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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Is it really true that your body "hangs on" to extra fat when breastfeeding

75 replies

aardfark · 21/05/2007 16:59

I've got another two stone to lose and have lost at least one stone since I had my DD seven months ago. But everyone I speak to says: oooh well once you give up breastfeeding the weight will drop off because your body hangs onto it while you are feeding.

Is this true? I'm thinking that women in the third world manage to do it without being overly fat. Also surely andipoise tissue doesn't randomly know it's needed and if you use up more calories through eating less and exercising more, it'll go regardless right?

I'm not planning on giving up bfing for a while but I'm v. confused. I'm losing weight quite steadily btw (so far) but I just wondered if anyone could set the record straight?

OP posts:
SweetyDarling · 21/05/2007 21:18

Also, remember that your boobs weigh heaps more while you're bf.

princessmel · 21/05/2007 21:24

I thought it was the opposite. That you lost weight while bf and put it on when you stop. I'm actually thinner (slightly)than before I had dd. She's 20m and still feeding. I hope I don't get huge when I stop

But I have heard friends say that they didn't lose weight till they stopped bf. it must depend on each person.

Original poster
aardfark · 21/05/2007 21:24

Sweety, realistically they don't weigh an extra two stone (although they do feel that way in the mornings!)

OP posts:
MrsCarrot · 21/05/2007 21:25

I've definitely put on some weight since having lo in January, I am very hungry!

princessmel · 21/05/2007 21:30

Moondog, I haven't been drunk since ds was 18m (he's 4.5 now)as I got pg with dd shortly after and have been bf her ever since.
I'm going out for my birthday soon and want to have a drink or 2 or 3 etc... do you think this would be ok? dd is 20m and only feeds in night if she wakes ( which she may well do ) and at bedtime.
I have had the odd drink but not been drunk.

FirstAtForty · 21/05/2007 21:33

my body hung on to the weight definitely, and my appetite was larger than normal. I've cut down to 2 feeds a day now that she's 10 months old, and my appetite has decreased and I've lost a couple of pounds. I'm very nearly the same weight now as I was before I got pregnant.

maisym · 21/05/2007 21:33

put on 30 kilos with ds - lost the flab with bf. Have always lost preg weight through bf on demand.

FrannyandZooey · 21/05/2007 21:34

Princessmel the alcohol will leave your breastmilk at the same rate it leaves your bloodstream, ie one unit per hour, so if you had say 5 small glasses of wine, then 5 hours after you stop drinking there will be no alcohol remaining in your bloodstream

HTH

FrannyandZooey · 21/05/2007 21:35

oops meant to add

"or in your breastmilk"

berolina · 21/05/2007 21:35

MI is right. A friend of mine got below her pre-pg weight while bf her ds. I'm entirely different - never got below 7-8kg above pre-pg weight, despite bf. OTOH, am now pg again, still bf, and have put on very little so far. I actually managed to lose a kg somewhere betwen 15 and 20 weeks.

Booboobedoo · 21/05/2007 21:36

I'm BFing a 9-week-old atm whilst main-lining chocolate digestives.

Do you think I can eat a packet a day and still lose weight?

katierocket · 21/05/2007 21:37

With my first DS I didn't lose any weight while BF. DS2 is now 17 weeks and I'm back to pre-pregnancy weight despite doing nothing different and stuffing my face. Weird.

bizziebee · 21/05/2007 21:38

Yes - why are chocolate digestives the best thing in the world whilst you are breastfeeding?

MaeWest · 21/05/2007 21:38

I weigh about a stone less than I did before I got pg and am still feeding DS (nearly 10months old). I was a little overweight before tho. DS still feeds a lot, and still has night feeds. However, I think the weight loss is also to do with lugging a 24lb baby around and walking for miles with the buggy

beansprout · 21/05/2007 21:39

I'm really banking on this one as I still haven't lost all the weight, but I somehow suspect it's not going to happen

MaeWest · 21/05/2007 21:39

oh, and I am constantly ravenous!

princessmel · 21/05/2007 21:40

Thanks F+Z.
But is it only ok to drink wine? I don't really like it . I'm more a vodka lime and lemonade girl. Or was.
The best thing would be to let her stay at my mums so breast milk is not on the menu but mum is away that night. Plus the small problem of dd never stayed away from me in the night before. She does sleep through sometimes. Not often though.
Its going to be mil babysitting here.

mears · 21/05/2007 21:42

No your body does not hang onto fat when you are breastfeeding. It may be that you get more hungry and if you eat the wrong foods then you will not lose the weight. If you eat healthily, you will lose the fat. Best weightloss i ever had was when I was breastfeeding and going to weight watchers.

And princessmel - i would have whatever you like to drink on your birthday. If you haven't been drunk for that long, 2 or 3 drinks should do it

FrannyandZooey · 21/05/2007 21:42

LOL no that was just a very middle-class example

you can drink what you like, just bear in mind 1 unit = 1 pub measure spirits / 1 small glass wine / 1 half pint of beer etc

add up and count from when you stop drinking, eg if you have 8 units it will take 8 hours from when you finish your last drink for all the alcohol to leave your breastmilk

mears · 21/05/2007 21:43

Yes vodka will be OK - you are not going to be drinking a bucket load, are you?

mezzer · 21/05/2007 21:43

About drinking, I think as long as you are not getting pissed on a daily basis, all should be fine. One night on the piss can't possibly do much harm. And, besides, if you're anything like me, after not going out much / drinking even less for almost two years (dd=16mo) 2 or 3 drinks will have you in a right ol state. I say go for it.

About weightloss - I think it completely depends on the woman. One friend stayed "plump" while bf and lost it all once she stopped. I was back to pre-preg weight in about a month while bf and kept losing til I finally levelled off one stone lighter (and not for lack of chocolate!). Not sure what will happen when we stop... One friend had a theory that bf means your belly stays mushy, no matter how many situps -- anyone with experience? Mine is still mushy but I have yet to do a single situp...

FrannyandZooey · 21/05/2007 21:44

yes princessmel, I am quite uptight about alcohol, but even I would say as a one off, some alcohol in your milk is not going to be a big problem

the other possibility is to express some milk before you go out and get someone else to give it to her

have a good evening

princessmel · 21/05/2007 21:45

Ok I can manage that.

Thanks F+Z. BTW I have an image of what you look like in my head . I bet you look completely different though. Gosh that sounds stalkery Its just some mnetters you can imagine can't you?

bohemianbint · 21/05/2007 21:45

I put on a stunning 4 stones whist preggers (is that a record?!) and after 9 months of BF I've lost 3. I ate all kinds of bad chocolatey crap in the early months to sustain me through growth spurts and I think the weight's come off in fits and starts. It does occasionally plateau, like now, and I'm going to have to put in some serious work to get the last stone off. Will be interesting to see what happens when I stop feeding.

mears · 21/05/2007 21:46

I found i put on weight because I no longer had breastfeeding to use of the calories when i did eat crap