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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Is it true that breastfeeding makes you fat?

125 replies

vanillacremebrulee · 22/03/2012 21:20

The NCT postnatal course leader says that breastfeeding mums have trouble slimming down because nature tells your body to hold on to all the extra layers of fat - just in case, you know...
It sounds a bit bollocks to me! If anything shouldn't breastfeeding help to slim down because you're burning more calories? I've put on an enormous amount of weight with the pregnancy and it's a bit depressing to know that I've got no chance of losing any for the mean time!

OP posts:

midori1999 · 23/03/2012 09:42

I lost a stone very very easily just after having my daughter. I practically survived on cakes, sweets, biscuits and crisps. Now I'm doing Slimming World and have lost another stone fairly easily whilst 'cheating' quite a lot. Eg. 4 1/2lb last week, despite having eaten several cakes, a huge KFC, a Chinese takeaway and fish and chips. I also ate loads the rest of the week, by stuff on the SW plan.

So I would say BC helps me lose weight personally. I still have a couple of stone to go, but I weigh less now than I have for years.

MuslinSuit · 23/03/2012 09:44

It is easier to lose weight through diet and exercise for formula feeding mums though - can't argue with that surely?

I'm feeding DS less frequently (though still on demand) and as I said, only have my own nutrition to worry about so can indulge in silly effective diets. I'm not glued to the sofa bf.

Us ff mums get a bad press - let us have this one

NagoosBeenCleaningWindows · 23/03/2012 09:45

I had two babies and ended up thinner after than before pregnancy.

I BF for 10months both times, ate a lot of cake, and was active :)

MuslinSuit · 23/03/2012 09:48

This thread isn't massively representative - bf mums clearly have different experiences in naturally losing weight or not, but ime ff mums can make a choice to actively lose weight through diet and exercise. Much harder surely for bf mums? The option is there to ff and one of the main advantages is that your baby is no longer reliant on your body for his nutrition.

BigBoobiedBertha · 23/03/2012 09:51

I lost all my baby weight within 2 weeks both times (didn't put that much on - it isn't that impressive really). What I found was that I could eat what I liked when I bf but the minute I stopped bf (both were over 12 mths) and kept on eating in the same way I started to put weight on which I hadn't done when feeding. I suppose I needed less calories.

So no bf didn't help me slim down but it did have an effect on appetite so I can see why the NCT course leader would not expect people to lose weight.

Astronaut79 · 23/03/2012 09:53

I lost all my baby weight really quickly after both dcs (4 months in now), I can see my hip bones again and my waist is heading towards wasp-like again.

However, there's a stubborn bit of fat down the front (under boobs to mum tum) that will not shift, no matter how much walking I do. From what I remember with ds, that's the last bit to go and it'll be when I finish feeding again.

WoTmania · 23/03/2012 09:54

Apparently research indicates that women who had a normal/lower BMI before becoming pg tend to lose weight easily while BF whereas women with above average BMIs tend to hold the weight and often put on extra.
Anecdotally for me and my friends this tends to be true. I lost it all within weeks (BMI of around 22.4 pre-babies) as did a number of my slimmer friends where as the ones who were bigger struggled. However I would also say that I'm an active person and while I don't do any 'formal' (for want of a better word) excercising I walked everywhere I could when pg/small baby in sling and still carry my 3yo in the sling a lot. I'm sure that makes a big difference rather than driving everywhere.
I can't say what NCT person said makes sense. I was under the impression that during pregnancy you lay down extra fat for use during Breastfeeding so you don't have to eat loads of extra calories when breatfeeding (does that mak sense?).

cutegorilla · 23/03/2012 09:57

I put on weight BF but it's because I eat too much. It makes me really hungry. I know from past experience it's much easier for me to lose the weight when I stop BF. Other people I know seem to lose loads of weight when BF even when they think they are eating a lot. I'm not sure you can predict what will happen to you.

MuslinSuit · 23/03/2012 09:58

WoT - I low-carb dieted prior to pregnancy to maintain a lower weight than I would naturally be

When pregnant, I ate sensibly and put on a massive 5 stone! Hence low-carbing again to get rid of the final 2.

I wouldn't have that choice if I was bf. I am in control of my diet.

Ciske · 23/03/2012 10:00

I'm losing weight rapidly while BFing. I don't eat anything extra - my MW told me that most women eat more than they need to anyway, so there is no point trying to scoff an extra 500 calories in each day. Just eat healthily and make sure you don't go hungry - listen to your body, it'll tell you when it needs more food.

