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Original poster

Weight loss when Breastfeeding

23 replies

FigEater · 13/12/2013 10:13

How much weight loss is normal when Breastfeeding? I am about 2.5 stone lighter than pre pregnancy and eating a LOT. Have tried google but it just gives me diet tips.

Sorry if this seems like a humblebrag but I'm not sure at what point you should start to worry. If someone could just say, don't worry, ill go and open another packet of crisps.

Phone likes to capitalise Breastfeeding for some reason.

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lockie1983 · 13/12/2013 10:17

I would say don't worry ... But no real experience, bf didn't work for me.

How heavy were you pre pregnancy? Are you in a healthy weight range now?

Ff here, put on 4 stone during pregnancy and almost six moths after giving birth I am back to my normal weight by doing ... Well not much.

sotiredfornow · 13/12/2013 10:31

I wouldn't worry. I weighed not much more than 7 stone 6 months after the birth & that was down to Breastfeeding. I was a rake. It just seemed to burn SO many calories and really drained the life from me. I remember feeling weak one evening and having to rush to the shop to buy two bars of chocolate even though I had ate all day. Not the best idea but i was eating huge amounts of healthy food and still couldn't seem to get quite enough calories!!

Do you feel ok?

stowsettler · 13/12/2013 10:33

I hate you . BF did nothing for my weight loss, and I gained 3.5 stone during pregnancy. My friend, who is already like a stick, became like a pipe cleaner. Grr.
Go and open another packet of crisps

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Skylerwh1te · 13/12/2013 10:34

I don't know what's normal but I have experienced the same, I eat everything but have lost lots of weight, back to what I weighed a few years ago. I wasn't really heavy before pregnancy or anything but def around a stone lighter than pre pregnancy now. Want to stop bf soon but going to leave it until after Christmas!

littleomar · 13/12/2013 10:37

Don't waste it on crisps. I had rocky roads for breakfast.

From what I remember with my first two, things stabilise after a while (even before you start weaning) and by about 6 months I had to watch the cake intake. Make the most of it!

areyoutheregoditsmemargaret · 13/12/2013 10:49

I lost loads when bf dc1, less so with dc2. I agree just to enjoy, when you stop, the weight loss stops instantly too, but so does the huge appetite. I ate non-stop pork pies as they're my favourite high calorie treat . If you feel Ok, then it's not a problem.

BocaDeTrucha · 13/12/2013 10:56

I'm the same and have lost 35lbs since giving birth and I hardly put on any weight during pregnancy. I have lost twice the weight gained during pregnancy and that bairns from the day I left the hospital, but gradually over time. (I'm now 12weeks pp). My midwife said is nothing to worry about.

I am pleased as was verging on overweight pre-pregnancy but I'm worried too. My recent blood tests show all is fine except ridiculously high cholesterol so need to watch what I eat. I'm also concerned that as soon as I stop bfing the weight will pile back on. Not sure whether to throw out old clothes or not just in case!

BocaDeTrucha · 13/12/2013 10:59

I mean the weight loss was from the day I left hospital and not gradually over the last few weeks. The bfing is helping keep the weight off, but not what caused the weight to drop off to begin with. I came out of hospital and it was as though I'd had liposuction... My bum had totally disappeared!

Mamabear12 · 13/12/2013 11:13

geez. not fair! i breastfeed and swear it holds on to the weight...and i fully breast feed and pump an extra bottle of milk a day to store (for when i drink and have to pump and dump). i dont eat that much more and weight is so slow to come off! okay, its only been 6 weeks since birth...but first time around weight loss took forevr as well!

Eletheomel · 13/12/2013 11:16

I wouldnt' worry, by the time DS1 was 4 months old, I was 1.5 stone lighter than pre-pregnancy weight and that was with eating several bars of chocolate and bags of crisps a day (on top of my healthy nutritious diet, you understand...).

I'd keep eating as much as you need and just enjoy the easiest weight loss plan in history (DS2 is 6 months old and I'm still 8lbs above pre-pregnancy weight this time round - dagnamit, looks like it will be diet class for me in January...)

diamondsrforever · 13/12/2013 11:19

Ds is 17 weeks ebf.....before pregnancy I was size 14-16 now easily in all size 10 n eat like a pig....ds on the other hand is massive n popping out of size 6-9month baby grows!!

oscarwilde · 13/12/2013 12:23

Provided your weight is not tipping you into an Underweight BMI I would think hooray !
If you are getting scarily underweight, I would see your doctor for a quick once over in case your thyroid has gone a bit loopy.

