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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Does breatfeeding help you lose weight?

54 replies

Gangle · 21/04/2008 09:53

Or is in an urban myth? DS is 3 weeks old and the weight seems to be coming off slowly and I can't see how it's through diet as getting through a packet of biscuits every few days!

OP posts:
Wallace · 21/04/2008 21:24

I find that I hang onto some of the weight until I STOP breasfeeding. My MW said that this is because your body likes to hang onto stores of fat in case there is a famine (eg no cake in the shop) so you can still feed the baby.

I have no idea of the truth in this, but it oes seem to make sense. Obviously it is not true for everyone!

Kathyis6incheshigh · 21/04/2008 21:29

Had a thread before about this that seemed to suggest (in an unscientific anecdotal way) that people who did it more than 6 months thought it helped, less than 6 months thought it didn't.

I personally found it didn't help me the first time (dd, fed for 6 months) because I was hungry all the time and just ate more to make up for it. After that with ds (fed 13 months) it sort of seemed to help.

Wallace · 21/04/2008 21:47

That's interesting

I fed ds1 for 14 months,
dd for 21 months
ds2 still feeding at almost 21 months

Lost weight when I stopped feeding the first two the weight fell off. I am still carrying extra weight with ds2 despite running 3 times a week.

Of course there is the issue of too much cake

serant · 21/04/2008 21:51

I'm now back to my pre pregnancy wt, did get back into my jeans after 4wks.

1st baby now 7wks old fully bf. I eat what i want when i want, i do walk babe & dogs every day & don't get half as much sleep as i'm used to!

whomovedmychocolate · 21/04/2008 22:03

Blimey, it took me four months for the fluid to go let alone the weight.

Seriously I ended up a stone lighter than pre-pregnancy but it took me till DD was 9 months old, mostly because I sat and ate biscuits every time I breastfed .

This is not a very sensible thing to do

hotCheeseBurns · 21/04/2008 22:06

I didn't think that breastfeeding was helping me lose weight at the time but I realised the other day that I've been gaining weight at an alarming rate since I stopped breastfeeding just over a year ago. I want to start again!

harpomarx · 21/04/2008 22:06

combine it with pushing heavy pram and shopping and carrying baby up and down stairs and the answer is a resounding yes!

i am not a cake head though, that helped

francagoestohollywood · 21/04/2008 22:15

Not in my case. I lost most of my weight once I stopped breast feeding. Mind you my appetite was enormous and I was sleep deprived. I lived on carbs.

carrielou2007 · 21/04/2008 22:15

I've put on a lot of weight (a stone and a bit) since stopping bf, was about 1 stone overweight before getting pregnant, put on almost 3 stone, dd was 9lb 6, lost it all and a stone and a half by 6 week check.

Walked everywhere (10 miles plus nearly every day) with pram whilst on mat leave ate healthy fruit and veg and no wine so paranoid about dd must get healthy b milk etc no cake. Expressed when at work, increased the cake etc and not so much walking/running due to working. Went to Canairy islands when she was 10 weeks old in size 10 bikini, again when she was 11 months same bikini, now can't even see the bottoms for my belly and bum hiding it.

My HV said I would prob lose a few pounds when I stopped feeding. But then this from the women who looked at me as if I had 2 heads when I said I was still feeding dd when she was 13 months and I wanted to stop...

KITTENSOCKS · 22/04/2008 13:21

I found that I ate for England while pregnant, but lost my appetite after giving birth, coupled with breastfeeding a hungry baby, made me lose weight very well! I was back to pre-pregnant weight and clothes size by 12 weeks. I never felt excessively hungry, but ds was merrily gaining up to a pound a week, so he was obviously working his way through my pregnancy fat!

blondiep14 · 22/04/2008 13:27

I ate masses whilst pregnant, and have done since having DS and BFing.

Did rather hope I would be back into old jeans in 5 weeks but still in size 14s (was size 11-12 before getting up the duff!). Am STARVING almost all the time and seem unable to curb the cake/chocolate scoffing.

Doesn't help that not smoking now, i'm sure before i would have had a ciggie whereas now i have a penguin!!

Hoping i shed the rest soon. Very soon!

ThingOne · 22/04/2008 13:33

It's not an urban myth but it's not quite cause and effect.

Breastfeeding does help your uterus return to shape more easily and quickly so you stomach can go down sooner but that's not weight loss.

You need to eat about an extra 500 calories a day while exclusively breastfeeding. So in theory if you eat less you may lose weight. Or alternatively you may end up exhausted as you are nt eating enough.

