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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Gaining weight whilst breastfeeding.

34 replies

HaveALaff · 31/10/2023 21:40

Are there any other women out there like me (and my relatives)?

I cannot lose weight whilst breastfeeding. It is so impossible. I actually gain weight. After birth, I lost a stone and then gained a stone when my milk came in!!!

Is this just me? ... I am a mum of 2. When I stopped bf with my first the weight came off so I know that this is the problem!

I tell myself that 200 years ago this would have been very protective for me but in this day and age with so much food... It definitely isn't.

OP posts:
Daffodil63 · 31/10/2023 21:43

I had exactly the same and no idea why. Don't worry enjoy your baby 💐

1990thatsme · 31/10/2023 21:45

No, I have lost weight very quickly and breastfed my three for over a year each. I don’t know anyone who didn’t have the same experience.

That must be really frustrating for you! I would be livid!!

Don’t worry about it though, it’s all for a good reason. 💐

Brunts12 · 31/10/2023 21:46

I was exactly the same, as you are, OP. Once I stopped breastfeeding, the weight has gone and I’m talking 3 stones!.. I wouldn’t worry about it, just enjoy this precious time with your baby. You’ve got all your life ahead of you to lose weight 🌸

ShirleyPhallus · 31/10/2023 21:48

There is a biological thing - your body retains some level of fat to ensure it always has stocks to make milk if needed

That, and I very much enjoyed those early days sitting on the sofa, establishing supply and eating cake while watching Below Deck

RampantIvy · 31/10/2023 21:54

That must feel so unfair for you. I lost weight very quickly from breasfeeding. My midwife told me that my uterus had shrunk back to its pre-pregnancy size after 10 days.

Original poster
HaveALaff · 31/10/2023 21:57

Brunts12 · 31/10/2023 21:46

I was exactly the same, as you are, OP. Once I stopped breastfeeding, the weight has gone and I’m talking 3 stones!.. I wouldn’t worry about it, just enjoy this precious time with your baby. You’ve got all your life ahead of you to lose weight 🌸

Oh gosh it's horrible isn't it. I lost 2 and a half stones with my first. DS2 is now 7 months and I want to continue breastfeeding til he is ready to stop. Though part of me wants to stop at 1 year so I can lose this weight!

OP posts:
Original poster
HaveALaff · 31/10/2023 21:58

ShirleyPhallus · 31/10/2023 21:48

There is a biological thing - your body retains some level of fat to ensure it always has stocks to make milk if needed

That, and I very much enjoyed those early days sitting on the sofa, establishing supply and eating cake while watching Below Deck

Hahah, I have a toddler too so I'm mostly bf walking around and chasing after him! Though I miss that time with DS1.

OP posts:
AgaMM · 31/10/2023 21:59

Yep! I breastfed for two years and gained weight. That magical “weight just drops off with breastfeeding” really didn’t happen to me!

As PP said, it’s something to do with your body holding on to its fat reserves to produce the milk.

Original poster
HaveALaff · 31/10/2023 22:01

AgaMM · 31/10/2023 21:59

Yep! I breastfed for two years and gained weight. That magical “weight just drops off with breastfeeding” really didn’t happen to me!

As PP said, it’s something to do with your body holding on to its fat reserves to produce the milk.

Yes that and prolactin also alters lipid metabolism in women too. For many women it slows down the metabolism of fat. I hate how my body responds to the hormone. I feel like my shoulders double in size too.... Can't wait for it all to go down again.

Everyone's body is different I guess.

OP posts:
Cakeorchocolate · 31/10/2023 22:08

I'm the same. Didn't lose weight while bfing my first, currently bfing second and fully expecting to be the same.

It is what it is though. For me at least. It would be nice if I lost weight but I don't / can't put effort into trying.

maw29 · 31/10/2023 22:09

This happened to me too. I didn't lose the baby weight until I stopped and the weight just fell off me.

justasking111 · 31/10/2023 22:09

I went to weight watchers, was surprised how much I could eat. Didn't have a car so pushed a pram everywhere. I was so fit then sigh. The weight did come off. However with the third baby I had to drive everywhere didn't get fit.

