Loosing weight while breastfeeding?

[chloejessmeg]

Hello. Desperate to loose weight when this baby is born (due april) as I have put on SO much that it is unhealthy. Last time though, I put on more weight BF DD than I did when I was pregnant! I think this was mainly due to sitting around BF so much of the day, felt consantly hungry and I just didn't get the time to cook proper meals so would just pick on crap.

I was a size 10 when I met DH about 4 years ago. I am probably going to be an 18 or so after this pregnancy. I keep looking at old photos and realising that I was actually my perfect weight before, when I actually thought I was fat because I was told I was.

Going on holiday in September with a big group and really don't want to be covering up all the time, but don't want to be getting flab out in front of everybody!

Anyway, I want to plan now what to Do when DD2 is born to help me get the best start in loosing weight. I would love to find a diet that is suitable while you are BF? I have heard that slimming world is good? I have NEVER gone on a diet before in my life because I love food too much

You can do weightwatchers while breastfeeding. However, it requires will-power so as not to go over your daily points allowance. You are allowed 10 extra points if baby is exclusively breastfed; 5 if mixed fed/on solids.

Weightwatchers is suitable for BF - they give you an extra 10 points a day allowance if you are excl bf which is a lot (enough for a couple of bars of choc if you really wanted). I lost 1/2 a stone in about 6 weeks so pretty sensible weight loss. Once the baby is on solids or if you are mix feeding then you only get 5 extra points a day. You can start it when the baby is 6 weeks old, but TBH I'd give yourself 2-3 months if you can to get baby into settled feed routine first.

the bf allowance if pretty generous. you'll probs have an allowance between 20 and 24 pts I guess, so an extra 10 is a lot.

I can recommend Slimming World. I find it easy to follow (no points to count) and you can eat lots, so never need to be hungry. Just need to be a bit organised with shopping and have the right sort of food in the house so you can nibble whenever you're peckish. It's suitable whilst breastfeeding (and during pregnancy so you could get you're head around the red and green days before sleep deprivation addles your brain!) and you should get advice about extra sources of calcium etc.
I'm currently bf LO, eating loads, having a bit of chocolate or couple of biscuits each day and managing to lose at least 2lbs each week. Good luck!

Wow Montsterma - How does it work then? I don't really know much about it. Is there a website that can tell me more or do you have to pay to join and then get the info or something. Sorry I am completely cluless when it comes to dieting!

I put on lots of weight breastfeeding with DS and was really worried about it with DD (now almost 4 months). However, I'm now under the weight I was when I got pregnant with her (still too much unfortunately ). I think you don't have enough time to sit around. I don't have as much crap in the house because I don't want DS to have it and I eat when he does. In other words, the things that made you put on weight with your first will be harder to do IYSWIM

I finished breastfeeding and the joined slimming world staight away. I lost 7lbs in 2 weeks - good luck.

CJM - I think you can read a fair it of info about Slimming World on their website without joining up. There are lots of classes which you can join or you can do it online (both of which you have to pay for). I needed the discipline of the weekly class initially and found paying until I reached my 'target weight' was the incentive I needed, my group leader is great and the group support does make a difference (just have to try not to think about Little Britain too much or uncontrollable giggling can ensue!!).

Looking on their website now, looks great. What are the "syns" all about? I am looking at the 7 day meal plan and it keeps saying "1 syn per teaspoon" or whatever of the stuff like kitchup. How many of these are you allowed per week?

Do you follow a meal planner each week set by them then? What if you don't like the foods they are telling you to eat?

Really thinking that SW might work for me. I can start in pregnancy which is even better. We have loads of junk in the house because we went to costco on thursday and always come home with junk food. But If I give it a week and then start, the bulk of it should be out of the way by then.

Another thing I am a bit confused with is on the 7 day meal planner online it has a list of snacks for each day that you can eat as much as you can of, but then in other places it says you can eat any of the free foods as much as you like?

Sorry I am probably sounding thick here!

The meal planners are just examples of what you could eat. Basically you choose each day to be a 'red' or 'green' day: You can have all fruit, most veg and eggs on either colour day. On green days you add unlimited pasta, rice and potatoes with measured amounts of dairy (increased if pregnant or bf), bread and meat / fish and on red days you have unlimited meat / fish and measure rice, pasta, pots, bread and dairy. The syns are treats i.e. chocolate, booze, cakes, sweets etc so nothing is off limits but you do a have a weekly allowance of these usually 10-15 per day (or it would be too good to be true!!). I've probably made that sound complicated but it is very simple once you get your head around the basic rules - again that's why I found the classes helpful initially. You are also encouraged to keep a food diary (everything you eat and drink) for the 1st week or two which was what got me on track. Don't know how feasible that would be for you with DD1 but I found the early discipline was soon rewarded when the pounds started falling off. I got to my slimmest ever pre pregnancy and am 7lbs away again now (DS is nearly 8 months old now). IME it's a great plan if you love food and drink (and are perhaps prone to occasional greediness ) and the thought of a diet where you have to limit your intake drastically or cut things out completely makes you reach for the chocolate!

