Anyone put off of breastfeeding as it can actually slow weightloss?

[Cheekychops84]

hello I've had 2 breastfes babies in the past and I was planning to breastfeed this one however after reading up on breastfeeding I realise now this may b y I never managed to shed the baby weight? It states whilst breastfeeding your body clings onto fat stores thus not loosing much weight until after weaning? And the fact u still need extra calories to keep up your supply?

This is now putting me off as I think after baby is born I really jus want this weight gone ! I know breastfeeding has so many benefits but I will his be miserable knowing it's keeping me fat ?

Sorry backto2 if my information was wrong. I thought maybe it could lead to pnd due to being unhappy in myself in the first place as I deff had pnd with my 2nd and the weight sticking around deff did not help

Are you kidding? It was the opposite for me. I'm bf at 5 months and it really helps with weight loss. Also doesn't it initially help your uterus contract.

I agree that thie decision to bf or ff should be about a mothers needs as well as baby's but weight loss should be way down on your list of worries. If you want to bf, worry about your weight loss later. You might get a hungry demanding baby like my DS in which case you all the feeding and floor pacing will keep your weight down plus the lack of time to stop and eat .

Good luck!

I wasn't able to breastfeed and ended up on Atkins for 18 months to get the weight off. As far as I know the body gains and stores weight specifically to be used for BF so I would do it at least at first. Believe me Atkins for 18 months was not a great experience.

i think different women's bodies react in different ways. I was the heaviest I've ever been throughout bfing 1st time round, but I wasn't trying to diet - I was too bloody hungry all the time! Seriously, I had never experienced that level of hunger before - it was like a red mist of madness that descended and god help anyone who got between me and my dinner.

Also I didn't particularly try to eat healthily, I ate an awful lot of chocolate and crap.

This time round am planning to eat a lot (as I know I will need to) but try to keep it as healthy as possible - cut out simple carbs and have lots of protein and complex carbs - and try to exercise and see what difference that makes.

Also meant to say that I really sympathise with your weight worries. If you are overweight and you are normally not it will in my experience for certain make you feel sad and depressed, so do not feel guilty about caring for yourself (as well as your baby). It is important to maintain a healthy weight after pregnancy for your future health.

When I'd given birth I had people telling me not to worry about my weight and focus on the baby. Frankly I wanted to punch these people. Of course I was focusing on the baby (who doesn't) but was also seriously pissed off that my ass was the size of a bus! For lots of ladies the weight just doesn't come off magically.

I would do whatever you think you need to.

Another one who had the opposite experience - seemed to spend everyday sat bf and eating cake, yet ended up a dress size smaller than I was pre-pregnancy. Am hoping it works out the same this time, and it wasn't just dowm to DS being a milk monster of the very highest order.

Nonsense, I gained and haven't lost weight having mostly FF DD1. Having and BFing forever DD2 has made very little difference.

Oh, I'd assumed you'd got the info from a BFspecific site like kellymom. I really depends on the people. I think I should probably mention that I also use slings and walk lots so am very active postbirth which will also impact.

Generally BF usually helps with weight loss with women of a 'normal' BMI pre-pregnancy but obviously doesn't apply to everyone

I don't see how that's physically possible OP. producing milk burns calories so if you aren't eating as many calories as you need to do your daily activity and what you put in the breast milk you'll lose weight. I lost 3.5 stone on a year feeding but then I sat on the sofa with a cup of tea but no cake when I fed. My friend was always having a biscuit because "she needed the energy" by the ends of a year she'd put on a stone and was blaming feeding.

In fairness I think the is some evidence that BF changes the way in which your body stores/retains fat, although contrary to *librarian's post I had always understood that woman who were slim pre preg and during preg found it difficult to shift the last few pounds because their bodies wanted to "hang on to it" to ensure successful feeding.

Weight loss really should not be the decision maker for your choice of feeding! I find however, that BF lets me eat whatever I like and burn through the calories, I can't wait till bubba is born and I can get skinny ha ha

I put on four stone with each of my first two pregnancies, I breastfed and rapidly returned to skinnier than ever. Honestly, though weight loss never entered my mind as a reason not to bf, and I like being slim. Pamper yourself, feed your baby as best you can, and please don't worry about "baby" weight for aaaages.

