What happened to your weight / size after you stopped breastfeeding?

[weebairn]

I've been pregnant or breastfeeding or both since January 2012!

Littlest has just stopped bf at 20 months old. A couple of weeks ago. I feel a bit weepy - I did when I stopped bf my older one too.

I wonder what might happen to my weight? Over the years many people have suggested I lose weight slowly because I'm breastfeeding, or said that I wouldn't be able to lose much weight while I kept feeding. I have tried very hard with exercise and clean eating and lost most of the weight but it's been very slow. I'm more or less a size 10, I would like to lose just a little more to be back to my happy size. I was only feeding once a day or so so it shouldn't be a particular change in calories burned. Just hormonal I guess. I already have my periods back.

I was pregnant when I stopped bf my older child so no comparison there. I wonder what people's experiences were? I'd really like to find myself a happy body to live in and stay there ...

I exclusively expressed because of undiagnosed tongue tie and couldn't breast feed but all feeds were breast milk iyswim but as I slowed down and started weaning I found I couldn't eat as much as before without my weight creeping up so I started WW but this also coincided with antidepressants kicking in and being able to exercise by walking a lot so I lost two stone! Basically I think you have to cut down your eating when stopping bf or you might find weight starts creeping up.

Following as I am struggling to lose weight and am bfing my 6 month old every 2-3 hours (still!). I have heard lots of people say that breastfeeding made the weight drop off them but I haven't found that at all. I know I could be stricter with food/do more exercise but I'm still not getting much sleep so I'm trying to be kind to myself!

Hoping to feed to 1yr+ but we'll see how it goes. Also missing my sex drive - does that return with the ability to lose weight?!

I lost the weight almost as soon as I stopped feeding ds1 at 15m. Was lighter at booking in for my second pregnancy than for my first. 9 months on and I still have 3st to lose. It's going slowly but I'm pretty sure I won't shift most until I stop feeding ds2 (9m)

Coffeeandoranges, with my first child I found weight really stalled and then loads fell off later. From 10 months it fell off and when I got pregnant again when she was 15 months old I was more or less my old size. So I found bf maybe did help a bit but certainly not at first (and it was pretty exhausting). But I never actually stopped feeding until I was 6 months pregnant so I'm not sure about what happens then!

With second child, the weight hasn't come off so easily, but things have been harder in general this time round for a lot of reasons so I'm trying not to be too tough on myself.

Definitely be nice to yourself, it's a marathon not a sprint as they say. I'd rather lose weight slowly but keep it off. And it's so hard when sleep is broken.

ps. my sex drive came back when my periods did! (around 1 yr old)

I got back to my wedding weight breastfeeding my second dc, the pounds just fell off, including the stone and a half I'd never managed to lose after dc1 (not breastfed). I put on a stone more or less overnight once we'd stopped which I've yet to shift. Pregnancy with dc3 now and hoping to breastfeed this one too. Will be a lot more careful about what I eat when we stop!!

Breastfeeding exclusively burns around 500 cals a day (less when they are tiny).

Warnings about not increasing how much I eat noted!!!

I doubt I was burning 500 cals/day recently though. She's only been feeding once a day at most and I've been away for weekends, etc.

I couldn't lose weight whilst bf DS. When I stopped, the weight just fell off, very very quickly.

Now I'm bf DD and am again unable to lose weight - I'm hoping the same thing will happen when I stop

Fingers crossed lalath!

How old was he when you stopped bf?

He was three, and he really was very fast weightloss - I think the weight was to do with hormones

Weight just fell off me whenever I've breastfed. After I stopped feeding DS1, I did put on a couple of pounds. But that was definitely because I was still eating non stop as I did when breastfeeding. When that stopped I lost the few pounds again.

So there seems to be 2 polar opposites- those who ate loads and still lost weight fine while bfing, only struggling when they stopped, and those who ate normally and struggled to lose weight until they stopped bfing whereupon it just dropped off. I'm apparently in the latter camp although knowing me I'll probably struggle even more when I stop bfing and I still have 1.5 stone to go (I put on loads).

Incidentally I am currently bfing my 6 month old for the 3rd time since he went to sleep at 8pm. Could be yet another loooong night...

hey coffee. hope your night wasn't too bad. Remember you're doing a really great thing. 6 months old is a tough time. Go easy on yourself. x

lalath I'm hoping your situation will happen to me. On DC2: with first I never had the "weight will drop-off when you breastfeed" and everyone was encouraging scoffing so I got quite overweight. Went on WW and exercise at about sand time as stopping bf and lost loads. Thought it was diet/exercise.

This baby is now 15mo and I've been a lot more careful about my eating and trying to get plenty of walking in and I'm as fat as I was with DC1! All that restraint for nothing!

I'm hoping that when I wean baby off his final 2 feeds I'll have a weight drop.

Following. DS is 25 months now, started to self wean a few months ago and I've been away with work in last few months. Can go 4 days without asking even when I'm here then ask 3 mornings in a row. I'm ready to stop but feel mean cutting him off as he is still small and my baby but I really need to lose some more weight to try for no.2.
(Back at pre pregnancy weight - but that is 2 stone overweight!)

Cold it's tough with the self-weaning. DS1 weaned at about 18 months then got pneumonia a month later and breastfed during recovery for another month or so.

I'm selfishly hoping DS2 will self-wean soon. I really would like the freedom (& weightloss), but don't want to take away something that he seems to get so much out of

Thanks website I'd actually forgotten I'd been on the thread when we got up! Was a patchy night but last night better. Even got out for a run yesterday so can attack the weight that way!

And the baby led weaning diet is also effective - give the baby food from your plate and watch as they smear it all over themselves and then drop it on the floor

I lost no weight while breastfeeding. It only came off once I stopped (and quite quickly).

Just found this thread again.

I've been doing WW since beginning of September & lost 5kg, but Saturday morning was DS2's last breastfeed . I feel really mean, because I'm being tough on him and saying no, all-gone, but it's just getting silly, when I'm not in at bedtime it's a mammoth task for poor DH to get him to bed without his breastfeed first. He's now 20 months old & I need the freedom!

So I'll report back on whether weight loss goes quicker or slower. One immediate change is a 6 point reduction in my daily allowance on WW, from 36 to 30; quite a large percentage!