OK - the truth - did you lose weight breastfeeding?

[Mirry71]

Sitting here with DC wondering if I am ever going to be my pre-pregnancy weight again - did breastfeeding help you lose weight? and if so how long did it take?

I have heard such mixed views and need consoling that I won't be in maternity gear for ever....

No I didn't...............

There you - that's the truth

however, woman who had her DS the same time as I had DS1 lost so much weight she had to get advice on eating enough calories to help her keep to a "safe" weight

yes and then it stopped and I am now hoping that since I sopped BFeeding a few weeks ago that the last stone (!) will fall off.....

Yes, but it also encouraged me to eat loads and so when I stopped bf I put on a stone which I'm yet to shift...

I did this time because I am on a diet. The first time I ate my own body weight in chocolate each day so had no chance of losing any.

no, not exactly. Oddly though, when I finished bf, the weight poured off me. I suspect I was over compensating for bf by thinking i could get away with huge amounts of cream cakes, because I was bf, IYKWIM

I bf for 14 months - I was around 12 stone when I gacve birth, lost some straight away but was stuck on 10 stone for ages and ages. I bf for 14 months and by the end of ds's second year I was 8 stone again. Perhaps that was down to running round after 2 young boys.

Yes, I did. Quite a lot in fact, was a size 14/16 before pregnancy then went down to 12 while breatfeeding. I did BF for 19 months but that probably wasn't really relevant. I didn't keep it all off, but am definitely still slimmer than I was pre-pregnancy.

Then again, I do have one of those really saggy Kerry Katona tummies, which I think is because of losing weight too quickly and not doing exercise, so it's nothing to be jealous of!

Yes - except the last few pounds only came off once I stopped bf, I think your body keeps a bit in reserve when you're bf in case of hard times, to keep the milk supply up!

Yes. I didn't put a lot of weight on during pregnancy but I did lose it pretty fast.

I could eat as much as I liked of whatever I liked with ds1 and dd and my weight did not change. Nor did what I eat affect the babies (except for dd and mushrooms). Ds2, however, reacted really badly if I had caffeine - my only source of which is chocolate! So I had to give up chocolate for 6m, and I lost half a stone.

no i deffo did not and ate like a heffer because i was eating for 2 and i never properly shifted it till after my 2nd child who was mainly formula fed - somehow this made me lose lots of weight and i was the slimmest and still am the slimmest i have ever been

With ds1 no (bf for 6 months). With ds2 yes (bf for 17 months). But with ds2 it was around the 9 month mark it fell off and the reason I stopped bfing was because I'd become too skinny to get through the day without feeling faint/dizzy/wiped out all the time. In early days it just massively increased my appetite.

o bum was really hoping all the antenatal midwives were telling the truth about bfing being magic weight loss solution

sighs wistfully at the thought of being told to eat enough calories to maintain a safe weight

no chance of that happening here

puts down crunchie and looks at healthy apple.....

I lost lots while bf, then put loads on when I stopped. PArtly because of the devastating cake habit I developed while eating for two, partly because of less exercise

gained a few stone and am now actively trying to lose it (whilst still bf'ing a nearly one year old)

Yes lost it pretty quick here despite eating like a horse. My shape has chaged though post-baby (well, mahoosive boobs for a start, B to E cup!!) and I don't think that squodgy bit on my hips will go til I stop bf. It's there in readiness for the famine so DS will still be provided for!

No sadly I did not lose weight breastfeeding.

nope. i didn't put it on either. when i started slimming world (the bf options) ds2 didn't put weight on.

yes so much so that I now have a dietitian who wants me to eat some chocolate or a cake every couple of hours and have got some minging buildup shakes too...

sorry everyone - its not a good thing honest...have got half a stone to put on and just cant manage it...

and still have a horrid sqidgey crepey tummy...

sorry, but i put weight on whilst b/feeding ... it's going now, since i have stopped
i did, er, thoroughly enjoy the extra calories though! (mmm..choccy,cake and white bread)

IME you tend to lose it really quickly (if its going to go) in the first 6-8 weeks after that it sort of stays the same.

But then again I only put on a stone and a half in pregnancy and my baby was 9,3...I think she was eating me from the inside like an alien...

Lord above no.

I am still feeding a 22 month old. I run 4 times a week, walk everywhere as I don't drive, do a couple of exercise classes and eat very sensibly. I don't drink alcohol.

Can I lose the last half a stone? No.

Know lots and lots of bfers who can't shift it until they stop feeding. It makes sense really, it's protecting the dependent child isn't it?

yes I did in the first year or so. DS is now 2 and I have put most of it back on (but am pg again so it's difficult to tell exaclty)

agree with the majority on here, I lost a bit quite quickly after the birth, but didn't lose that last 10lbs or so til I stopped BF.

Yes I lost loads and got below my pre-preg weight without trying (don't kill me everyone!) - but only once it got to the 6 month mark.

Am now preg again and piled on the pounds... sod's law says it won't happen second time around!