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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Exclusively breastfeeding for 6 months and the weight just wont shift!!!

20 replies

loulabella81 · 21/05/2011 20:52

Okay my baby is my priority and Im breastfeeding to give him the best possible start in life. However surely it should be helping me shift my pregnancy weight?????

I meet mums who can eat whatever they like while bf and the weight is dropping of them. I eat sensibly, try to get out and about and must be burning more calories than I take in- so what is going on?????

ive had my thyroid check and all is ok. I really dont get it. I would like to add that I put on 5 stone during my pregnancy :(

Im loving my year off with my baby but wish I didnt feel so fat :(

OP posts:

nethunsreject · 21/05/2011 20:55

If it is any consolation, with both my kids I lost tonnes of weight between about 9mths and a year. One was ff, one bf, but I think it was when they were more active and we were out and about more. Als, I thiink it takes a while for your body to recover!

I am now thinner than pre-pg and ds2 is a year old this week. Slightly different shape, but hey, you cna't have everything and I am happy with that.

NoWittyName · 21/05/2011 20:58

Not all people lose their 'baby-weight' with breast feeding. For some, their body feels they should keep hold of extra fat to be able to give the baby the best possible stuff and only gets rid of the fat when the breast feeding stops. I am NOT saying you should stop breastfeeding - you have the rest of your life to be thin! All I'm saying is that you may be one of those whose weight will shift after rather than because of breastfeeding.
Your baby will think you are the most beautiful thing in the world and everyone else can just wait a bit! xxx :)

paddypoopants · 21/05/2011 21:04

I didn't put on much weight when I was pregnant but loads when I was breastfeeding and i was walking for hours on end and eating fairly sensibly. It only started to come off when I stopped bf- although I still have a good bit to lose 2 years later. I was really worried and my hv told me that many woman put weight on while bf or can't lose it until after they stop. It's pants really I was looking forward to losing weight and instead I became a big blob in about 6 weeks - it was like my metabolism stopped. It maybe that you won't be able to shift it until you stop bf so don't beat yourself up about it.

Pesha · 21/05/2011 21:07

I put on weight whilst bfing with all 3 of mine. With dd I only bf till 6 months and ds1 till 8 months and with both of them started to lose weight soon after stopping. With ds2 I bf till he was 2 but I did start to lose weight before then, I think it was around 9 months when I started to lose it, probably around the same time he was taking in a lot more solids and so bfing less often.

For a lot of people bfing does make the weight just drop off but I have also spoken to a lot of people like me who find it does the opposite.

I am currently 34 weeks pg with #4 and determined to try really, really hard to not put any on while feeding. I can cope with not losing any (even though I know I'll need to, I was overweight to start with and for some reason my thighs seem to have doubled in size in the last couple of months ) but I desperatley don't want to pile it on like I did previously.

Although saying that obviously my baby comes first so if that is what happens then I guess I'll just have to put up with it.

dollius · 21/05/2011 21:07

You tend to lose the weight when you stop breastfeeding. I dropped about half a stone whenever I dropped a feed, but I didn;t lose any weight while I was breastfeeding, iyswim

JustKeepSwimming · 21/05/2011 21:08

With both boys i only really lost weight as they dropped feeds. Also my appetite & tastes changed as i stopped feeding so i wasn't drawn to the more sugary stuff as much. hth.

Original poster

loulabella81 · 21/05/2011 21:39

well I was planning to continue breastfeeding til my boys at least a year. Now im depressed!! No fair!!

OP posts:

mawbroon · 21/05/2011 21:42

Everyone's different, but I found for me it was a longer term thing. By a year, I was back at my pre pg weight with ds1 (had almost 3st to lose), despite being really hungry all the time and eating loads.

Lavitabellissima · 21/05/2011 21:59

My twins are 6 months old and I have lost the majority of my pregnancy weight. I'm still breastfeeding.

I do think everyone is different but I found I could eat what I liked (shed loads of chocolate ) and not put on weight but I wasn't losing anything. I made myself some 'rules'and lost 10lb

I gave up chocolate, but still allowed myself anything sweet I wanted instead
No fizzy drinks
Had a healthy breakfast every day
Drank lots of water
I tried to eat more fruit and veg in addition to normal meals
Did the shred for 4 weeks (missed a few days), it really works!
I often did a real long lunchtime walk, maybe 3/4 miles a day, 2 hours approx as the girls will sleep the whole time, whereas at home they only slept for about 40 mins.

