Breastfeeding twins, weight loss (me)

[beachesandbuckets]

Put on a fair amount of weight when pregnant with twins, didn't care as long as babies were healthy, which thankfully they were.

I have luckily been able to ebf my babies and now 8 weeks in. I know that it is very very early days, but I am eating like a HORSE to substain the feeding, and usually crap like cake, biscuits, buttery toast, etc. I have no 'off switch' at the moment, and can plough through the contents on my cupboards. Fruit etc just doesn't cut it when I am starving. Am not doing any exercise, if I have any free time, I am (rightfully) using it to catch up on my sleep.

Again fine, everyone says that the feeding with burn it all off and then some, I need the energy, I will be thin as a rake running after them etc. HOWEVER rather than lose the baby weight, I have actually PUT WEIGHT ON in last few weeks, eek. I like to think that I usually have a healthy attitude to food, but would like to get back into my old clothes at some stage in the future (can't afford a new wardrobe anyway) and don't want to be this big long term.

Any thoughts/tips etc?

This makes me feel so much better! I was down to pre-preg weight a few days after giving birth, but have in the month since the birth put on about half a stone because I'm soooooo hungry all the time! No tips, but I've personally just decided to get rid of the junk food and start tanking up on healthier stuff... following the thread to see if anyone else has had this issue!

I kept on quite a bit of weight for at least 6 months after each birth. I reckon your body stores fat reserves to support breastfeeding. I also ate like a horse for the first few months! It will pass, v normal to not have energy to do much beyond feeding and taking care of the babies at this stage.

I didn't lose my baby weight until after I had stopped bf my twins because was returning to work at 11 months, even though I did quite a bit of exercise. I was told by someone that your body holds onto its reserves while you are bf.
however if it bothers you then I know that weight watchers do a programme suitable for bf mothers

I'm in the same boat - DTs now 3 months old and feeling much, much chunkier than a few weeks after the birth due to too many flapjacks, peanut butter on toast etc.

It has got me down a little bit so thanks for posting so I know I'm not alone. I had thought about only getting healthy foods in the house but the chocolate keeps getting added onto the Ocado shop (by me).

Thanks all, its good to hear that I am not alone. Its something that has been dismissed in RL when I have mentioned it over last few days ('just enjoy the babies', 'it will soon fall off', you need the energy") all comments which are entirely valid and correct, but its the weight GAIN (rather than slow weight loss or static as after my previous pregnancies) that has thrown me. And not having any clothes to wear that fit that make me feel vaguely nice in my sleep deprived state.

Linguaphile - what healthy food are you thinking of? Fruit and veg just aren't giving me the energy I need. If I brought 'energy releasing' almonds (like always advised in magazines), I would just empty the entire packet down my throat during a hunger bout...

Ceeveebee - thank you for tip, but not sure I can afford weightwatchers as pretty skint on maternity leave, wld be good to hear from anyone who has done it with any tips/guidance though..

I put on some weight between 4 and 10 weeks, I think because I finally had just enough time to grab snacks but not enough to shop or prepare for proper food! Managing with twins must be so much harder, you should definitely be easy on yourself

My key has been to have lots of healthy options already prepared by the time you get hungry... My fridge is now full of veggies (I like cold carrots and cucumbers, but also prep salads and have even done roast veg a couple of time), hummus, Greek yoghurt (to mix with fruit, honey or jam), some fruits. For lunch I also have some frozen and ready made soups that can be drunk from a cup (salty and stuff I know, but better than junk!), and whenever DH or I make dinner I make extra for reheating. It's not to everyone's taste, but I also love having a big bowl of quinoa in the fridge, I can just add some egg or cold meat or avocado plus some veg and it's so filling!

