Breastfeeding weight gain. Impossible to lose

[peetieswie]

Hi

My baby is nearly seven months and I am finding it impossible to lose weight while breastfeeding. I've never been bigger than a size 10 and I'm currently a size 16. At first I was eating takeaway and cake as I assumed breastfeeding meant I could eat what I want and lose weight. However for months now I've been having no sugar, no alcohol, no processed food and I've been exercising more than I ever have before and I can't lose anything at all. It's really getting me down as I don't feel like myself at all and feel so sad when I see myself. However, I really fought through a tongue tie and thrush to breastfeed and I feel sad at the idea of giving up.

I guess what I'm asking is, when will my baby start cutting down feeds to the point I won't feel bad about giving up, or is there anyone who went through a similar experience and what did you do?

I’ve read that you can’t lose the last bit of weight while breastfeeding because your body keeps some fat just in case. Not very scientific explanation is if, let me see if I can find a link

It's been awhile now but I remember thinking the same thing at around six months. I was constantly really hungry and craving all the worst things to .

When my baby was about a year old I was still breastfeeding (he refused solids altogether for a long time) but I lost a shit ton of weight between then and him being 2 ( he was still feeding lots then).

I'm sure I read somewhere that breastfeeding a baby only requires an extra 200 cal today but my God my appetite didn't reflect that LOL

*too

Talk to type hates me

I think I lost quite a bit of weight and got quite skinny to my surprise once I stopped bfing. Give it some more month I'd say. I do think my body was holding onto some fat.

Have your thyroid checked. Common for it to be impacted by pregnancy.

I also gained weight while breastfeeding @peetieswie , it is quite common and you will lose it. Pounds come and go, but the joy of breast-feeding will be long-lasting, so give it up.

Since your DD is 7 months, maybe embrace a high volume and diversity of vegetables, which she can also enjoy in a pureed form.

Exercising too much can actually make you retain weight and even make you gain some as it makes you hungrier. Maybe ease it a bit and focus on what you eat.
You say you eat no sugar, are you opting for artificial sweetener? They are actually obesogenic so if you are eating our drinking "no sugar" or "low sugar" stuff, cut it out.

Give us an example of what you eat/ drink in a day

I'm eating really good food and only having 1600-1800 calories a day and have been for a while now. Before pregnancy if I'd eaten and exercised like this I'd go down to a size 8 (normally a 10) but it's making no difference. I don't think it's something 'wrong' with me as have read lots of threads where others have had the same thing and weight came off after breastfeeding. Just thinking, is feeling bad about my weight a good enough reason to stop?

You can stop for whatever reason! But make sure it's totally right for you and consider how you feel if you stop and the weight still doesn't shift.

Most days I have

Weetabix and light soya milk
A chickpea salad for lunch (large bowl but no cheese as am vegan)
Tofu and steamed veg, or stir fry, or sometimes vegan quorn and roasted veg. A meal below 500 calories generally

Don't usually have snacks other than maybe a small handful of nuts.

Drink only water or a few cups of tea with oat milk

I'm trying to eat incredibly healthily so I can drop some weight but it isn't happening

After I stopped breastfeeding DC1 I instantly lost half a stone without trying. I'm now breastfeeding DC2 and although I am not happy with my weight, I am determined to breastfeed until she's 1 and will sort out my weight then!

If bf is going well, convenient, you both like it, then I’d hold out. In a few months you can move to cows milk if you want to and not have the faff of bottles. It’s entirely your decision though! You can’t be sure it’ll all fall off if you do stop so I’d consider whether you might regret stopping if it doesn’t, or doesn’t very quickly.

Good points. I just feel so huge and I feel like people look at me and think I've done nothing to try to lose weight when really I'm trying everything and working so hard and restricting myself so much. I dread the thought of going back to work being this size. I know it shouldn't matter but I'm completely obsessed with trying to get the weight off.

Breastfeeding is going really well and I do hate the idea of faffing with bottles and would be nice to recoup some of the money I spent on her tongue tie and thrush medication to be able to breastfeed.

I'm the same, our babies are the same age. Im trying to cut down on the rubbish I'm eating but there's only so much fruit I can eat. I'm starving all the time. I'm beginning to think that I'm just going to embrace it!

With DC1 I only lost the last couple of lbs once I stopped breastfeeding which was at 7-8 months. But I mean literally a few lbs. maybe 5lbs max.

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but being a size 16 when your pre-pregnancy size was a size 10 is not just the last bit of weight and does potentially suggest there is something else impacting your weight (I’m basing that on what you said about diet and exercise, plenty of people are still carrying a lot of pregnancy gain at that stage).

