Substantial post natal weight loss - help!

[herdwicksheep]

Just a quick background.
I had my first DC 8 months ago. Weighed 68kg at my booking appointment, went up to 84kg whilst pregnant. I lost weight very quickly after DS was born, and have continued to do so since, I'm now 50kg and 5 foot 7, I look and feel unhealthy and I have had lots of comments passed on how I need to put weight on.

My issue is that no matter how I eat I cannot seem to gain weight, i am still BFing and have had thyroid checked. No idea what is causing this weight loss as I eat regularly - does anyone have any helpful suggestions as to how I can gain weight? Has anyone experienced this before?

Weightloss like that needs a thorough check by your dr. There are lots of things that can cause weightloss, you need to find out what it is.

A friend of mine developed an overactive thyroid after she had a baby. Apparently, this is quite a common time to develop thyroid problems. It was easily treated and she is fine now. Perhaps speak to your GP about a blood test?

I lost weight v v dramatically after having DD (no idea of the figures, as I never weighed myself, but I was v underweight). I had a rather traumatic birth and long recovery, was BF too and maybe hadn't realised how energy demanding it was, together with being in sole change of a newborn mon-fri

I had bloods done and apart from being anaemic, which was dealt with, they were all clear. I gradually gained weight and strength, but it took over 12 months

Pregnancy, childbirth and BF can take its toll, but definitely push for more tests, to rule out anything underlying

The first thing to do is book a visit to the GP.
Meanwhile, start writing down everything you eat. You may be underestimating how much you actually eat. If BFing you must add 500 cal to your normal diet.
Start to add fat and sugar to your diet. Full fat cream in soups and pasta, swap porridge for breakfast cereals, your chicken breast for an american-style burger, ... and see how it goes.

I've lost a fair bit of weight since I had DS (7 months), but I don't think as dramatically as you are describing. I'm not sure on my numbers. I'm breastfeeding to and people started commenting that I looked small, I hadn't even noticed. I think the breastfeeding plus running round after a baby compared to my full time desk job has added up to me needing significantly more calories than I realised. I now eat past the point of full, Ive always had a small appetite so it's been quite hard for me to do this. I also make sure I eat frequently which helps, at least every two hours I make sure I eat something. I drink a lot of whole milk and eat nuts and dried fruit which are packed with energy. I agree with the other pp's though, if it's a dramatic weight loss than gp advice is needed.

I'd be interested in hearing any ideas from anyone of healthy ways to gain weight, in terms of which food to eat? I find I eat a lot of crap which I don't really like to do, just because I know I need the calories. I like healthy food but it doesn't help me to gain weight!

I'd go back and ask for another thyroid check, this sounds like me and I had an overactive thyroid. I was enjoying being able to eat whole packets or biscuits and slabs of cake, but I also knew it wasn't right. It is quite common post birth, and mine corrected itself after about a year although I do still have antibodies and get my thyroid function checked yearly just in case.