Do you or do you not lose weight more quickly from breastfeeding?

[JoshandJamie]

Just trying to get a straw poll on this as I always see this put down as one of the benefits of breastfeeding but am not convinced how true it is.

Personally, I found that I only lost my baby weight once I stopped breastfeeding because I was constantly eating like a horse. And then I had to train myself back into not eating like a horse once I stopped.

But am happy to find out that actually it was just me who remained a biffer till I was done and that everyone else loses weight as a result.

Note: this is not meant to start an inflammatory war about the pros and cons of breastfeeding. I know the benefits - but am just not convinced about this particular part of the sales pitch.

Am guessing that when exclusively breastfeeding then your body need extra calories to compensate for that. So if you always ate exactly the same as you did before pregnancy/breastfeeding you'd probably lose weight. However, this does not apply if (like me) you sit on your arse and eat everything in sight, as you probably consume many more calories than you could ever burn off breastfeeding.

So I think what they actually mean is that it increases your daily calorie allowance (but not by as much as you might think) and so theroetically you should be able to lose weight more easily.

Am NOT going to make the same mistake this time. NOT NOT NOT NOT. But I was so hungry last time...

Dont know wether I never lost all the weight cos I ate too much and excercised too little or wether cos I bf but i do know that I am now a 34 GG-H and size 12 waist and before I was a 34 DD size 8-10 waist.

Really peeved as thought my snarfs would get smaller but they have just got humungous and arkward.

Would bf again but when finished making babies I plan to have a reduction.. altho scared a bit of that.

wtf did i say snarfs for I meant norks .. one of em days

Altho it apparantly causes contractions to get your womb back in shape.. arfter a section that hurt!

There is no doubt about it you will lose weight if you don't stuff your face

I went to weight watchers who give you extra points when bt=reastfeeding. The weight dropped off more quickly.

You will not lose weight if you eat every time you are hungry and make the excuse you need it because you are breastfeeding. I have known many women who have continued to eat vast amounts when they stopped breast feeding then piled on the pounds.

I personally did not lose the weight with babies 1, 2 and 3 because i stuffed n=my face with Galaxy chocolate whenevr i could. Lost it with baby no.4 though by going to eweight watchers and eating the right foods when hungry.

Apparantly if you feel hungry you should have a couple of glasses of water first cos quite often means you are dehydrated. Obv if still hungry eat Also I reckon since being a mum (esp when ds was baby) you rush your meals more as so much to do and you dont get to notice if you are full as food hasnt had chance to hit tummy.

not losing any weight either, largely b/c since about 26 wks preg have had the most incredible sweet tooth - so "baby needs" brownies and cheesecake etc. Thought the extra pudding calories wld take up the space previously occupied by wine calories but apparently not.

Ah well its the one time in your life you don't need to stress about extra weight then I guess running around with a toddler when this phase is over will aid weight loss.

no, really not

was size 10-12 before kids. now nearer 14. after 18 months of bfding dd

think i have the same well adapted metabolism as aloha

and I often don't have time to eat when I am hungry, am obsessive about adequate hydration, and have a bloody healthy diet, including vitually no processed foods, btw

fat is a complex thing. its just not as simple as fat people are eating too much. some women just don't lose while bf IME.

Ds is 10 months and am still bfeeding (though only 2 feeds a day now) I lost all but a couple of punds within about 7/8 months without any exercise (apart from some walking) or watching what I eat.

However since then the weight has crept back on and I'm now 5 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight. My problem is FLAB - I know I need to stop eating biscuits etc (which I never ate before I was pregnant) and take soem exercise - in fact I'm going to go to the gym this morning!

Obviously mean pounds, not punds!