Original poster

FigEater · 13/12/2013 12:40

Thanks for the thyroid tip. If it continues when I stop ill get checked. Was in the low end of overweight before and now the very low end of healthy weight. Feel ok but was a bit shocked looking at some holiday photos. Also confused on what clothes to buy but ill just keep what I've got and tighten belt for the moment in case it comes back. More crisps it is then.

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Original poster

FigEater · 13/12/2013 12:41

Thanks for the rocky road breakfast tip think ill draw the line at pork pies though..

OP posts:

rrreow · 13/12/2013 13:05

Is your current weight a healthy one (i.e. within the normal range)? If yes, I'd say don't worry.

oscarwilde · 13/12/2013 13:25

It's not v unusual just fortunate, wish I'd been that lucky! I wouldn't load up on crisps and rocky road. I won't help your cholesterol levels and instead of being nice and slim for the summer you'll just be skinny-fat with lots of cellulite .
Get some opinions from some skinny friends (not the chubby ones) as to whether or not you are starting to look too thin. Many people are officially underweight but its all relative to height and frame. You might have been tubbier than you realised before you conceived.
What you could do is try to eat more Low GI foods, add more wholemeal pasta, brown rice to your diet so you don't get hungry so quickly. You don't need to fret about treats but it is really easy to get into bad habits with a small baby when you find it difficult to find the time to eat properly. Then when the fat busting suction machine is weaned you have a nice cake habit for elevenses. or cappucino and croissant in my case

Final thing - did you exercise at all before you got pregnant? If you've been sedentary for a year, your muscle mass will have gone. So while you might have lost 2.5 stone, that's not automatically fat that's gone iykwim? Find someone with a body fat percentage weighing scales and see how you are doing.

delilah89 · 13/12/2013 16:18

Hiya - this happened to me too (though not as extreme as you describe). Have always been thin but now v. thin -- been BF DD for 14 months and eat a lot.

One thing is you might be dehydrated? Have you tried upping water intake? Being dehydrated also brings weight down but it's not 'real' weightloss it's just water. I drink big glasses of full fat milk - try that!

roweeena · 13/12/2013 17:10

BIATCH (joking)

Just enjoy it, I don't lose the weight until I stop breastfeeding, its like my body just has to hang on to its fat store.

Problem was I only stopped breastfeeding two months before I got pregnant again (although the MS meant that I finally got to my ideal weight for a couple of weeks!)

Trooperslane · 13/12/2013 17:34

I've put on 5 bloody pounds - as soon as my milk came I'm. (Nothing to do with cake and glass of wine every night... - mix feeding before everyone freaks out!)

pumpkinsweetie · 13/12/2013 18:08

Enjoy it, i never managed to successfully bf any of my dc. Having no5 soon and if i can lose weight if i manage to bf, what a bonus
I have a lot to shift !

Jollyb · 13/12/2013 18:22

Definitely have your thyroid checked.quite common to develop thyroid issues peripartum. My sister did though it coincided with her starting weight watchers so took a while to be diagnosed.

Melonbreath · 15/12/2013 08:42

Bananas, whole milk, proper butter and..... chocolate! To begin with a dropped weight like no tomorrow but by about 6 months I had to stop eating like a pig.
Gutted!

spilttheteaagain · 15/12/2013 20:48

I lost a load of weight BF-ing, esp once DD was mobile but still not interested in eating solids (9-10 months ish). She's now 2 yrs 4 months and still feeding, and I am about half a stone lighter than pre pg, BMI now just under 19.

My tips would be to eat calorie & nutritionally dense foods like nuts, avocado, cheese, v dark choc (lots of iron!), bananas, fatty meats (e.g. pork belly/lamb breast/chicken thighs inc skin), oily fish, cream, cream cheeses, olive oil/butter on your veg etc.

Whilst so tempting and so easy to just eat your own bodyweight in chocolate hobnobs (believe me, I had a good go) it just left me feeling tired, shit and at the mercy of mega sugar highs and lows. Eating better has given me much more energy, despite DD STILL not sleeping for more than 2-3 hours at a stretch (I say more energy, not feeling fab but much better!)

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