I can't stop eating! Help!

[MistressofPemberley]

DD is 10 weeks and my weight hasn't moved since she was born when I lost 1.5 stone instantly. I'm about another 1.5 stone over my pre pg weight.
I'm EBF a big, hungry baby. The thing is I am eating so much. Huge portions, puddings, cakes, chocolate, biscuits etc. I'm always hungry.
The weight is starting to get me down a bit, and while I don't want to diet, I would like to reap some of the BF weightloss benefits.
As eating so much for 10 weeks has not caused any extra weight gain, will simply cutting out the fatty/sugary essentials treats be enough to make a difference? Or do I need to rethink the whole thing?
Any tips, anecdotes, wisdom etc gratefully received, and if anyone fancies coming along for the ride please say hello!

Being hungry when bfing is normal, it uses up extra calories. Craving sweet things with a young baby is also normal - you are tired so your body wants an energy boost.

You could swap the cakes for grapes etc and probably shed some weight that way, but you also need to be aware that your body may hang onto some fat while bfing. I found the last half stone only went (and easily) when I stopped feeding at 17 months.

Give yourself a break. Your baby is only 10 weeks old..

People respond in different ways to BFing it seems. I have friends who are normally v slim but whose bodies held on to a bit of extra weight whilst breastfeeding, as well as friends who lost too much, and very quickly.

The first few months are quite a shock to the system. You need extra energy to combat the general exhaustion too. Easier said than done, but try to focus on nourishing food - decent meals rather than sugary snacks. I say this as someone for whom cake and biscuits suddenly became a significant source of calories for many months.

12 weeker here looking for tips and joining on the OP's bandwagon as I have gone from someone who did not have a sweet tooth at all to having cakes and biscuits et al all the time. Am starving hungry (and thirsty) all the time!

I know better ie how to make better meals but there just seems to be no time (reflux baby).

Any tips welcome!

Joining in. Tiredness + lack of time = bad food choices. I was a prolific dieter pre pg so am trying to remember how. I write down what I eat. Making note on my phone, usually while bf'ing like now.
If your weight is stable then small changes should get it going down. Rapid weightloss rarely lasts.
One day at a time

Joining too...no time to eat and when there is a window of opportunity I just eat everything I can lay my hands on - mainly cake, biscuits, toast...arrgh

I feel so ripped off that I haven't lost any weight through breastfeeding. I am so ridiculously, ravenously hungry all the time, and constantly crave sweet food. I have been seriously trying to limit the amount of crap I eat, and stick to sensible portions but my body seems determined to hang on to every last ounce it can. Doesn't help that my already slim friend lost all her baby weight in a couple of weeks thanks to bf, and now has to eat extra helpings to stop herself wasting away

I was absolutely ravenous and ate masses until DD was about 4m, now at 6m I am hungry but I don't feel I have to eat non stop anymore, and I don't have to eat during the night anymore either (even though DD still feeds every 2 hours through the night).
I started to exercise at 11 weeks but stopped very quickly as I was just shattered, it was a mistake for me to do it while bf. I just make sure I go for a walk every day, and won't worry about it until I stop bf.

I'm the exact same and DD is 10 weeks old as well. I'm just 4 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight but that still means I'm 1.5 stone overweight. I had been losing weight on the 5:2 diet pre-pregnancy but I don't want to do that while breastfeeding.

Just this week I'm starting to track my calories using mfp and trying to eat fruit like apples instead of mr kiplings apple pies!

It's so hard though, I can sit down and eat half a pack of biscuits in one go.

Hi fellow gannets BF-ers. Glad to see I'm not alone.
Helga I do fancy the 5:2 but not until I've stopped BF. It seems like a diet I could do. How did you get on with it?
owl I find walking good but it can exhaust me. I get the shakes and have to cram the first food I can find down my thirst the second I get in.
petcat it's the sensible portions I find hard too. I can eat at least as much as my enormous DH.
creamtea and MrsSpag I agree, toast, biscuits, basically everything refined and crappy basically.
sunflower I too have experience with dieting and used to have pretty good willpower. I can hardly go a couple of hours without eating now! Those small steps (so 'no chocolate today') for example are all I can cope with.
lurker and noble thanks for your words. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself, and caring for a baby does drain energy. I just don't want to 'give up' IYKWIM, just because I've had 2 DC. I don't feel at my most attractive, and if I can shift some weight relatively painlessly I'll give it a go!

I found that i needed to eat lots for first 3 - 4 months to function.

