weight loss and breast feeding, why isn't it happening!!!

[willowstar]

Hello

One of the reasons I was keen to breastfeed was that I thought it would help with weight loss. Oh how dissapointed I am!!! My daughter is 11 weeks old, feeds on demand...and I have gained weight since I had her. I am now 2 stone heavier than when I conceived and 3 sizes bigger. Needless to say I am getting bloody depressed and actually cried today because I looked at myself in the mirror without my clothes on for the first time since i had her.

I am incredibly busy with her and don't manage to cook every day, but my diet isn't terrible, so why am I not losing weight?

Before pregnancy I used to be very active but always had to work hard to lose weight and keep it off.

any advice? I just feel like wearing a bin bag and covering my head with shame when I see myself.

It can, but also makes you hungeryer.Your body will crave more food breastfeeding.
Felt the same afer my first and not worred about it this time round as it will melt off you, as they become mobile and you start running after them.
They all go through a bolting stage when they learn to run.
Get out of the house every day, try and get some time off to take up some gental excercise.
Everybody feels like they look like pants after have a baby , dont worry.

It doesn't happen with everyone, but your daughter is only 11 weeks old. You're doing brilliantly. And if you want to get back to where you were pre-pregnancy you will - it'll just take a bit more time. Why should you feel ashamed? You've had a baby!

Do keep breastfeeding though - see here for reasons to be proud

Please don't feel bad or disappointed - your dd is only 11 weeks old, no one expects you to lose weight that fast!

Nicole Kidman and all the celebrities you see you lose the baby weight five minutes after giving birth are the exception, and they have plenty of help - personal chefs and trainers - to help them lose weight.

You sound more like me ie. normal! I put on weight after giving birth because I was eating junk without even realisinng, and I was far too tired to cook properly. It's taken me a year to get back to my original size.

Can you make soup? A simple vegetable soup will fill you up and is nutritious and you can freeze it in small portions and eat it when you don't have time to cook.

Also simple meals - mashed potatoes and vegetables - are filling and not fattening.

But please, try not to worry - Be proud of your body for making your gorgeous baby!

If you're anything like me you'll be craving things like chocolate!! This is my second baby and I'm not back to pre-pregnant size yet (but he's only 4 months old). Last time I got back to normal after I'd finished breastfeeding (he was 8 months), I think your body holds onto some fat as reserves IYSWIM? Everybody is different though. Not a reason to give up - I would say that you need to eat plenty while breastfeeding but mostly healthy food - however I crave chocolate so much that I give in to it too, after all, not many times in your life you can have such a good excuse!!
I totally understand how you feel though, but try to stick it out - as the other posters have said, you'll soon be running around after a mobile baby and your baby is still very young.
The old saying '9 months on, 9 months off' is worth bearing in mind.

I never happened whilst I was breast feeding but then I craved hot buttered toast washed down by cadbury's drinking chocolate
this is what my mum fed me almost every feed when i got out of the hospital "for the baby" and I got a true liking for it

haha I think I put on weight

it comes off once you settledown...have a drinking chocolate and think about it

You need to exercise - this is waht made the differnce for me. Walk EVERYWHERE with the pushchair. Try some running if you have a DP to take over when he gets home. Exercise DVDs when she is sleeping - or even better when she is awake whilst she watches you - if she is anything like mine she will find it entertaining!

You are say you are too busy with her to cook proper stuff - why is this? Can you put her in a sling to get things done?? I only say this because its easy to get sucked into 'I can only look after my baby' when it is your PFB.... but babies with mothers who have 2/3 other small children aren't looked after fully every minute of every day and are generally fine.It's about realising how much attention is sensible.

Yes walking everywhere every day helps, and porridge or hot chocolate at night if you are hungry at night!

I lost all my baby weight and more within 2 weeks but I felt dreadful, looked emaciated, gaunt and anaemic. I had no energy. I wasn't even trying to lose it. I had to force feed myself cream cakes and supplement drinks just to maintain my weight and be able to carry on feeding. Lots of people told me how awful I looked!

No matter what you think you look like, you will look a million times better than I did. Try not to worry. Your baby loves you whatever your size and that goes for everyone else who loves you too.

willowstar: the research shows that on the whole, bf does help a return to pre-pregnancy rate but the difference between whether you have bf or not bf does not show, on a population level, until after 6 mths of bf (obviously, individual experience will vary). 11 weeks is too soon to see a difference....if you are actually gaining weight then you will prob have to take other measures (sorry!) like diet and exercise.

