Breastfeeding and weight loss

[charlaw]

Just looking for a bit of guidance/tips please. Has anyone lost weight breastfeeding? I feel like I’m doing something wrong.
I’m 9 weeks pp and haven’t lost any weight at all, apart from the initial baby and placenta etc. I’m breastfeeding and eating pretty healthily but am worried about letting myself get too hungry in case it impacts on my milk. I am eating chocolate which I’m trying to cut down on (easier said than done!)
I’m a good 1.5 stone heavier than I was prior to pregnancy and it’s making me feel down, I hate to look at my new body in the mirror and I don’t want to spend money on new clothes.
I tell myself that my body has done amazing things and continues to in feeding my baby, but I’d love to start seeing the weight come off just to raise my confidence. I don’t feel like me anymore. I ran a lot pre pregnancy and am looking to take this up again hopefully in a few weeks (gently!)
Does anyone have any tips/would like to share their experiences? Thank you for reading.

Congratulations on your new baby.

look after yourself, drink plenty and eat as well as possible. It’s early days and I would say keep establishing your breastfeeding which will change a bit in the coming weeks. I did lose at least all I gained and more but over several months not weeks.

I think my only tip would be not relying on breastfeeding helping you shed weight. Yes it burns calories but initially after birth most people are significantly less active than usual so that is quickly offset. At your point you could start increasing the amount of activity you're taking, 2 walks a day instead of one etc. you could also look at some mum and baby exercise classes. Keep an eye on your diet, avoid having too many unhealthy snacks in the house as it's easy to make your way through a lot, replace with healthy options. Try and have regular mealtimes despite the baby chaos so your blood sugar is kept stable. But equally, you're still early days so be gentle on yourself. Keeping your weight from creeping up is probably a good start, then slowly chip away at losing some if you want to.

Re running, you can start now if you're feeling ready and your doctor is happy. You should have had a routine appt at 6 weeks for this? I started back running at 6 weeks with no issues but obviously depends on your birth etc. It felt great to get back to it and I was surprised how quickly my fitness built back up.

Hi OP, no advice just a bit of solidarity, I’m nearly 10 months pp and exclusively breastfeeding, I only gained 2 stone during pregnancy and am still a stone above pre pregnancy weight, despite having over an 8lb baby. I’ve just found my appetite to be absolutely huge whilst feeding, and like pp said I’m moving a lot less than before.

Its still very early days for you so you may find it switches, but I don’t expect to get back to my pre pregnancy weight until I stop feeding (and hopefully the appetite goes with it!). Also hoping at some point to resume exercising but it’s very difficult to find the time!

I lost 16% of my body weight on a very restricted diet due to my daughters allergies. I cut out about 40 foods try to identify her 20 allergies and ended up a terrible state.

I started the diet at 4 months. I had pregnancy sickness throughout out my pregnancy living off tinned peaches and only gained a minimum amount of weight. I was back at my pre pregnancy weight by 10 days. All in all do it slowly and sensibly as breastfeeding is very demanding on your body!

If I look at my friends and me, some women lose weight when breastfeeding, others lose weight when they stop breastfeeding. I think that focussing on healthy eating habits is the way to go.

my GP said I was fine to start running again at my 6 week check up but I’ve read that it’s best to wait 12 weeks. I’ve been focusing on strengthening my pelvic floor but may look at an easy ish run over the weekend .. if I can prise baby away from my boob! X

Thanks everyone for the handy tips. I will focus on healthy eating and try to relax a bit, I’m steadily getting more active which I’m pleased with as it improves my general outlook.

I didn't lose much to start with whilst adjusting and baby was still small. But then I lost quite quickly. And now at 15 months pp I can eat loads more than when not bf. Tbh it's the main reason I don't want to stop!

Breastfeeding doesn’t help everyone lose weight. I remember my cousin saying she needed to stop as it was just falling off her no matter what she ate, whereas I ended up in a situation where I was 5+ stone overweight. I’ve managed to lose the 5st with diet and exercise but I guess what I’m trying to say is it isn’t a magical diet for everyone. Just the lucky ones - lol!

I don't know if they are just regional but my friends did dance like a mother dance classes when we had our babies. Dance classes with babies in slings. I did do this class bit did their yoga class before the instructor moved on. All their classes were targeting post partum mums and trying to include exercise into life as young mum.

Another contributing factor to my extreme weight loss was the fact that from 5 months my daughter only did a long nap in the pram so I walked for 2+h a day for about 5 months.

It definitely affects everyone very differently. I was like your cousin and ended up looking unhealthily thin even though I was ravenous all the time and eating plenty. I was glad to stop and get back to a normal weight for me!

It’s still such early days for you! I gained 3 stone in pregnancy, I lost over 1 stone in the first few days and the rest came off over the next few months. By the time my baby turned 1, I weighed less than before pregnancy, by a stone.

I have a chronic health condition that affects my ability to exercise so the weight loss is definitely breastfeeding.

I didn’t really put in any weight when pregnant. I was a bit overweight to begin with, so pretty much stayed the same weight through pregnancy. I was hoping that I’d lose loads when I gave birth. Sadly breastfeeding made me put on weight (I was told to make sure I ate more to keep milk supply up as I had low supply).

I lost a lot quite quickly when I stopped breastfeeding, but didn’t stop eating what I was used to so have now put it back on and more!!

It is still so soon after. I lost weight in my first pregnancy due to hyperemesis and other fun stuff. I was still a dress size larger after, due to stretching. Try a mum and baby class in something like pilates or yoga, so you can tone and not have to find childcare. You can increase the exercise as you heal.

I breastfed all 5 kids for 2 years each. I lost weight with my DD who was dairy intolerant so I had to drop all dairy from my diet. And with eldest after I started walking everywhere with him in the pushchair.
Breastfeeding on its own didn't help me lose weight, actually I felt more of a blob because baby was always attached to the boob so I felt that I was always plonked on a sofa feeding away.