PartialToACupOfMilo · 21/05/2011 21:59

I also lost weight once I started dropping feeds too. I went back to work when dd was six months and I was wearing a size 14 (size 12 pre-dd) and about three weeks later I was back in a size 12 - I know because I bought a new suit and it's now hanging in the wardrobe still looking pretty new! I lost some weight while ebf-ing but not much - not as much as thought I would.

I still BF only before bed (and in the morning at weekends to get a bit of a lie-in) and I'm exactly the same weight again now as I was pre-dd.

She's 18 months now btw.

TurtlesAreRetroRight · 21/05/2011 22:04

I couldn't lose weight while bfing. I ran 4 times a week, ate healthily and was active. I bfed for 3.4yrs and while it slowly went from about a year onwards but then stalled, it wasn't until I stopped that the extra weight went. And quickly.

There is a theory, and many people seem to find it true, that you hold onto the fat in case there's a famine or Sainsbury's goes bust and your bf child is a priority.

I was rather annoyed tbh but I did lose it all in the end. I stopped bfing 6 months ago. I am pregnant again though...

MountainDew · 21/05/2011 22:15

I hit about 10 months, and then whoosh!!! Off it came. Amazing. I've lost 3 stone so far. (still breastfeeding my 2 year old, about 6 times daily). I am way below my pre pregancy weight. In the 'ideal' BMI at long last!

I started walking to groups/work/the park too, so it can't all be credited to breastfeeding, but I certainly think it has helped. I walk (or sometimes cycle) between 4 and 8 miles a day (except weekends), depending on what we do. I don't really do much other exercise.

Wait a little bit longer. It might happen for you like it did for me. And if not, get walking!

MayDayChild · 21/05/2011 22:24

This happened to me. V annoying. I stopped feeding 8 wks ago and it's dropping off with zero effort! He's now 11 months. I fed dc1 to 6 months and it was the same
Body needs fat to produce milk.
I agree it's hard and unfair.

FutureNannyOgg · 21/05/2011 22:28

I started losing faster when we introduced solids. I'm not sure why, but I did notice the other day when I had EBM in the fridge that it had about twice as much cream on it as it did pre-solids. I was also told that my baby (9 months and 27 lb) is probably drinking about a litre a day, and if that's the case no wonder the weight is falling off me.

Okonomiyaki · 22/05/2011 09:19

I'm bf'ing my 6.5 month old and no weight loss here either! More's the pity.

I think with me it must be the extra calories though as around Christmas I dropped dairy for a few weeks (suspected ds was intolerant) and the weight started coming off so fast it was scary. Like, 3, 4 pounds a week scary.

Of course, when I went back on dairy again (cake, choc etc) the weight came straight back. :o

Okonomiyaki · 22/05/2011 09:22

Oh, and apols for the hijack but turtles you're not by any chance an AP'er are you (in the loosest sense of the word)? It's just an interesting age gap - one that we're hoping for.

Cosmosis · 22/05/2011 12:07

futurenanny I noticed the same re the cream the other day.

I am about 1/2 a stone above my pre preg weight, but don't think I actually put on much that wasn't baby / placenta etc anyway so not sure that I've lost any. And to be fair, a lot of that 1/2 a stone is probably the d-cup boobs as I used to only be an A

scarlettsmummy2 · 22/05/2011 12:17

i didn't lose much weight when i was breastfeeding, but lost loads very quickly between 9 months and a year. I think it was because I was back at work and very busy juggling everything. I am now pregnant again and a bit stressed about wether it will be harder to lose second time round!

louby78 · 22/05/2011 20:03

i'm another - I also am approaching the 6month mark of EBF my DS. I haven't dieted but I have tried to be careful - esp this last month and have started running a couple of miles 3 times a week and pilates BUT - I have actually gained a few pounds. I think I'm one that is hanging onto my weight till I stop. Not in a hurry but is annoying I can't get into my jeans!!

DialsMavis · 22/05/2011 21:43

The same here I only BF DS for 4 months and when I stopped the weight came off (well most of it). DD is 6.5 months and i am still a fatty, I lost a bit when she stopped feeding at night. But obviously not much as the stupid old hag on the till in sainsbos said "ahh and you are expecting again too" the other day... fanks a lot!

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