The NCT course leader should stop scaring women and give them proper advice about nutrition while BFing so baby and mum stay healthy, that's a much better use of her time.

scarlettsmummy2 · 23/03/2012 10:01

I had my second baby 7 weeks ago and since coming home from hospital I have lost 22lb (in addition to whatever I lost giving birth). I am exclusively breast feeding and really think it has helped. I have been using myfitnesspal for last two weeks and it has not affected my milk supply. I do agree that the last few pounds can be harder to shift, but I really think its a great way to kick start the weight loss. I still have 5lb to go if I want my bmi to be 20 again but no rush for that.

cutegorilla · 23/03/2012 10:01

And that my 3mo sleeps through the night already due to a nice full bottle-fed tummy

Ha ha... my EBF baby was sleeping through at 3mo, at 4mo he started waking in the night then with a run of illnesses he hasn't really slept through since, now 8mo and mix fed and eating solids and still not sleeping through.

mumnosbest · 23/03/2012 10:04

for me bf helped weight loss and the fact i was eating for dd too made me eat more healthily.
doesnt bf help yor womb contract in the early days?

scarlettsmummy2 · 23/03/2012 10:06

Also agree with ciske, just don't eat the extra 500 calories a day. I am currently sticking to 1700 calories a day and haven't been hungry.

WoTmania · 23/03/2012 10:06

Muslin - if you haven't BF you don't what your body would have done surely? Sounds rather like you're just trying to start a row.
FWIW, I also know a fair few people who excercised while BF (not sure how BF is a bar to excercise tbh) and depending on whether you use slings etc being a mother is it's own excercise. As to not being 'tied to the sofa breatfeeding' do you never feed your baby then? I certainly wasn't tied to a sofa and got out and about plenty.
Many people find that low carb doesn't work for them and there are plenty of diets out there suitable for BF mothers that work. Just because they don't for you doesn't mean they don't for other people.
I'll have a look at Kellymom for the research I read.

WoTmania · 23/03/2012 10:08

Ciske very good point about eating to hunger. It's probably a bit like people who put on lots of weight while pg because they are 'eating for two'. It's not an excuse to scoff extra food, well it can be but don't then complain about not losing the weight.

emsyj · 23/03/2012 10:16

"ime ff mums can make a choice to actively lose weight through diet and exercise. Much harder surely for bf mums?"

So what? I don't get it. Are you saying that women do or should make choices about feeding their newborn based on how difficult that feeding method will make losing the baby weight? What a bizarre suggestion.

I'm inclined to agree with WoT that you're just trying to start a row - what a shame that yet another thread has to degenerate into a bf/ff bunfight.

OneLittleBabyTerror · 23/03/2012 10:19

I think Muslin is trying to start a row too. This thread is about experience of losing weight while bf. I think what WoTmania says about pre-pregnancy BMI affecting whether you lose weight while bf makes a lot of sense. I just googled for a BMI calculator and I have a BMI of 17.6 atm . I'm hungry all the time, I eat cakes. I don't eat low fat versions of anything. I'm very active, but I don't want to stop doing exercises. And I weigh less than I was pre-pregnancy. So I can only attribute it to bf. I'm hoping once I stop, I'll be able to put on a few more kg.

Sorry Muslin, you have to diet to lose weight. I think I'll choose to eat my cake.

OneLittleBabyTerror · 23/03/2012 10:21

Well said emsyj. I'm not choosing my feeding method just because it might make me have a better figure. (In my case, retain some curves).

midori1999 · 23/03/2012 10:30

Muslin, I am in control of my diet, I have made a conscious decision to lose weight and exercise, although in my case although I don't deny I would like to look a bit 'better'. it is for health reasons. I also get plenty of sleep in spite of my DD still waking at night, having decided to start co sleeping again. (Incidentally, I know plenty of FF mothers with much older babies that still wake at night, some of them hourly) I've managed all of that whilst also happening to BF my child.

Choosing to BF doesn't mean you give up all hope of any sort of normal life and I have found very few of my choices or decisions have to be changed because of it. Plus, having previously FF, I find BF much easier/less time consuming.

MrsBovary · 23/03/2012 10:35

I lost my weight quite easily, but had a lower BMI pre pregnancy anyway, as has been mentioned.

NagoosBeenCleaningWindows · 23/03/2012 10:37

I have brilliant tits for a year after having a baby

PleaseLeaveVictor · 23/03/2012 10:49

With ds1 I lost weight quickly initially whilst breastfeeding but then put it all and more back on over the year that I was feeding him.

Ds3 is 9 months old and I am still breastfeeding and haven't lost any weight although my diet has been awful (3 big bags of mini eggs, 2 family bars of choc, biscuits, takeaway or unhealthy dinner every day) and I have put over 2 stone on since he was born. An doing well at slimming world now though and I think bf is helping me along.

MuslinSuit · 23/03/2012 11:01

Ok, maybe I am a bit in bunfight mode

I'm making the point though, that bf does make it harder to shift the weight if you need to diet .

Obviously bf doesn't 'make you fat', but surely it's useful to the thread to make the point that you can't focus on weight loss when your main focus is the nutrition of your baby.

Of course I didn't make the decision to ff to make it easier to lose weight, that's a ridiculous suggestion - it's a bonus though, no harm in a bit of vanity, that's the whole point of the thread surely?!

Oops, I forgot you're not allowed to point out the benefits of formula feeding on MN though

WoTmania · 23/03/2012 11:13

Muslin: 'I'm making the point though, that bf does make it harder to shift the weight if you need to diet.'

And most of us are saying this isn't our experience. You can both diet and excercise while BF.

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