Breast feeding and your weight?

[Divvy]

What effect did/does breast feeding have on your weight?

I lost 3 stone (from weight at end of pg) in a year of breastfeeding, but I also walked at least an hour a day, usually carrying lo in a sling.

(ps walking wasn't an exercise thing - just only way she would sleep!)

I put on weihgt after birth while feeding adn it dropped off when I stopped bf and my appetite went back to normal.

Had to use quite a bit of self control as I loved guilt free stuffing of face....

Was 11 stone and 5'3'' before pregnancy and am now (DS is 7 months) 10.5 stone. I have a serious chocolate habit as well.

Mine varied alot between babies. With DS I actually tried to diet. But then my milk supply dropped a fair bit so this time I didn't bother until we were down to one feed a day. This time I stayed a similar weight to post partum while BF (and eating. Lots) I've lost it all and possibly a bit more doing WW. Am probably now either same size as or a tad lighter than before DS was concieved. It won't last!

I lost all bar half a stone with both DSs and then the last half stone came off once I stopped BFing. I have kept about 10lbs this time although hopefully some of that will disappear once I stop BFing! I found the initial weight loss to be quite fast, by 6-8 weeks most excess weight was gone!

I breastfed my two DSs, and was back in my pre-pregnancy jeans within a week or two after giving birth. I also walked everywhere. I didn't really watched what I ate either.

have exclusivly fed DD for six months, have slowly lost 2 1/2 stone.
so am now half a stone lighter than my pre pregnancy self.. all the more reason to carry on i think!
DD's bottom two teeth have come through...not been bitten you though

After 2 dcs I am now at my slimmest. Used to be around 9 stone (am short) now 8 1/2 and a size 10.

Like most of you I ate like a little piggy while b/f due to being permanently hungry.

My theory is that as I had hyperemesis with the 1st it somehow made my metabolism permanently faster but that is just a personal theory. B/f definitely contributed to the weight loss though.

I had a 3.7 year gap between the dds, and never put the weight back on between pregnancies.

Bfing helped with initial dramatic weight loss. But did not return to my pre-baby size - remained about 7lbs overweight - until I stopped bfing after a year. I was permanently ravenous when I was bfing.

I love fatty foods so always struggle with my weight. However, on ds3 I did WW and allowed myself an additional 6 points for bfing( he was being weaned at that point) and lost 7lb in 1 week. I was at the number of calories I must have been eating before!
Now back on WW after ds4 as have 3 stone to lose! Am allowing 10 extra points to start with, will see how it goes but do already feel slimmer after a week

I ate and ate and ate and still didn't put on any weight with either of mine. But am naturally fairly slim and walk lots. so that could have something to do with it.

I can't remember how quickly I lost it with DS1, but DS2 is now 6 months and I am now below my pre pregnancy weight pre DS1! (which is why I ate a whole malt loaf yesterday!) But I think I put it down to running after a toddler as well as bfing.

I lost a stone really quickly, within a couple of weeks, even though I was eating whatever I liked, but maybe I was lucky. Am still feeding dd a couple of times a week (she is 2.4 now) and although am 23 wks pg, I weigh less now than the day I concieved her!

Both times were completely different for me.
With ds1 I lost weight really quickly, HAD to eat loads (cake again!) and after 6 months weighed less than before pregnancy.
With ds2 I didn't feel especially hungry and had to remind myself I should eat well, but lost weight slowly and am still (14 months later though stopped breastfeeding now) approaching my pre-pregnancy weight.
Both times I had put on 2 stones, and until recently this time I had lost a stone, just about lost another half now. I was a bit as I assumed I would lose it easily again!

I b/f both my DS.
First time I fed for 9 months and found I could eat cakes ( I swear became addicted to chocolate brownies ) and it wasn't too much of a worry - I did end up 1/2 stone heavier than I was before I got pg and that never went, although I did get pg with DS2 when DS1 was 15 months.
Second time I bf for 18 months. Lost the weight fairly quickly within 4 months(ish)back to about 10stone but have constantly stayed at this weight but with a slightly wider rounder shape!

The way I see it I can loose the weight if I eat fruit and soup and exercise - but life is too short to cut out all the good stuff and I dont have time to exercise anymore.

I kept weight on when breastfeeding. Dropped off as soon as I stopped (6 weeks with DS and 1 year with DD). I wasn't bothered though, especially with DD as breastfeeding far outweighed getting back to pre pg weight.

Having just read some other posts properly, I have just realised I did walk a lot more with ds1, so maybe that was part of it. And did some yoga classes. I thought the running after toddler would have helped, but didn't seem to.
This time it wasn't just the weight that made the difference, I had a much more noticeable tummy, and when ds2 was 1 I decided I really should give up the idea of getting into my old jeans and buy some new ones so I could ditch the maternity ones I was still wearing! The tummy is slowly getting a bit less obvious... I suppose exercise would have helped there though - I bought an exercise ball but haven't used it yet.

I don't feel breastfeeding helped me to loose weight. Had 3 children in as many yearsand breastfed each of my kids for about 14-15 months each.

I've just stopped feeding my youngest two months ago and already I've noticed some weight loss. I was eating quite a high calorific diet to keep up with her demand.Of course, it could simply be loosing some more pregnancy weight- it's difficult to know really. I just hope I keep my bigger cup size, even if my boobs are saggy

i ate everything in sight while b/f and did no exercise and was back in jeans in 3 weeks. i put it down to b/f as it couldnt have been anything else as i ate crap all day long.

put weight on when got pg again when ds 6 months though! am def b/f again for all the benefits including the weight loss!

I did that with dc1 and it worked a treat, so with dc2, I thought, I'll just have another slice of bread, pass the butter and jam too!, hot chocolate?? I need it, I@m breastfeeding. BUT.... for some strange reason the same thing didn't happen the second time and I had to lose the weight the old-fashioned way when I'd finished bfing. (cigarettes and laxatives). Joke!!

weight fell off me b/f mind you only got up to 10 + 1/2 stone at full term. got back in Jeans very quickly. i really thinks it helps you loose weight, despite being hungry when feeding.

Still got the mummy tummy 9 weeks on, but i guess that's being hopefull that it would be gone!!

pmsl *CuckooChocolateOrange

lost all pg weight within about three weeks with dd1, six with dd2 - entirely down to bfing. Used to be a size 12, am now a size 6, having stopped feeding dd2 a month or so ago.I bf both for 13 months because being able to eat and eat and eat and eat all day long, chips, chocolate, doughnuts, pork pies, you name it, and still lose weight, is great!
Fully expect to go back to size 12 within weeks now I'm in the habit. Will have to have dc3 to lose it all again

I agree that everyone is diferent and there are numerous factors that effect how much and how quickly you lose the weight.

Pre-preg i weighed 10stone, put on about 2 stone in total.
After 1 week of having DD i weighed about 11 stone.
When DD was 2 weeks I was back to pre-pregnancy weight.

DD is now 3 weeks old and i am just under 10 stone now, so im pretty happy! Just need to tone up alittle.

Havent even been trying as I have been eating plenty of treats and scoffing takeaways as i cant be bothered to cook.

Ive been expressing rather than actually breast feeding (long story!) but think its really helped me get my figure back much quicker.