How do you feel generally? Tired I’m assuming but do you feel any more tired than you think you reasonably should? As someone else suggested it could be thyroid related. Worth checking out.

How active are you outside of the exercise? I’m so sedentary in lockdown that I need to exercise to stand still if that makes sense? So even though I’m working out daily I’m not using anywhere close to the calories I usually would. The only reason I have really recognised this is because I wear a smart watch.

Can I ask how tall you are OP? If I eat 1800 calories a day at the moment I gain weight because I spend all day except for my workout sat on my backside. You may be using fewer calories than you think if you are usually a lot more active.

But forgetting all that, it’s only been 6 months. Plenty of women take way longer than that to get back to their pre pregnancy size. Try not to be so hard on yourself!

And to actually answer your question about feeding, by 10 months DC2 was on 4 feeds a day (including 1 at night). Down to 2 feeds a day by 12 months (plus a night feed maybe 50% of the time). After a biting episode tonight I may have to draw it to a close now!

I'm 5ft3. I'm going out for a walk of at least an hour every day, either pushing the pram or carrying baby (and she's a big one) in a carrier. I'm also up and down at home, not just sitting. I only sit down for about an hour and a half before bed. I do a workout while she's napping. I am positive I am exercising more and eating better than I ever have before.

Also, I feel tired due to night feeds. I don't feel ill or exhausted. If she sleeps better, I feel better, and if she sleeps worse I feel worse.

OP I found that I lost weight in chunks after my baby was born (ebf). I was also a size 10 pre pregnancy and went to a 14 (I’m 5’7) and gained about 3 stone. I lost the first stone via the birth and in the first 6 weeks. I gradually lost about half a stone up to 7/8 months then suddenly lost a stone in a couple of weeks without doing anything! I retained that last half stone until I stopped bf and then again it dropped off really fast. I never dieted but did start to cut down on my daily cake habit once baby was over 6 months. For me it was totally hormonal. Hopefully you will start to lose some now your baby is on solids. Also second the advice to get your thyroid checked.

I’m 3 months in with baby 2 and I didn’t gain as much weight this time but am still 1.5 stone up on pre pregnancy weight. At least one of the benefits of lockdown is not having to worry so much about what I look like! I know it will drop off again.

In the meantime enjoy feeding your lovely baby - you have the rest of your life to lose weight but you won’t get this time back.

I BF my DCs for quite a long time, each time I gave up I lost half a stone in a week.

@peetieswie

Most days I have

Weetabix and light soya milk
A chickpea salad for lunch (large bowl but no cheese as am vegan)
Tofu and steamed veg, or stir fry, or sometimes vegan quorn and roasted veg. A meal below 500 calories generally

Don't usually have snacks other than maybe a small handful of nuts.

Drink only water or a few cups of tea with oat milk

I'm trying to eat incredibly healthily so I can drop some weight but it isn't happening

Hmm, on that diet you really should not be maintaining a size 16, especially breastfeeding. Are you eating a lot of carbs in the lunch?

Or lots of pasta/rice/bread?

Thanks Harriet. Maybe the same will happen for me if I continue to eat well. I guess I need to get over how I look for now a bit. Is just so frustrating.

And yes, I should not be a size 16! I've cut carbs right down. I honestly and doing everything. I don't know how my body can't be losing weight, it would be coming off quick with this lifestyle normally but somehow my body is not giving anything up. I don't know how I can keep up this diet and exercise but I'm scared if I start having the odd carbs or biscuit I'll put on even more weight. Doesn't help my husband is eating ice cream and biscuits all the time 😩

If you've plateaued so to speak maybe try changing the whole diet?

Bran flakes and banana
A small bread roll and veggie soup
Bean casserole packed with spinach and other leafy bread?

Or

Big green smoothie and berries
Veggie tofu scramble
Veg pad Thai or veg curry.

Maybe if you switch it up completely your body might notice?

We've started getting gousto boxes for dinner and I've found it so so helpful being able to choose recipes based on calories, and getting delivered the exact ingredients so I don't cook too much and have leftovers, or cook more than necessary because stuff needs using.

My doctor explained to me that your body knows that you are using lots of calories breastfeeding and your body knows this so it stores fat just in case! I hope that makes sense!

Another annoying thing - I'm 5ft 3, so about the same as you, and as I get older I find it super hard to lose weight unless I stick to 1200 calories and under. Even if I exercise - and I can't eat my burned exercise calories.

I'm eating about 1400 a day, doing an hour speed walking on the treadmill with wrist weights, and I still weigh 142lbs. If I wanted to get down to my old comfy size 12 135lbs I'd have to eat 1000-1200. I never used to be like this, I think metabolism slows down.

there was research done that showed it was genetic - 70% of women don't particularly lose weight breastfeeding.