BF and weight loss?

[Madigan]

How long do you have to bf for before you start losing weight?
Just wondering whether it should be immediate (obviously so long as you are not existing on chocolate/biscuits) or more long term
I know I am ridiculous to be worrying about this when DS only 4 weeks old, but I just hate being so fat ............ have 2 stone to lose ...............

I've never lost weight through breastfeeding. Some people just don't.

I'm losing weight now and DD is 6 months old and still EBF but I'm also running 15k a week and doing Weight Watchers!

Sorry

I found that at 5-6 months with each of my 3 DC the last bits of weight just dropped off. I'm now back to a healthy weight. DD is 15 months BTW. She does however feed through the night still and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.

i'm sure tiktok has said it shows itself in the population after6 months. DS is 8mo and weight loss definitely quicker now - think my appetite has slowed right down...

My dd bfed every 2hrs day and night for 7 months, she gained a whopping 20lbs in that time so was definitely taking quite a bit of milk. I ate healthily, walked and cycled lots as I don't drive. Did I lose any weight? Not a pound. Some women don't apparently. I took up running and even running 4/5 times a week (long runs too, 45 minutes at a hard pace) and still the weight moved v v v slowly but lost 2 stones over about 18 monnths. DD is 3 now and still bfed. She only feeds in a morning now though and the final half a stone has started to very slowly go.

I think some women just don't lose weight while bfing. I know several who lose it all extremely fast when they stop but not an ounce while feeding.

10 months in and I am still fat! Lost nearly a stone doing weight watchers but coming off very slowly

Maybe if you diet and excercise your body hangs onto the extra weight as it thinks 'oooh, lean times.' In the same way that people plateau when dieting.

Just a thought. I eat like a horse and lose weight still so perhaps everyone should follow my piggy regime?

I'm probably wrong btw I do realise this

Lost all of my pregnancy weight, with both ds's, within the first few weeks, def withing first few months. thought bf def helped. sorry. think its just luck of the draw. bit like the logic of those that get stretch marks and those that don't. i have none. what is the logic of that ? nothing, i am afraid.

ds1 and ds2 i lost the weight by about 2 months, but carried a bit of extra weight (on boobs obviously) and love-handle area til about 6 months then suddenly got really skinny, no bum, no curves.

dd1 is now nearly 5 months and i'm pre-preg weight but waaaay curvier than usual so am starting to think it makes a diff whether you have boys or girls...

I gained during BF -- loads, actually. This time I am joing WW as soon as DD and I have had our postnatal check.

I put weight on while I was bf.

Unfortunately, I bf for quite a long time

can I ask the peeps doing WW, if you feel it has at all affected your milk supply?? I am desperate to lose some weight, happy for it to be slow and steady but my milk supply is a concern after the slow start to BF I had after my caesarean...

I haven't yet started (and didn't do WW while feeding last time around) but I know they factor in extra points (calories) for bf so it ought to be OK. In any case, it's my understanding that your diet doesn't affect your milk supply despite what some HVs would have you believe. I'm sure tiktok has said as much on other threads I've read (someone will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong).

You get extra points to account for the extra calories you need for BF on WW Scarlett. They suggest you only lose 1 lb a week too. I haven't found my supply to be affected and I've been doing it for 3 weeks now.

sorry, namechanged, Dorothea here -- I posted earlier on thread

OP, I had 2 stone to lose as well and I had lost it all by the time DS was about 8 months. The weight loss started slow and speeded up as DS got bigger. At one point I was losing weight so fast that the Sure Start staff thought I was anorexic and got all worried about me.

I carried DS everywhere in a sling, I gave up dairy after about 8 weeks because my DS is allergic, and I didn't eat many biscuits or other 'bad' foods during this time. However, I ate loads and loads. I didn't do any 'proper' dieting or formal exercise.

Weight fell off me after I'd stopped BFing DD at 2.5, but it did coincide with a new job, so that might have been why.

Still BFing DS1 when I fell pg with DS2, so I've just increased in mass.

The buiscuit-based diet doen't help.

I'm another who actually gained weight whilst breastfeeding, naturally quite small so I think my body was hanging on to extra fat to support the breastfeeding. With both dcs the weight came off naturally once I stopped breastfeeding at about 11 months.

Weight fell off at the beginning - I was one of those annoying types who were back in their pre-preg jeans after 2 weeks. And I was eating like a horse - even preparing snacks to have by the bed for feeding in the night. I could actually feel my tummy contracting in the early days. Now, DS is 4 months and things have definitely plateaued. In fact, I'd say the weight I am now (about 5 lbs over my pre-preg weight) I have been since he was about 2 months. Several of those lbs have got to be in my boobs though!

Sorry - I know this probably wasn't what you wanted to hear! Just posting to show it really is different for everyone (as the majority of the other posts prove!)

FWIW I don't give a stuff about this. I am mildly interested in my weight loss but not obsessed - when I look at my wobbly tummy I just remember why and give him another cuddle Don't be hard on yourself. BFing is a wonderful gift you are giving your child and is worth so much more than a smaller dress size..

Like SoLongAsItsHealthy it fell off immediately afterwards and I was back in my jeans really quick.

However, the cakes have now caught up with me (DS is 3months) and we have hit not just a plateau but I am starting to notice a leeetle bit of a tyre developing.

Must put down the cake, must put down the cake...it doesn't help THAT I AM SO BLOODY HUNGRY!

I put on 4 stone and lost the last of it by the time DS was 5 months. I changed shape though - the bits that used to be flat (belly) stuck out and the bits that used to stick out (tits and arse) flat... Am sure that a bit of exercise would sort that out, but as am currently 37 weeks pregnant with DC2 the gym will hve to wait a few months for my membership to be renewed!

another who gained quite a bit breast feeding...doing weight watchers now...I lost a stone but then lost my mojo and have plateaued at about 20lb above my pre preg weiight. I am going back to work in August so I had better get my act together though, don't want to go back fat...

Oh Gwennie, that is exactly what I imagine will happen if (no, when, must think positively) I lose the weight.

I fear the unshiftable sticking-out tummy. It's going to mean that my smaller-sized clothes won't suit me because I'll be an entirely different shape to before so I'll have to buy new stuff and also spend money on the gym (unless I can motivate myself to exercise at home or in the park but I normally find that next to impossible ...) Bit worried about where the money will come from, am afraid I just won't sort it out and will languish in sloppy clothes forever.

Hey ho. At least if I can lose the weight I can stop worrying about eating myself into an early grave and missing out on future grandchildren etc etc. It's really more about that for me at the moment; looking good would be a nice side-effect though.

Don't worry Vuvu there's always magic knicker until the exercise regime kicks in.