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....

I lost weight BF really really fast with DS1, and then started eating more. Back to my pre-pregnancy weight in 4 weeks. Lost another half stone when I stopped Bf DS1, which made me thinner than I'd ever been, but that came back when I went back to work and actually had time to eat lunch. Every day .

The weight loss was slower with DS2, largely because I forced myself to eat more from his birth. I was back to normal about 7 weeks after he was born. And because by then I was eating lunch with DS1, my weight stayed constant when I stopped BF DS2.

Yes, lost most of the pregnancy wt, although i think i only gained 2 stones during pregnancy, not sure if that makes a difference.
I never thought about what i ate and could eat anything,I didn't have a car then though, so walked mainly.

Nope - I gained with dd1 and am refusing to go near the scales with dd2 as I will only get depressed.....I know I am not loosing!

Yes. A few weeks after each birth I was lighter than I had been pre-pregnancy. Crept back on though but not a bad thing, I actually looked a bit gaunt.

Sadly no (2.5 years and 16 months).

Weight fell off while BF. I was hungrier BF than when I was pregnant. It was a very happy time in that respect (don't ask about sleep, though!)... ate what I liked in massive quantities, and still lost maternity weight. I went back to work and the stress of it all made my milk supply diminish. I was given the instruction to add fat to my diet... Yes ma'am!! It was good fun following that instruction! I will echo the bit about not losing that last bit of weight until you stop completely... I've found that to be true.

Not read most of the thread but wanted to say I lost loads of weight bf (approx 15 months), was slimmer than pre pg after dc1, and back to pre pg after dc2. However I was so used to eating my extra 500 calories that I put a bit of weight on afterwards both times.
I must admit bf is THE best weight control solution for me and I can eat copious amount of cakes, chocolates too....

Lost weight all 3 times, always got back below pre-pg weight but last time some of it crept back after stopping at 12mths, mind you i did do dairy free diet as well for 10 of those mths as dd1 had dairy allergy. Still at it with dd2 and just this week got there 6 mths in.
DH calls bf-ing my automatic fat extraction system! Nice

Got PG with DC1 at 8st10. Was 10 and a half st-ish at 9 months PG. By the time he was six weeks old I was 8st2 woohoo! At one point I was losing a pound a day, it was incredible.

Confidently expected the same to happen with next DCs but it didn't, possibly because they were smaller and less hungry or possibly I expected a no-effort weight loss and was stuffing my face.

Am now about 9st4 and have even dieted a bit to no real avail (still BF). I comfort myself with thinking that I am too old to ever be really thin again without looking gaunt.

DD is nearly a year old and I am still BF but feel I am too thin at 7st 12. Not helped by recent probs with DD's dad. Could do with being at least half a stone heavier as at 38 I look a bit too skinny.

nope. after 21 months of bf I was still a stone heavier than pre pg. but I was constantly famished, and ds was the worst sleeper ever (still hasn't slept through and he's 3 now). imho it wasn't the bf that was the key thing for me, it was the sleep (or lack of) - different thing.

apols for no caps, now bf dd at keyboard...

I didn't lose any weight at all breastfeeding. I felt that the hormones were somehow keeping the weight on. As soon as I stopped at 5 months on the health visitor's advice (my daughter was tiny and my milk supply was diminishing) I lost a few pounds.

bf made me gain weight.
as i was so hungry
wouldn't have changed it for the world though.
happy to have a bf dd for a few extra lbs

I didn't lose weight breastfeeding, lost slowly and when I gave up bf at 1 year, the weight dropped off.

However, I wouldn't have preferred to give up earlier just to lose the weight earlier. I felt I needed the extra weight to be able to feed (usually I'm very skinny), and I also needed to eat more than normal.

It's such a short period of your life, don't worry about the weight, just think of the benefits to the baby and you of breastfeeding (contraception, protection against breastcancer for you), there is enough time to become a sporty skinny mum-of-a-toddler.

don't think bf helps though i did do it for months, think is more to do with general metabolism?

am now 1/2 stone to 10lbs lighter than i was before i was expecting dd - but to quote billy connolly i "eat less and move more" mainly because i don't have time to eat more and can't afford to move less as i am always chasing after dd!

It seems to vary enormously.

I was about a stone over my 'comfortable in my skin' weight when I was PG with DD, didn't put on a single pound through pregnancy, and then lost nearly a stone in the first six months.

When DD started to reduce milk intake, I failed to reduce my cake intake so put it all back on!

Some people seem to retain a 'comfort layer' for as long as they're bfing, which they only lose when they stop. I think I had my comfort layer, and a bit more, already, so I lost weight. That's not a scientific analysis of course!

I lost 3 stone during first pg(dreadful sickness and celery craving) and through bf dd - however had gone from mums home-cooking to being very poor and living on shredded wheat!
I lost some weight with ds but not as much.

I only lost a bit of weight while breastfeeding, but dropped another 4 or 5 pounds in the 2 weeks after stopping breastfeeding. My problem was that while I bf I was permanantly starving so ate LOADS.

I found the non weight loss a bit depressing and did quite a lot of google searches. I found various academic papers which suggested that it was more common to loose weight after stopping bf than before. Although clearly, as this thread shows, all women are different.

nope.
(sorry)
in fact with DD2 I put on weight b/feeding (obviously ate too much).
I do have friends who've lost their baby weight whilst feeding but honestly I know they 'watch what they eat' and have a better resistance to cake than I did.

Don't bite me, but I've got smaller with each child I've had.
Prior to having children I was a size 14. I've had 3 children in 6 years, breastfed each one (the latest is 6 months old) and I'm now a size 10.
The BF IMO has definately helped me but running around like a blue arsed fly after 3 kids has had an impact I'm sure.
With DC3 I lost the wieght in the quickest time ever, by the start of the 2nd week I was back in my jeans, don't get me wrong they were tight and I had overhang, but I could wear them comfortably.
I am dreading the end of BF, worrying I'll be back to my size 14 days.

I was about 11 stone pre-preg, went up to about 14 stone in pregnancy (that's 6 meals a day for you!) now after 10 months BFing I'm about 9- 9.5 stone, the lightest I've ever been!

Weight dropped off while I was bf'ing all three of my dc (separately, I should add). I ate sensibly as well and exercise a bit too but the bf'ing was definitely a major factor - I was back to normal about 3 months post-birth with each one. Most people I know have dropped weight while bf'ing except for those prone to fluid retention.