Breastfeeding and STARVING!

[tryingtobemarrypoppins2]

Is it normal to want to consume your onw body weight to food when your breastfeeding a newborn?? LO is 6 weeks feeding every 2 hours in the day and I am soooooooooooooooooooooo hungry!

Worried I will be a whale soon!

Absolutely.

I am continually starving.

I find drinking helps. Or you can try healthy snacks but I've found chocolate a must-eat both times I've been breastfeeding.

yup - it settles down though, and good advice to drink lots. but for a few months all i wanted was cake! and i am not really a sweet tooth type person, not even when preggers! as soon as i was bfing though... pass the carrot cake ...

Do you really burn 500 cals a day when feeding??? I was hoping I would get slim!

Appaently some people store fat when breastfeeding. I must be one of those people

I'd heard it was 500 calories too but I've not lost much at all. Didn't with my first child either.

My friend almost disappeared when feeding her second! She went from a pre pregnancy size 16 to a post breastfeeding size 10!!

Yes everyone is different. I lost quite a bit of weight in the first six month, eventhough I was eating like there was no tomorrow. But after 6 month I gained weight again. I guess it is because my LO started with solid food and did not need as much milk anymore.

might have to cut down on my cake then

Absolutely normal- I couldn't believe how much I ate when bfeeding. I found that the weight came off quite easily though.

Totally normal. I ate stacks because DS was feeding at least 2 hourly day and night for the first 12 weeks. I was down to pre pregnancy weight when he was 8 weeks old.

Unfortunately, his feeding has settled down a bit the last few weeks but I'm still eating stacks and the weight is starting to creep back on

So does breastfeeding really help you lose weight then?? Or is that a bit of an unknown??

I couldn't eat fast enough to keep up with DS, the food seemed to bypass my fat stores and turn directly into milk. It was wonderful Unfortunately I carried on eating like that after he stopped feeding at 13 months, and now my spare tyre looks like it fell off a monster truck

Have vivid memories of being with three friends, plus all our newborns, having lunch in Pizza Express. The waiter didn't even get to finish his 'do you want the dessert menu?' sentence

Hehe, hello Lee and GS

DS is 18 weeks old and I am still shovelling food down. DH was told off on Tuesday, for allowing me to go supermarket shopping (was just going for ketchup and milk) and asking me to buy some snacks for his lunch while I was hungry!! Silly man. We are £50 lighter, but could set up our own supermarket with the amount of crackers, mini pork pies, peperami, mini babybel and the like. To make matters worse, I forgot the milk!

I have never known hunger like it when I am breastfeeding, wake during the night and have to eat something whilst i am feeding dd.

Me too.

I did have a few cravings whilst pregnant, but nothing like the hunger whilst breastfeeding.

I had a massive tub of maltesers that I used to much on.

How many gallons of tea??

"Babies who are exclusively breastfed consume an average of 25 ounces of breast milk a day, meaning that moms burn 500 calories a day"

ummmmmmm isn't that 2 mars bars.......(goes off to fridge)

I have gained over 2 stone during pregnancy and breastfeeding and feel miserable about it, but just had to eat and what with a newborn refluxy baby I just ate anything I could get my hands on. My daughter is 6 months old and I am at weight watchers trying to claw back the 30lbs I have put on. wish I was one of the lucky ones who could eat anything they liked and not put it on!

Breastfeeding has made me starving with all 3 of my dcs. I too find it difficult to lose any weight when feeding. Just can't get enough chocolate and cheese!

I always craved sugar - often the worst kind of sweet desserts etc but once I'd figured it out better (I have 3 b/f dc!) I kept up my intake of good food and the sugar cravings slowed down. Never went away, as I was always so tired anyway and sugar helped so much in the short term but at least I could focus on eg oatcakes and cheese snacks which would give me longer lasting energy.

Me too! Sweet tooth has gone into overdrive - just want to scoff chocolate all day long (and freqently do ). I have somehow managed to loose my baby weight though.

weight loss def. sped up now i am not eating sugar (except in one coffee a day)... everytime i want something sweet i stuff in a handful of nuts. seems to be doing the trick. hope so, as it was getting a bit depressing!

DD is 13 months and I still eat like a horse and am a neat 8st 7lb
I found that I lost almost all the weight with DS1 immediately the other 2 came off slowly til 5-6 months and then fell off like there was no tomorrow. Possibly carrying babies in a sling and running up and down stairs after toddlers helps though.
Oh, and my penchant for ricecakes.
BooKangeroo - apparently the sugar craving thing is to do with tiredness. I certainly found after a few particularly rather than ordinarily bad nights sleep I crave sugary foods.

I was so tired the other day, I got one of those ticks in the muscle under my eye that just would not go away!! Was craving sugar all day too so that would fit.

Wish I could swap sugary snacks for nuts but as both DH and I are atopic, I have to avoid them while feeding. Could try some rice cakes though. Do you think DS's organic raspberry and blueberry ones would be OK? Still a little sweet while I transition...

I like rice cakes with hummus spread on top. Gives me energy. but raspberry and blueberry sounds rather nice.

Not a fan of hummus.

The raspberry and blueberry ones are lovely, it's a good job they come in a big bag