I got scolded by the bf counsellor for losing too much weight after dd was born.

Your body needs some reserves to produce milk, so don't worry! I was put on a punishing diet of cheese, Mackeson's stout and biscuits to slow the weight loss.

hello, thank you, was feeling pretty miserable last night when I posted this! I have just always been such an active and determined person and am finding it frustrating that I can't get on and deal with this like I usually would.

We live in the country on a busy road so can't just walk out to anywhere but there is nothing stopping me driving somewhere then walking, I just need to do it! I do put her into a sling while cooking but she is starting to object so am just about to look for alternative positions as she is almost supporting her head now.

thanks everyone, I guess I just need to be a bit more patience and just ignore the wardrobe full of size 12 clothes while I squeeze myself into the 18s I bought yesterday. My OH who is lovely keeps telling me I look very womanly and he loves it so maybe I should start believeing him instead of looking at him like he has lost his mind!

cheers all.

Does she have a play gym? Mine have both been happy on that for 20 minutes at a time. When she's about 4-5 months a door bouncer can also be good (they either love it or hate it!). My DS2 (4 and a half months) loves watching what I'm doing.
Could you treat yourself to a hair cut or something to make yourself feel better?

I am another who can't lose weight when bf, and tend to pile it on as well
I fed dd til she was 10 months and then stopped, and the weight fell off in a couple of months. About 2-3 stone in all.
With ds, it has taken a lot longer, but I have also been feedign him longer. He is 18 months and still fed, but I have cut down on feeds. In the last 2 months I have lost 2.5 stone, which I think is definately a combination of reduced breastfeeding, a low carb diet and a lot of walking in the daytime. Dd has just started school so I got myself a decent 3 wheel buggy second hand (Mountain Buggy, which I can't recommend highly enough) and pretty much spend the school day out and about with ds. I am lucky to live in a city where I don't need a car to get about though, and there are lots of places to go to make it interesting. Once I realise dhow much I used to unnecessarily catch the bus, that stopped too and now I walk absolutely everywhere.
I do wish they wouldn't peddle weightloss as a perk of bfing, as ime there is a large group of women for whom this just isn't the case, and it onlt serves to make them feel bad. Dito with the 'I lost all my weight running around after the baby' cliche. My ds is a firecracker, but I was still overweight despite chasing him around.
11 weeks is still very early, but I understand the dissatisfaction with your body. Take heart though, as ime, when it comes off it will do so relatively quickly

Excersise is fab for both your body and your stress levels which can affect how much you eat also stress can make your body retain fat.

Another simple thing is drinking more water - good for your supply but also thirst can be mistaken for hunger.

Ha. i dont lose weight while BF either. It's a bugger. But normal i reckon.

Congrats though

Agree with all the above - also bear in mind that something horrible has happened to your abdominal muscles... My DD is a few days younger than your little one, and I'm not sure I can really remember what I used to look like.

I'm really lucky being able to walk out to the seaside from home everyday, which has helped me lose a fair amount of the weight.

From personal experience I can back up what tiktok said - it was only after 6 months that I really noticed the weight loss. Also important I think to hold out until 6 months before you give your baby anything else - when it's solely your milk that is growing a baby I am sure the weight has to come off. And even better if you then do baby led weaning (lots of info here, just run a search). My ds at 10 months is only just beginning to get a considerable portion of his nutrition from solids and I sure that is why I now weigh a stone less than pre- pg!

But weight loss alone doesn't make for a great body and would second all the exercise advice.

Good luck and don't worry too much, just try to eat welll so that you have the energy you need to feed yourself and your baby.

My DS is 4.5 months and it's only now that i have had a sudden (unexpected) weight loss. I've lost about a stone but I don't know how long it has taken me to do it. I don't own scales, just happened to jump on at the Dr's the other day.
Sad thing is, I think it is because DS is a horrendous sleeper (never had more than four continuous hours since he was born) and I think I burnt it off pacing up and down in the wee small hours!
So, don't sweat it, go for the 9 months on and 9 months off. Keep eating well and don't even think about a diet til way after Christmas.
Can you get your hair done, or have a manicure or something? Give yourself a little treat for doing such a great job with your babe... x