To think losing weight whilst BFing is super hard

[cymmtptysm]

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?

I think second time round is definitely harder, for a variety of reasons, and some of it comes down to the baby too.

I did EBF both mine and continued to feed for 15 months, first time I had no problem losing the baby weight while feeding as he was a really hungry baby and would only sleep while moving so I walked many miles!

Second time was completely different, a less hungry baby and less able to walk because of the demands of the older sibling. I did still lose some weight, presumably I have that type of metabolism, but it was slower and went back on very easily if I wasn't very careful.

I think the posters are right that are saying be kind to yourself, try and eat nutritious food to take care of yourself and do activity that makes you feel better - your body's grown a baby and it deserves a bit of looking after for that!

Thank you everyone for your kind words.

I downloaded the nutracheck app as suggested by a PP and it recommends calorie intake of 1669 per day! Surely that's a little low for a breastfeeding mama.

I had a good lunch. Two slices of avocado toast with 2 eggs. I also went to my first sweaty mama class and my legs are feeling like jelly, I've been out of it so long 😩

Still feeling quite full after lunch so thanks to those that suggested the food swaps, I've noticed a huge difference already to how full I'm feeling.

I have made spaghetti bolognese for dinner tonight, but I'll still need something to keep me going until then.

Not sure what to have that's already in the house!

I think it's a myth that breastfeeding women really need loads of calories to make milk. I think 1669 is pretty generous calorie allowance, so long as you use your calorie budget wisely. Something that is quite counter intuitive is to factor in fat to your diet: avocado, cream, butter, peanut butter etc. It is so much more satisfying than empty carbs such as a plain rice cake or toast. I had diabetes when pregnant and ate a high fat/high protein, low sugar/loe carb diet. My hunger pangs completely vanished and I could go much long between meals without even thinking about food. I stopped gaining any weight once I started eating like this.

I think that insatiable hunger is actually your body's response to constant sugar spikes and crashes. Try going low sugar/high protein and fat. Make sure you always pair a Carb with fat or protein. It was like a miracle! I'm out of the way of it now but would love to get back to eating this way as i felt fantastic !

I don't know if my experience was typical but it didn't seem to make much difference how much I cut out, I still couldn't lose the last stone whole breastfeeding. I went on a really quite restrictive diet and only dropped a couple of pounds. After I stopped breastfeeding it dropped off even when I ate normally. I was v slim before DC and am very slim again now so I just seem to store fat when breastfeeding.

I did 16:8 intermittent fasting from 6 months and found the weight dropped off pretty quickly. I drank plenty of water during the fasts to keep my supply up. I breastfed until 2.5y in the end but kept the weight off.

@cymmtptysm your body has done such an amazing thing.
Don't think of it in terms of what you think it looks like.
Think of your body as a super power because it really is.
Giving life to dc has to be our biggest miracle.
Putting men on the moon is absolutely nothing compared to growing a baby.
If it takes a few extra stone to do it then so what.

It dropped off me while EBF all 3 times (not boasting, just sharing my experience).

6 years on however as I enter peri, it's creeping on!

Do what you can while young! X