The I reduced the sweets/chocolate slightly as no longer needed it to funtion but still eat good large meals and some snacks.
Then at 3 half months the weight just started falling off naturally (a lb every week) and if continues I will be pre pregnancy weight by 6 months ish. early after birth I gained weight slightly due to BF. Still BF and planning to continue as long as possible. so try not to worry about weight and remember you are feeding your baby so on times need extra calories and the weight will come off. Go walking with pram when you can. slow weight loss is best for figure returning without lose skin and for health and for keeping lost weight off.

I believe in 9 months on 9 months off. Last week was the first time I didn't have a box of flap jacks and chocolate milk next to me day and night. Dd is 14 weeks.WWhen I get down ababout the weight i just look at her chunky little legs and thinkt 'I did that'. [ grin]

I had the same - I think it's entirely normal for bf mums to shovel as much food in their mouths as they can. I had to completely forget manners for a few weeks - I just needed to get the food down me as quickly as possible.

The weight didn't come off when I was breastfeeding, but came off after I finished breastfeeding, even though I didn't consciously change my diet.

Because we are told that bfing helps with weight management, I suspect many mums think it means they will automatically lose the weight when they start breastfeeding, but my experience and that of my colleagues, is that the weight has come off naturally when we finish breastfeeding. Your body knows what it is doing.

Thanks all. I feel much better knowing I'm not alone. Not a good night or day so far with DD. I had very nutritious vegetable and barley soup. Desperate for something sweet now!

Mistress I loved the 5:2 when I was doing it. It was just so easy, I'd generally fast till about 6pm then have a 400 calorie dinner. I'd have the final 100 calories as soup just before bed as I wouldn't sleep if I was hungry. I never actually counted calories on my off days.

I did it for about 2.5 months and lost a stone. It's not the fastest weight loss but it felt sustainable.

I ate like an absolute gannet with dd1. It was Christmas time and there was loads of cheap chocolate around and I literally ate a box a day. But she was 11lb and very hungry. I put on 2 tone in a year and it has taken me two years and gestational diabetes with dd2 to get it off again.

Dd2 was much smaller and far less demanding for milk and I'm not eating anything like as much. I do notice milk production increases when I eat sweet and fatty foods though. So I think your body knows what it needs to be able to feed your bay.

You only gave birth 10 weeks ago! After I had ds2 (ds1 wasn't breastfed very long) I very slowly began to lose weight when he was about 3/4 months old, it was slow though (1-2lbs a month) when he was a year old I was at pre preg weight and stopped losing weight (even though he still breastfeeds loads, he's 19 months now). I didn't try to lose weight as I just couldn't, I have no will power and have spent the last 19 months eating crap. I ate healthily before and didn't have a sweet tooth, now I crave shit food.

I'm starting to feel like I should shift the last few pounds, dd is 6mo. She still feeds loads but I have noticed that I don't need to eat quite as much crap, as I was doing.

I'm another one who developed a sweet tooth during pg, which has lingered. I've been buying a bag of funsize choc bars and can then have choc without eating a whole big bar. Obviously some days I eat 3 or 4 of them but other days, the small fix of sugar is enough.

I've also decided not to eat pastry (I love pies and pasties). It means I can still eat more or less what I want, but am not cramming in quite as many empty calories. Just had chips for lunch, tho, with lashings of vinegar. Lush!

rosiedays I agree! My DDs chunky little thighs are my proudest achievement, to date!

Reading this thread has made me feel better. I'll lose the last few pounds, eventually. OP, with a 10 week old I wouldn't worry at all!

Totally feel your pain here mistress, my LO is only 7 weeks and I'm just so fed up with my body. EBF so starving all the time too, I know it will take time and slot of effort but I just can't be assed :(

DD2 is almost 4 months & EBF. I lost all my baby weight in the first 2 weeks, but I've been so ravenous all the time since then, that I'm now back to the weight I was pre-delivery. I'm sure it'll settle eventually. If it doesn't I'll be the size of a house by the time she's weaned!
I just think the constant hunger is my body telling me what it needs and maybe I just needed some extra weight to BF.

Starting tomorrow, no gonna worry to much about what I'm eating BUT will;-
Shred x 2/3 a week
Drink 2l of water every day
No excessive choc, if I'm going to have some it's one bar only

Fingers crossed

Nice to read your messages. I feel much better thanks to a bit of sisterly solidarity. TBH I've basically made no changes since I posted last week. We had a weekend away (kids too) full of lunches, chocolate, wine, beer etc.
I think I was a bit down about clothes not fitting, catching sight of my reflection, terrible posture etc. Seeing Kate Middleton's flat tummy everywhere didn't help either (I know, I know).
Loving this cold, crisp weather so am enjoying strapping baby into sling and going for walks.