Breast feeding left me starving, and that was only one! My granny was a midwife for years. She told me to up my intake of protein inc dairy - examples of snacks she gave (yes snacks!) were scrambled eggs on brown toast, baked beans, full fat yoghurt or custard with fruit, avocado, cheese on toast. Ie don't hold back on fat either - you need it to fill you up and for the breastmilk. And unless you are veggie have plenty of meat. Porridge in the morning - this helps milk production too. I spose this is all just low GI stuff, but the main thing she said is you DO need to eat more, up to 1000 calories a day more, if you're very active too (I walked miles out of sheer loneliness and boredom). Also watch your fluids - start the day with a pint of water, to set you up. I hope that helps, it worked for me.

As you say it's really early days! At 8 months I still eat loads but now have more time so can cook sometimes and make too much so can have leftovers for lunch. I've found with the twins starting eating that I eat more fruit and veg as often have the same food. I agree with the post above that you do need t eat more and things like oats, bowls of cereal, bananas, avocado, toast, eggs, yoghurt etc are good. I also eat a fair amount of biscuits, cake and treats. In the early weeks/months I'd often be so tired I'd keep eating to get through the day/ night. I still have days when I can't eat enough and always feel hungry but less often - maybe they coincide with growth spurts, which they have a lot of for the frost few months!

Same with me. Immediately after giving birth to my twins I was below my pre-pregnancy weight. I only managed to bf one of my twins (other would not latch). I put on a stone during that time . But stopped about eight weeks ago and have noticed that my appetite has reduced. Hoping I'll begin to lose it now!

Doing weight watchers while breast feeding it's fantastic.

You get a stupid amount of extra points evade of breastfeeding so defiantly dont feel deprived - I always manage an evening chocolate bar and then some!

But it helped me be more mindful about what I did eat.

Thanks, ate porridge for brekkie, and have snacked on oat cakes, apples, bananas, carrot sticks and hommous today, plus pint of water (rather than squash) and pulses/salmon/potatoes/green vege/feta/Greek yoghurt and rasberries.

Although this is a Monday (the willpower day for healthy eating) wonder whether this will apply on Friday night (the lack of willpower day for healthy eating).

Plenty to think about though. I am going to cut out any low fat food (I was eating low fat yoghurts, WW biscuits etc) which are probably full of artificial bad crap and not really good for the breastmilk. Will see how I fare...

My strategy with dc1 was to always drink a point of water before hitting the snacks. Really worked for me.

This time round I've not been doing that and am feeling it!

Drink more water. I definitely confused thirst and hunger signals.

Day 2 and have already made headway into my dh's supply of dark chocolate...

I wouldn't start denying yourself what your body is craving just yet as it's under a lot of demands! Give it a few more weeks for your appetite to calm down on its own. Exercise may also be an issue. As I remember the first couple of months breastfeeding twins were pretty much spent on the sofa with my boobs out eating biscuits. Once the feeding is less time consuming you'll probably start getting about a bit more (I spent hours walking them about in the pram), and once they start crawling you won't sit down for about a year!

Dark choc has iron in it and the caffeine is probably needed too. My husband gets disappointed when he goes to the treats cupboard and I have once again eaten everything!

You do need tons of energy. I am permanently ravenous. Once they hit about 3 months I was walking for HOURS every day as it was the only way to get them to sleep. It does ease off - ab bit. I'm down to 2 pieces of cake a day.

No great advice here I'm afraid, you are doing really well feeding your babies though. I was the same with my dt's and would eat everything in the house plus slices of buttery toast after dinner. I found I lost some of the weight when they stopped feeding quite so much at about 12 months.

Oh I remember that hunger... I would go of a walk with my two for fresh air and exercise. If took me 15 minutes to get to McDonalds and I needed a cheeseburger to give me the energy to get home!! :)

Seriously though, I did lose weight, but the vast majority of the additional food I had was pretty healthy (bananas, cereal bars etc) and just really big portions at meal times. The problem I have now (4 years on) is that I still have a big appetite so I do have to be quite careful about what I eat. Low carb seems to be working, but if wouldn't recommend you going on any diet that restricts particular food groups while you are your babies source of nutrition.

Try not to worry too much about it until you start to wean them.

Top advice from rootypig, btw!

Still eating like a pig!