour walk with the baby.

The add 500 if you are breastfeeding is when you are breastfeeding every feed before the baby is weaned. If you are only feeding a couple of times a day at most then you need to calculate accordingly.
You also need to really look at the calories in everything. I have just looked at the wholemeal bread we have in at the moment and it is 110 cals per slice, add 80 for the butter and another 100 for the banana and you have a 400 cal breakfast.
As an example today I had a poached egg on sourdough toast with a tomato and mushrooms done in 1 spray of oil and the whole lot came to 220 cals. Much more filling, many more nutrients and nearly half the calories.

Mfp has a breastfeeding setting!! Im guessing thats hasnt already been accounted for in the 1300 at your height!.

momtoj it really is if the portion sizes are too large. I eat three meals a day and snack in between (including on chocolate biscuits if calories allow). I still eat around 1200 calories on days im not exercising and a bit more on days i exercise.

Shit, no I just added on the 500 Cal's mentally because that's what people say if bf. I'll have a play around with the settings mentioned, and the tdee calcs etc.

I think the advice is universal in this thread, basically: fewer cals, calculate a bit more robustly, look at the mix of carbs I'm having. Probably move more too but that's harder to do.... Diet is easier to control & predict

I was in the same place than you, felt I was careful with what I was eating, doing what I felt was quite a bit of exercised and was losing nothing, it was so disheartening and I stated to think it would never happen. I am 5'2''.

I changed two things:
I started to calorie count. This made me realised that I was a bit loose with some of my counting before. I agreed with myself I would be totally honest no matter what as it otherwise totally defeated the reason for doing in the first place, even if I wasn't sticking to a lower calorie intake that what I wanted. I found that doing it this way, I was quite happy with a take of about 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day.

The second thing I did was changed my exercise regime. I used to run mainly, also swim and cycle, at quite a high level, but these used to leave me shattered. I therefore decided to focus more on weight and strength. I stopped running but instead started to do HITT classes and weights in the gym. Nothing much happened the first 3 weeks, it was quite frustrating, but after 4 weeks, the weight suddenly started to drop. 2 months on and I've lost 1/2 a stone.

1,800 calories is an ok amount to remain at the same weight, or if you want to lose weight slowly and you are doing intensive exercise.

If you are not doing much exercise, or only gentle exercise (walking), it is not too surprising that you are not losing weight on 1,800 calories a day. You would probably need to go down to 1,200 a day.

It's much better to include exercise with a 1,500-1,700 regime, but you then have to remember that if you increase your muscle mass, you might not find the scale going down much, but feel the weight loss feeling looser in your clothes.

I'm 5"4 and need to cut down to 1200 to lose weight.