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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think losing weight whilst BFing is super hard

107 replies

cymmtptysm · 30/01/2023 22:37

Hello
I have had 2 kids in the last 2 years and I've put on 20 kg which I'm finding so difficult to shift.

I EBF my eldest for 10 months before getting pregnant with my second. DD2 is now 4.5 months and I've lost 6 kg so far. I have 14 kg more to go to get back to my pre baby weight but I'm just hungry ALL the time.

Also in order to maintain my weight, I used to go to the gym three times a week and I had a fairly healthy diet.

Now, exercise is a myth. I go on walks everyday but it isn't the same as being in the gym. I'd love to join again but I'm breastfeeding so I can't leave my baby. She refuses a bottle.

I try to keep only healthy snacks in the house (fruit, nuts, hummus) but I keep reaching for sugary things. I've even started to make my own oat bars (similar to graze ones) with minimal sugar rather than reaching for the packet ones, but my tummy never feels satisfied.

Ughhhh anyone have any tips?

OP posts:
ChildrenOfTheQuorn · 30/01/2023 22:52

No tips but I go to a mummy/baby exercise class 3 times a week (I exercise, PT watches over the babies) and it's been a complete game changer. It's why I don't buy into the myth about the body "holding onto fat" while breastfeeding.

The hunger is real though 😫

BeatrixPottery · 30/01/2023 23:06

Sorry not my experience at all @ChildrenOfTheQuorn did exactly this and more actually as I was walking loads as well and maybe lost 0.25 lb a week at the very, very most.

Stopped breastfeeding and it literally started dropping off, in fact the second week after I’d fully stopped we were actually away in France so I was necking wine and eating pastries and cheese and DH said at the end of the week it looked like I’d lost some more weight, got back and weighed myself and I’d lost nearly 3lb despite eating loads and not doing much exercise.

I felt my body definitely held on to the weight I’d put on whilst pregnant during breastfeeding.

NamechangeTTC · 30/01/2023 23:09

I have had to really work on losing weight while bf.

baby is 18mo now. 50kg down since birth, about 37 of that with deliberate effort.

I have been calorie counting and running with the wee one as exercise. Got a second hand running buggy.

BelleMarionette · 30/01/2023 23:13

Yabu. I found regaining my pre pregnancy weight easy, and did within a few weeks of the birth of each of my children, while breastfeeding exclusively. I was a normal BMI prior though. As above, there are plenty of mum and baby exercise classes, and you can walk and run with a baby in a pushchair.

BeatrixPottery · 30/01/2023 23:27

Gold star to you @BelleMarionette i was a size 8 pre pregnancy very low end of bmi spectrum. Exercised 3 times a week, did loads of steps was strict about calorie intake )obviously adjusted for the fact I was breastfeeding) and it was a STRUGGLE.

BeatrixPottery · 30/01/2023 23:28

OP there lots of post partum classes on YouTube also.

Jenpeg · 30/01/2023 23:35

I worked hard when EBF and lost a few pounds, I stopped at 7months and lost a full stone with no additional effort within 4 weeks. All bodies are different, my body wanted that fat store and held it tight when I was nursing, I knew this second time round and just waited it out.

bellsbuss · 30/01/2023 23:37

I always lost the weight once I had stopped breastfeeding

Forever42 · 30/01/2023 23:44

I couldnt lose the last stone or so until I stopped feeding. I had a big wedding to go to when DC2 was 18 months. I was still 1.5 stones heavier than pre-pregnancy. I have always lots weight easily with a bit of dieting in the past but I could not shift the last stone. I reduced calories right down, cut out cards, upped the exercise but lost only a pound or two. I was still feeding DC once or twice a day. 4 weeks before the wedding I cut it out. The weight dropped off and I was back to pre-pregnancy weight within weeks and have stayed there ever since.

ReedRite · 30/01/2023 23:44

Yep, was a slender size 8/10 before pregnancy, didn't put that much on during, but couldn't shift weight AT ALL while breastfeeding despite great efforts, but then it melted away pretty easily afterwards.

It was like my body was going 'nope, you might need this fat to make milk with, so we'll be hanging onto it for as long as you're feeding, thanks very much'.

I don't doubt that some women can lose while bf (lucky buggers!), but loads really can't. Weight loss should definitely not be used as a means to sell bf to women.

Forever42 · 30/01/2023 23:45

Sorry for typos. lost weight easily and cut out carbs of course.

minipie · 30/01/2023 23:50

Honestly it really seems to vary.