It worked for me. I was able to eat a cake/snack each day and lose a bit of weight but I was a bit too much overweight at the start. On the other have I have a very thin friend who says she weighs about a srone more when feeding. But she's still probably "underweight" at that weight so I don't think either of us make a good guide.

peacelily · 22/04/2008 13:44

Not for me I'm afraid. Lost more weight once I'd stopped.

When bf I had a diet of cakes, supernoodles and full fat lattes and was 3 cup sizes bigger than normal. Not the best way to slim back down to your pre preg size . In fact I was a bit of a bloater whilst bf.

Have finally got down to a size/shape (don't weigh myself anymore) I'm happyish with it took about 14m to get there and replacing cakes with red wine .

Boobs still largish tho, make my old bras look like trainer bras

VictorianSqualor · 22/04/2008 13:47

If you eat as you normally would whilst not bfing then yes, it will help because you are using extra calories, if however you're ravenous through feeding (like moi) and living off tea and biscuits (again like moi) then maybe not, however, if you're also feeding 45 minutes each hour you probably wont get time to eat proper meals so the tea and biscuits might not be so bad, I know I had my first proper dinner last night in a week.

OrmIrian · 22/04/2008 14:06

Not IME, no! I was so hungry all the time and I ate whateve I could get my hands on. I lost weight during pregnancy each time but put it all back on plus more while bfing.

Helgicita · 22/04/2008 15:32

No, not for me either. My DD is 12 weeks old and I still look 6 months pregnant. Still wearing my maternity clothes, so depressing! I'm constantly hungry and despite cutting out cakes and chocolate and other 'naughties' and buggy pushing most days I'm not losing weight. If I do try to eat less I feel so weak and I cant sleep at night, even tho' I'm knackered, due to hunger. I'm sure it affects my milk too. DD doesn't sleep so well/needs feeding more often if I haven't eaten copiously the day before.
With my DS who I fed for 12 months my weight started to decrease by about the 8th month and I found it easier to lose weight when I stopped B-fing.

pamelat · 22/04/2008 15:41

not for me either

i was a 8stone 11lbs before pregnant, went up to 11.5 stone and lost a stone and a half immediately. That was 14 weeks ago and despite breastfeeding, walking, going to gym 3 times a week I am still 10 stone!

Apparently I am retaining fluid .... ?

None of my clothes fit me and I refuse to buy bigger ones !

skidaddle · 22/04/2008 15:48

gosh pamelat - snap!
Exactly the same pre-preg weight and the same weight now, DS is 18 weeks

I found I lost the last stone after I stopped BF exclusively with my DD so am looking forward to the six moth mark when i introduce solids - if it doesn't drop off then I will be well p*ssed off...

Notyummy · 22/04/2008 16:09

It did work for me....I weighed less than when I got pregnant by the 5 month mark. Dd was a big baby, and once put on 9 ozs in 3 days when she was a couple of months old, so I assume she just ate it from me!! I did put on a few pounds when I stopped at 8 months, but this coincided with me going back to work and sitting round there eating biscuits rather than pushing a pram for miles...

Also, I did exercise from about 3 weeks onwards...cross trainer and the gym and weight training.

Mikafan · 22/04/2008 16:11

not me. I've been BF for nearly a year now and haven't lost weight ;(

Monkeybird · 22/04/2008 16:11

nope not me. after the first flush out after he was born, not shifted a pound. like almost everyone else though, STARVING while BF doesn't help but I'[m sure there must be some physiological reason for your body to hang on to the fat. Being tired and mainlining carbs doesn't help either though.

He's now 8 months so am more hopeful. Will have more freedom to exercise vigourously now he's bit less dependent on me (hopefully!)

sausagecake · 22/04/2008 21:56

Is working for me too, went from a size 10 to a 16. Now after 12 months... back to a 10 again and as fit as a fiddle. Hungry and eat all day (mostly good stuff). It was not my intention to loose weight either. Just happy to be fit and active once more.

aefondkiss · 22/04/2008 22:02

dd (pfb) bf 14 months slow weight loss

ds 14 months of bf quick weight loss, so having more than one child and bf helps weight loss, imho

1dilemma · 22/04/2008 22:18

If only
urban myth I'm afraid
Serent I was in my jeans after 10 days with first havn't got near them after the third.
I remember my best friend telling me bf was great you could eat what you liked....
'after all I had a piece of pizza last night and I'm still loosing weight'

ho ho ho

pamelat · 24/04/2008 14:53

skidaddle you have given me hope!!

I just want to lose a stone but then when I hold my now 11lbs 11oz little monkey, I realise 14lbs is a lot!

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