I'd just get fit again, your body has been through so much. The weight will go.

Mamato29192 · 31/10/2023 22:13

I lost weight very quickly

CatOnTheCludgy · 31/10/2023 22:28

It's hormones and completely natural. It will go when you stop feeding.

TheKeatingFive · 31/10/2023 22:43

I didn't gain weight, but I certainly couldn't lose.

it's a hormonal thing. Some bodies just cling to reserves. If it's any consolation, it fell off as soon as I stopped.

SylvieLaufeydottir · 31/10/2023 22:46

I lost weight immediately after the birth, but then half a stone just... sat there both times until my baby started properly consuming solids. Wherein my period returned and, without changing anything, the weight fell off in a month. My body evidently demands a certain buffer for exclusive bf.

LuckyPaisley · 31/10/2023 22:52

I put on weight breastfeeding. I was just so fucking hungry, I ate loads! I did have big hungry babies so that probably didn't help.

QueenOfHiraeth · 31/10/2023 22:53

I had horrid pregnancies and was always lighter after giving birth than at conception. Every time I gained 3 stone+ while feeding
I even went to weightwatchers after DC2 and still gained. Came close to trying a prison diet though because one more sickly smile and "we must be cheating somewhere" from the group leader would have tipped me over the edge!

justanothernamechangemonday · 31/10/2023 23:18

I lost all 3 stones of my baby weight with my first, it fell off in 8 weeks.

Came out of my second pregnancy half a stone lighter than when I fell pregnant, and have piled on 1.5 stones in 14 weeks.

I ate so many bloody doughnuts after my first and have been so strict this time round. So bloody unfair!!!

You have my sympathies, OP.

And please ignore the competitive uterus-ing. How very mumsnet.

Original poster
HaveALaff · 31/10/2023 23:35

I really hope I lose the weight this time round. I know every PP phase is different so I'm worried. In the back of my mind I'm constantly thinking about my weight. I eat a bit less than I did when I was slimmer so it's very annoying.

Thankfully baby is weaning and I'm bf less. I did lose 4lb randomly the other day. Not sure why though as that was a bad day in terms of diet? ... I hope it's because of weaning.

OP posts:
ParadiseLaundry · 01/11/2023 16:09

Same with both babies. I started returning to my normal weight at around the year mark both times (fed each baby around 3 years each) This was also around the time my periods returned, that may be a coincidence or not.

RampantIvy · 01/11/2023 16:23

LuckyPaisley · 31/10/2023 22:52

I put on weight breastfeeding. I was just so fucking hungry, I ate loads! I did have big hungry babies so that probably didn't help.

I couldn't believe just how hungry breastfeeding made me.

LylaLee · 01/11/2023 16:28

It's maths. If you're eating 3000 calories and the baby is consuming 500, you're still eating 1000 calories a day more than you should.

The weight 'magically falls off' people who are eating 1500-2000 calories.

Original poster
HaveALaff · 01/11/2023 22:18

LylaLee · 01/11/2023 16:28

It's maths. If you're eating 3000 calories and the baby is consuming 500, you're still eating 1000 calories a day more than you should.

The weight 'magically falls off' people who are eating 1500-2000 calories.

I think all women are different and whilst bf burns roughly 500 calories a day. The metabolic rate for rest of the calories you intake are affected by breastfeeding. It isn't as simple as that.

OP posts:
Yeahyeahyeahno · 01/11/2023 22:21

LylaLee · 01/11/2023 16:28

It's maths. If you're eating 3000 calories and the baby is consuming 500, you're still eating 1000 calories a day more than you should.

The weight 'magically falls off' people who are eating 1500-2000 calories.

It’s not - it’s hormonal.

@LylaLee weight will drop off when you stop breastfeeding (or it dwindles to a point that your period returns). Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck though!