I lost weight very quickly in the first 6 months of BF, I was on hospital pumps due to dd being prem and think I was producing butter. Weight crept up on weaning, as she wasn’t taking nearly so much but my eating habits were formed. But EBF definitely did the job for me.
However a friend couldn’t lose weight until she stopped BF, it’s as if her body was holding onto the calories as a pp says. I think our hormones work differently.

BillyNighysWife · 30/01/2023 23:54

I think it does vary. I am naturally plump and have always had to watch what I eat, but BF was an exception. I could eat anything I wanted and lost weight. It made sense to me at the time. Producing milk does require lots of extra calories.

navybluewhale · 30/01/2023 23:58

I've never felt hunger like it, I'm breastfeeding my 12 month old (a lot) but the weight has finally dropped off in the last few months without any organised effort.

OP at less than 5 months postpartum amd with two little ones don't be too hard on yourself.

I think a lot depends on the individual, I've never thought exercise works for weight loss as it makes me hungry, but it's obviously good for other health reasons and for toning up.

stargirl1701 · 31/01/2023 00:03

I found EBF meant I lost weight but after weaning the weight loss was negligible.

JudgeRudy · 31/01/2023 00:24

That's interesting. I was led to believe breast feeding helped with weight loss, or more specifically a return to pre baby shape. I pinged back pretty quickly with first. I walked a lot as I couldn't stand being in the house but I also guzzler litres of milkshake. I bottle fed my second and it took longer to get back in shape. I also had less time for walking around.
No advice really except is it possible you have a poor thirst reflex. I do and sometimes I think lm hungry and I'm thirsty. I'm guessing you need additional fluids if your loosing fluids. Have you tried drinking more?

pizzaHeart · 31/01/2023 00:32

I was at my thinnest probably while bf. And my diet was mostly cheese sandwiches and biscuits

PizzaPizza56 · 31/01/2023 00:32

Both my GP and physio said it's 50/50 whether you've got a metabolism that clings to fat while breastfeeding or sheds fat while breastfeeding.

Physio said that if you cling to fat you're more likely to shed when you stop bf but if you lose fat then you're more likely to gain weight when you stop bf.

Original poster
cymmtptysm · 31/01/2023 07:45

Thank you all for your responses!!

What I've taken from this is that everyone is different and it just depends on whether my body sheds or clings into fat whilst bfing!

I'm going to look up some YouTube exercise classes and do those at home. If anyone has any that they've tried, I'm open to recommendations!

I definitely do think I need to drink more water, so I'm going to up my fluids too.

I also signed up to a sweaty mamas class but I can only attend that once a week due to childcare for my eldest.

I do go out for walks everyday like I said, but I only manage about 20 mins before my 2 year old starts kicking and screaming to be held. She doesn't want to walk, just wants me to hold her 😭

OP posts:
Original poster
cymmtptysm · 31/01/2023 07:50

@Forever42 I have a big wedding too!

My SIL is getting married in September and I want to look good!

I go back to work in June so bfing will reduce significantly and DD2 will have to take a bottle whilst she's at nursery. Im hoping that will accelerate my weight loss.

I really don't want to stop bfing altogether purely to lose weight.

OP posts:
TheKeatingFive · 31/01/2023 07:52

I worked hard when EBF and lost a few pounds, I stopped at 7months and lost a full stone with no additional effort within 4 weeks. All bodies are different, my body wanted that fat store and held it tight when I was nursing

This was me too.

I couldn't shift it at all when feeding, then it fell off after I stop with no effort whatsoever.

itsabigtree · 31/01/2023 07:55

Weight falls off me whilst breastfeeding without me trying. It's great... I'll have to actually start watching what I eat when I stop Blush

I have a huge over supply of milk which I sometimes think might be why, I struggle to keep up with eating enough calories and sometimes end up dizzy.

DingDonkey · 31/01/2023 08:17

I am the total opposite. Once they get to about 9 months and start being more active then they start taking so much milk that I really struggle to maintain my weight. I am currently 48kg, aiming to get back up to 52kg...I eat a large bar of dairy milk and drink a pint of whole milk every evening and I'm slowly getting there.

DingDonkey · 31/01/2023 08:18

itsabigtree · 31/01/2023 07:55

Weight falls off me whilst breastfeeding without me trying. It's great... I'll have to actually start watching what I eat when I stop Blush

I have a huge over supply of milk which I sometimes think might be why, I struggle to keep up with eating enough calories and sometimes end up dizzy.

Interestingly I have a huge oversupply as well.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 31/01/2023 08:19

Personally I wouldn’t even try until you stop bf