SaraBellum iirc correctly thta was only the case in very underweight women. Of course general eating habits may have a part to play - if you eat sensibly during and after pregnancy you are more likely to get back to 'noormal' weight surely. I have had friends who regarded pregnancy and BF as carte-blanche to eat whatever they wanted ('eating for two')whether they needed it or not. they were the ones who tended ot gain excess weight in pregnancy and then not lose it while BF.

Breastfeeding helps your uterus shrink back to normal size faster so that can help your stomach shrink. I gained 2 1/2 stone with DS1 and lost the lot in under 3 months and I was breastfeeding and not dieting.

That's not to say that in the years since my weight hasn't gone up and down and up and down (I've never been skinny and the smallest I've ever gotten is a UK size 12). I was 15st before I found out I was pregnant this time but fortunately I've only gained 5lbs so when it comes to after I've had the baby I'm hoping to end up smalled than I was before I got pregnant this time.

interesting and wiki

I didn't lose mine until I stopped. It coincided with a rather nasty chest infection as well, though. If that experience is anything to go by, breastfeeding makes me hang on to the last stone.

interesting, i prolonged breastfed, DS 3 years 4 months when stopped, had been dieting for last year or so of BF unsuccessfully. Since stopping BF about 3 months ago have lost 23lbs without trying that hard, should have stopped earlier!

That's really interesting peppapiggy I guess it shows that it can make you hold onto weight? As well as for others it can make the weight drop off ? I guess it shows just how different all our bodies take to pregnancy and childbirth?

Cheekychops I do think it depends on the individual, tbh. I know a lot of people who swear that BF helped weight loss, but with both my babies I found that whilst it helped initial loss and uterus contracting etc, I developed what I called my 'breastfeeding blubber' once my milk supply was settled and established. I am fairly tall and slim (size 10-12) and I didn't really change my eating patterns whilst breastfeeding, but definitely carried additional weight around the boobs, tummy, bum and thighs...and said blubber did not go until I stopped breastfeeding, at around 7m for each baby. Within two weeks of stopping feeding, and with no significant change to either eating patterns or lifestyle, it literally all shrank away and I was back to prepreg size and clothes with no effort at all. It was great, like free liposuction !

So in my case, BF most definitely meant putting on additional weight, not losing it. I'd definitely say there is something in the 'fat stores' argument. I wouldn't say it would ever put me off BF, though. I am early pg with no 3 and certainly plan to BF him or her and will just put up with the 'breastfeeding blubber' as I love BF, it's the best thing for baby and I know that once I stop the same thing will (hopefully) happen.

Really? I've never heard that. BF made me loose weight too fast if anything. 8 months in I am skinnier than I've ever been as an adult, I eat what i want with it - and more treats than i should. Maybe it just effects different people in different ways?

Everyone's different but I think it has more to do with your general diet than you might care to admit. I BF twice (for 12mo and still bf-ing now at 16mo).

With my DS I gained weight in the first few months as I basically ate like you wouldn't believe - a combination of being hungry and eating like a pig. I lost the weight around 6 months when I started exercising properly and stopped eating so much. I got my pre-preg figure back by 9 months.

With DD I'd lost all the baby weight by 4 months, have lost more since. BF-ing helps, as I do eat a fair bit, but eating sensibly and exercising regularly also help.

So... sorry, but I think it'd down to how much and what you eat (and how much you exercise), rather than BF-ing or not.

Not read the entire thread, but some people do hold onto the weight while BEing,but then lose it when they stop.

I lost a hell of a lot of weight breast feeding- everyone is different though I suppose !! God there's so much pressure to be skinny for women isn't there :( - sadly even new mums!!! If you enjoy breast feeding, go for it & see how you go! It's a relatively short period of time & then you can worry about the weight loss!

I so badly wanted to be someone who lost weight uncontrollably through breastfeeding. But I put on a stone. And it didn't just drop off when I stopped...

I don't agree it's diet related - look at all these women who ate cake as and when they wanted!

I did weight watchers religiously and lost one measly half pound in 6 months, and that was weighing, measuring, and writing down everything that passed my lips, and I didn't use the extra allowance for breastfeeding.