Haven't read whole thread, sorry. But in my case I would say definitely YES. I am still feeding DS aged 15 months. Around 10 months, I was back at my pre pregnancy weight and now I am a couple of kilos lighter despite eating like a horse. I noticed that my weight dropped a little after putting him on solids at 6 months and then a little more when I stopped night feeds at 7 months, then a little more when I started childminding at 11 months which meant that day feeds were far fewer. I would expect that when I stop (if it's before I get pg again) then I would lose a little more. However, there is no way of knowing how my weight loss would have been had I not breastfed or if I had breastfed for a shorter period.

I'll tell you what though

if you don't lose while bf odds are you will after

I lost weight while pg with dd (ds weaned himself while in early pg)

I don't think the "breast feeding will help you lose weight" isd necessarily true for everyone.

I did some extensve research (i.e. - asked a few friends ) and it was probably about half and half who said that they lost while breast fedeing and they lost after they'd stopped (like me)

I fed DS2 for a year but didn't lose an ounce (even following WW v carefully)until he was 6 months, on solids and I'd cut down his feeds.

When I stopped completely I lost about 1.5 stone without even trying

i lost weight fast while bf though not the last half stone... that didn't go til well after i had stopped. I think the logic is your body holds onto some fat as reserve.

When I stop bf I lose half a stone. Currently expecting no 4, I do find breast feeding very physically demanding. Need to eat and drink LOADS. I usually lose the baby weight ok but last time I was getting no sleep and I think that affected my metabolism and it took far longer to shift it. plus I'm getting older so I think I might have to put in a bit of effort to lose it...but I won't be expecting to lose the last half stone until I stop feeding.

No i stay a fat porker while i am bf And no, mears, I am not stuffing my face

Nope didn't work for me - hank marvin all the time. Munching cereal bars in the night.

Trying to lose 2.5 stone now to do it all again.

I don't think bf helps you lose weight, though I haven't not bf'd after having a baby, so it is hard to say absolutely....I think my weight came off more quickly when I had two children to run around after - instead of one to lie in bed with and be a slob

I didn't

With I lost 'baby weight' so the 15 kgs you are 'supposed' to only put on during pregnancy quite quickly (in the first 2 months) but kept the other 15kgs ticking over nicely for the next 9 months but as I was bfing and loving it so didn't worry about it that much.
DD stopped breastfeeding and I lost 12kg in 2 months (still struggling with that last pesky 3kg )

I've found that bf has helped me get my shape back - my waist in particular is back to it's pre pregnancy size.

Message withdrawn

I tend to lose a stone and a half overnight once the baby is born and then it drops off steadily while breastfeeding. The last stone is the worst, i lose half a stone of it as soon as i stop breastfeeding but it's usually off to ww or some such club to lose the last half a stone. I put on about 4 stone when pregnant. I start off about 9 and a half and end up 13 and a half.

Im peg with #6 and trying to not put quite so much on this time....i blame the Krispy Kremes personally..

Never lost weight while breastfeeding...

Some do some don't.

I was back to pre-pregnancy weight within 6 weeks of starting breastfeeding and I had put on 31/2 stone during pregnancy (most of it towards the end though). I was 2 stone lighter immediately after the birth so the other 1.5 stone went in that 6 weeks. Contributing factors in my case though were:

1 I was overweight before becoming pregnant anyway so my body didn't need to hold on to an extra 10 lbs throughout breastfeeding as I already had plenty to spare

2 I was absolutely starving and ate loads BUT I was so unhappy with PND that I could not be bothered to make/buy food myself.

Dh fed me the whole time He made me breakfast and dinner and even used to leave me my lunch in a box in the fridge and snacks etc when he went to work.

I just ate what dh had prepared/gave me and he eats more healthily than me so he just naturally left me loads of healthy food which I ate. I didn't eat any cakes/sweets etc or hardly anything crap as I didn't have the energy or will to go out and buy it and dh doesn't tend to buy that stuff anyway.

So combination of being overweight in the first place, having PND and a dh who fed me well made me lose all the weight. Not sure I'd want to repeat the experience though. It was without doubt the most miserable 2 months of my life.