WHat about if you go out for dinner? We eat out at least once a fortnight - would this be out of the question? And are take aways completly off limits?

I know exactly what you mean re Costco!! Due to my wobbly will power I did find doing an organised weekly shop and getting loads of decent food was helpful in the beginning. If the chocolate and cake isn't in the house it's not there for the eating! Interestingly once I started to lose the weight I found my will power got stronger, I guess that sort of thing is personal but it worked for me and I was very sceptical in the beginning. If you join a group it's all explained and you get a little book with all the red / green / free food / syn business explained (and also password for the website) in a much more coherent way than I attempted to.

Eating out and takeaways are covered in the book too and it just needs a bit of forward planning. Depending on how much time you have you could look up the menu on Onion Ring.com and decide what you'd like to eat (and fit the rest of the day's meals in accordingly) or you could blow the whole weeks syn allowance on food and booze!! My love of Indian food didn't suffer too much - although I did ditch the naans as I wasn't prepared to give up other treats for the rest of the week.
How weird, I've just received a text message (which happens maybe once every couple of weeks) from our group leader reminding me "nothing tastes as good as feeling slimmer feels" (cheesy but true!!) and telling me to feel free to phone her if I need any help! Think she might be a bit psychic!
IMO you need to be motivated to lose the weight and prepared to put in a bit of time for classes (or time online) to get the info and your head in the right place in the beginning - which it sounds like you are. I think it helps if you've got a goal to work towards too - My initial motivation(pre pregnancy) was a holiday booked with slim and super fit friends. It felt great going along as their slim, fit friend 5 months later! Planning to be back in the same clothes for our next holiday in March, not least 'cos Stat Mat Pay doesn't lend itself to a new holiday wardrobe!

Gosh it is expensive! Didn't realise that! Not sure we can afford it TBH! And it is half price at the moment! Is there any commitment to stay joined for a certain amount of time? Do you have to give the stuff back if you cancel? I would propably prefer to do it online than do the classes TBH

It is just the cost stopping me. The rest of it sounds good, but TBH that is quite a big outgoing cost for us really. Argh but I really want to do it!

I know what you mean, it does seem quite an outlay of money. I justified it by balancing it against the more organised weekly shop I did which definitely saved me £4.50 a week (it was a bottle of wine I was no longer drinking or maybe half a takeaway!)and once the weight started coming off it felt more like an investment as I'd been trying to lose weight in a non organised random fashion for a while before I joined. You set a target weight and stop paying (but can still attend groups for suport as often or little as you wish)when you get to target and stay within 3lbs. You should get half price joining fee and you can pay in blocks of 5 weeks and get 6th free. If you can make it to the classes for a month or 2 I really think it makes the difference just to get you on track, depends how much self discipline you've got (I've not got much when it comes to eating!). For me once I'd invested £40 or so it made me determined to see it through 'til I was in a size 10 (which I'd never been before) and it did feel worth every penny. Good luck

when I did slimming world a couple of years ago, mumsnetters in the weight loss section would often post the password for the online diet! Not sure if this still works! The magazine you can get at shops also explains more about the diet with weekly plans, recipes and some syn info for popular foods and eating out. I think follow plan as normal during pregnancy, paying attention to calcium and eating your fill of free foods, then add more healthy extras (cereal/bread/ cheese/milk/nuts ) when breastfeeding.

Thanks Psyco! Will have a good look around that site after Dinner. Don't suppose you know if they will let you join if pregnant or Breastfeeding?

Maygirl - If you know anybody willing to give me a password I would be over the moon! It honestly is the only diet I have ever even liked the sound of! And great that I can do it while pregnant!

do you have to count the cals in everything on this one? I went to join but it needs my height and weight first so need to do that before i can join.

I use foodfocus and I'm ex bf dd. Would reccommend it. You need to weigh things as you go but the site does all the calculations for you. It's def worth trying before you spend money on anything. I've lost 8lb in 3 weeks now.

Hi Chloe, I'm not in touch with anyone at my old class anymore, but the Big/small.
/whatever weight loss group here usually has a SW thread and they post the password. It changes weekly to keep you going to class to get it! I think you can order the big syn 'bible' from the magazine, has all the supermarkets and restaurant chains products in it, I found it useful to take shopping with me at first, or to plan what to have when eating out .