Is it true that breastfeeding makes you fat?

[vanillacremebrulee]

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!

'well, breastfeeding uses lots of calories. unfortunately it also makes many women really hungry.'
exactly! maybe it comes down to how good you are at interpreting your own hunger and eating the extra amount your body needs

I'm sure you never encountered a nazi MrsMicawber, BFing or otherwise

Muslin, it's great that your diet and exercise is helping to get you back into shape, but I'm not really sure that you are answering the OP's query really if your only baby feeding experience is formula. And I'm definately sure that being able to exercise and get off the sofa isn't really an advantage to FF in itself. Genuine question...do you not sit in a comfy spot to bottle feed your baby? I know I did with my first.

I think it has lots to do with your genetic make-up to be honest. Some people struggle to keep weight off regardless of diet and exercise. I used to think I was one of the lucky ones whilst my Mum and sisters tended to be chubby little apples. Then I was diagnosed with coeliac disease and the weight piled on me and I'm now a mini-me of my mum. It was only the malnutrition keeping me thin!

I got back to pre preg weight in about a fortnight bfing. I can eat what I want when I'm feeding every 2 hours or less. However I have twice made the mistake of continuing to consume the same amounts when the feeds start spacing out a bit so yes, in that sense bfing does make me fat!

I have vowed not to make the same mistakes again (am 27 weeks with DC3).

Oooh I like the new deletion thing.

(sorry)

as you were..

So how true is the short feeder no weight loss and long feeder weight loss theory? Fed dd1 for six weeks and she fed for two hours at a time. Am a month into feeding fast ten minute feeder dd2. With dd1 weight fell off. This time nothing so far!

I thought I'd be making roughly same amount of milk but that dd2 has a great suck and dd1 never really learnt to do it properly? Is dd2 likely to be taking a lot less?

Hmmm no weight loss here (at 9 months) and DD is a frequent snacking machine - about 30 seconds every hour or 2 day and night - so we back up the theory!

Who knows the answer to your question, pomme?

The studies of weight loss are not 'theories', just observational studies done on bf and ff women - they are just saying 'this is what happens' and 'longer breastfeeding is associated with less weight retention', and actual length of time bf in the sense of how long the baby typically feeds at each session is not included in the studies I have seen. Here are a couple:

www.ajcn.org/content/88/6/1543.short

www.ajcn.org/content/58/2/162.short

Ooh, I like anecdote threads

I'm tandem feeding and at one point I was worried about losing weight too quickly! It soon levelled out though and I can eat shitloads more than I used to and still lose weight with no effort at all. I think I will breastfeed forever

My DD was 10lb and fed for an hour at a time, I was expecting sveltness, but alas

I kept the weight while I fed - and then lost it all and some more within 6 weeks of finishing. Became slimmest I've ever been as an adult.

My Dad got so worried he phoned my mum and asked if I was sick!

I did carry some extra weight when breastfeeding, mostly in the boobs and tummy area, probably half a stone? When I stopped breastfeeding and shoving in chocolate cake the weight fell off. I think that breastfeeding helped me slim down after pregnancy, but only when I actually stopped breastfeeding. If I hadn't breastfed I would never have lost the extra weight.

i gained weight while bf and am stuck can't lose it at all. hoping when i stop it will fall off...

The studies tell me I need to wait a few weeks before really assessing it tiktok! Possibly jumping the gun at just under four weeks... :)

EauRouge, I can see the Daily Mail headline now...
'SELFISH MOTHERS who continue breastfeeding to keep their figures'
the following week...
'SELFISH MOTHERS who stop breastfeeding so they can go to pilates'
followed by lots of comments from readers: 'It wasn't like that in my day, we just got on with it' Maureen, Sheffield'
'ALL British women are fat anyway' Nigel, Bangkok'

LOL @ conchita !

Breastfeeding doesn't make a woman fat, consuming more calories than she uses does. Let's all quit hiding from the reality here ok?

Some bf mums struggle because a lack of sleep plus excess needs means they are HUNGRY. Being tired makes you crave junk.

conchita

Wow the responses to my question are fascinating really! From one extreme to the other!
My DS is a fast ten minute eater every 3 hours at only 7 weeks so I back up the theory too unfortunately for me :(

i am not able to diet while bf. something in my body totally rebels and i eat more if anything. once i've stopped though, it's been fairly easy.

Should clarify: I BF'd both my DC for around a year each. The last 10lbs only came off once I stopped. I am thinner now than pre pregnancy. And I didn't get any stretch marks (btw do feel ridiculously smug about that )

I'm losing weight too quickly - I think it's less to do with breastfeeding and more to do with having a 21lb baby who wants to be carried all the time, and who doesn't sleep well - I lose my appetite when I'm tired.

I've had constant nausea for the last 4 months too, my dad has a theory that some women are sensitive to prolactin and it makes them feel nauseated - apparently his mum was the same!

With all my 3 DCs my 9 months pregnant weight was 10 and a half stone so that seems to be my natural stopping point.

When I came home from hospital with my first I was outraged to discover that, having given birth to a 9lb 9oz baby, placenta, waters breaking, then having nothing to eat during a 24 hours labour then useless hospital rations for 3 days post-section afterwards, AND feeding a large massively hungry baby I HADN'T EVEN LOST A BLOODY STONE! I'd only lost about 12 sodding lb.

However feeding like crazy once I got back soon did the trick, I started losing a pound a day and before too long I was 8st 2 !! which I had not been for a long time. I was relieved when the weight loss levelled out, I thought I was going to waste away.

I was confident the same thing would happen with DC2, but it didn't. She was much smaller, and although EBF I think my body could cope with feeding her OK without making me lose tons of weight. I remember dieting like mad to try to get under 9st before my 40th birthday and not losing a pound, 6 months later I finally stopped BF her (at 2.5) and tried dieting again, lost nearly a stone just like that - I think I lost 6lb in one week!

DS2 was similar, also smaller and not starving hungry all the time. I struggled for nearly a year to lose the last few pounds, and when I stopped the last feed-before-bed when he was 3, I was successful in a week or so.

I am now about 8st 12lb, maintained through a reasonable amount of self-control and a small amount of exercise, which I am very happy with.

I don't know about at a population level, but it was quite the opposite for me. I'm the lightest I've ever been in my adult life (about 4-5kg under pre-pregnancy weight) which was one of the best bits about BFing.

I didn't put on much weight while pregnant but what I did I kept on while breastfeeding and lost pretty much straightaway when I stopped. The trainer at my gym also advised me this would happen.