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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Breastfeeding and weightloss myth

56 replies

Greatgoing · 20/08/2010 12:44

I have breastfed both my babies and both experiences have been wonderful-easy, positive, convenient, all the usual. I definitely felt that initially feeding 'pulled' my uterus back in, but that was a very much internal sensation.

However, does anyone else agree that the whole 'weight drops off' thing is absolute codswallop? I eat really sensibly,do loads of excercise but there is no doubt in my mind that breastfeeding actually makes me retain stubborn preg fat round my stomach, arms, thighs.

As pro pro pro breastfeeding as I am I smother a smirk when I read celebs sighting breastfeeding as the way they 'sprung back into shape'. Is it just me?!?!?

OP posts:
pigwitch · 20/08/2010 12:49

No it isn't just you! I definitely hold on to pregnancy weight whilst I'm bf. In fact I didn't stop bf dc2 until I was pregnant with dc3 and now I'm bf dc3, so I still haven't lost my weight from my 2nd pregnancy never mind my 3rd! Sad

peppapighastakenovermylife · 20/08/2010 12:50

Nope not just you! I actually put more weight on whislt breastfeeding than I do when pregnant Hmm

Ok so the cake doesnt help but even when I try to cut back nothing happens. Have learnt just to accept it but yes do giggle at the celebs saying all they did was breastfeed and are suddenly a size zero again!

Original poster
Greatgoing · 20/08/2010 12:53

good to hear! I have no sweet tooth so dont even do the cake thing. I remember literally the week after I stopped bf ds1 I could suddenly get back into old clothes again. In a way I guess it makes things easier as I know that whatever I do I will remain booby and rotund for a few months yet!

OP posts:
TheCrackFox · 20/08/2010 12:57

For me I would have lost weight but I found BF gave me the biggest appetite ever. I couldn't stop eating.

Cies · 20/08/2010 12:57

Sorry, but I'm with the celebs on this one - I'm eating for Britain and still losing weight, and ds is now nearly 9mo. Grin

mousymouse · 20/08/2010 12:58

you are not alone, with ds I only started to really loose weight when I did not feed him any more.
now with dd (8m) I have lost a little through running and walking but I am constantly hungry and I tend to comfort eat when bored at home.
I know it will drop as soon as I am back at work, with proper lunchbreak and walk to and back from work.

chimchar · 20/08/2010 12:58

Another fattie bf here!!

I held onto loads of pg weight when I was bf.

Wish my weight had come off...the amount of time I fed my kids for, I would have been super skinny!

Penthesileia · 20/08/2010 13:00

Sorry, but I one of the lucky ones, so it's not a total myth. Weight dropped almost dangerously fast in the first few weeks of breastfeeding (until I took up eating chocolate); and I've been able to eat cake every day since my DD was born (over 2 years ago) because she is such a boob monster. Actually, I'm dreading Wink her giving up, as I'll have to start eating sensibly again... Grin

RunningOutOfIdeas · 20/08/2010 13:02

Well the weight fell off me when I was bf DD. Or it might have been because every time I sat down to eat she woke and wanted feeding.

FlipFantasia · 20/08/2010 13:15

I totally thought it was a myth - as didn't lose any weight after the initial drop after the birth and if one more person said to me "oh don't worry, the weight will drop off because you're BFing" I would have screamed!

But in under 3 weeks I've lost 15 pounds. I literally just cut out cake/chocolate/fruit juice and the weight is melting away. I knew I was comfort eating and eating unhealthy snacks and having cake with friends with babies almost every day (SMP means I can't afford that anymore anyway!) rather than having any sort of extra appetite and it was getting me down so I thought I'd go on a bit of a GI health kick. I'm still eating a lot, just a lot of healthy stuff (and am being quite strict about the no cake/chocolate) so haven't ever felt hungry. I looked into it and apparently 100ml of milk (about a feed) is 70 calories and my 5 month old DS still feeds a fair bit - every 3 hours - so I reckon that's why it's working for me. So I now I'm a believer...

belgo · 20/08/2010 13:17

I've been bfing ds for nearly two years and it took a year for the baby weight to go. I eat A LOT and I will never be skinny! But every time I eat a little bit less, the weight falls off very quickly. Then I eat more again and it comes back on.

gomummy · 20/08/2010 13:17

Not a total myth. Weight dropped off scarily fast in the first few weeks bf, and continued regularly for about a year. By the end of BF, I weighed only about 3/4 of my pre-pregnancy weight and was actually quite concerned that I might be seriously ill! Had to start eating reasonably basically overnight when BF ended though...

TonariNoTotoro · 20/08/2010 13:18

It's not a myth!

Some women lose weight while BFing, some don't lose any weight until they stop BFing and then it all comes off, and some women just don't lose any weight without dieting and loads of effort.

Guess which bloody category I fit into.. Grin

mamaloco · 20/08/2010 13:23

I am with tonari. For me I had to stop BF you start loosing wait.
Do you really live next to Totoro? [I want that house emoticon] best film ever! sorry nothing to do with the thread! Grin

octopusinabox · 20/08/2010 13:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TonariNoTotoro · 20/08/2010 13:28

mamaloco, sadly no. I wish I did though! Grin

Habbibu · 20/08/2010 13:32

Not a myth for me either - weight dropped fast in first few months of bfing, both with dd and ds.

missjackson · 20/08/2010 13:46

Sorry, also one of the smug ones here - by the time DS was 9 months, I weighed a stone less than pre-pg. But he was a boob monster and 95th centile, and was exclusively bf until 6 months, and it's only around then that I really noticed the weight dropping off. And it took him ages to start eating any solids properly. So that's probably a factor.

SardineJam · 20/08/2010 13:48

I lost loads of weight through breastfeeding, I was/is smaller than I was before pregnancy!

HumphreyCobbler · 20/08/2010 13:49

I lost weight by dieting while I breastfed. But it was only when I stopped bf that the last half stone came off, before that no dieting in the world was going to shift it.

ShrimpOnTheBarbie · 20/08/2010 14:02

With both babies I was still the same weight as just pre birth weight at 3 months PP. I've had to embark on a strict WW and running-with-pram regime to lose the weight. Still feeding DD2 but after DD1 stopped BF, I lost 5kgs with no effort at all literally overnight (well, in a fortnight) after stopping when she was 15 months. Luckily I managed to eat enough chocolate in the next few days months to stop me from looking gaunt (and fitting into the proudly purchased size 8s).

GormlessHeart · 20/08/2010 14:13

Think it's one or the other- I was lucky though and got thinner and thinner, now he is feeding so much less though (fair enough, he is 21 months!) I am back to my pre preg weight. Definately agree with the appetite thing- could eat enormous portions when bf loads.

jemjabella · 20/08/2010 15:09

All I eat is cake and ice cream (on top of my normal meals!) and the weight is falling off.

Sorry.

Allegrogirl · 20/08/2010 15:22

A myth for me too. I was exhausted and comfort eating though.

Of the people I know those that struggled with weight before pregnancy didn't lose weight through bf and those that hadn't had weight problems did.

I wish they wouldn't sell it as a certain benefit of bf as it can lead to disappointment.

lovechoc · 20/08/2010 15:30

It didn't happen with DS1 when I was feeding him and I haven't lost a great deal of weight yet from BFing DS2 (he's nearly 5 weeks old). It is a myth for some of us. I am envious of those who just lose the pounds from BFing.