Breastfeeding - does it really help to lose baby weight ....??

[Boop33]

Fact or fiction ? This is not going to affect my decision to breastfeed either way but I am just interested in people's experiences ...... thanks ! :-)

I put weight on. But I was very hungry, and ate lots!

It did with me, not just babyweight but my own weight melted off with DD - ended up nearly a stone lighter than pre-pregnancy.

It entirely depends on how much cake you eat afterwards. It will make you hungry and thirsty, but you don't actually need that many extra calories to sustain breastfeeding.

he he !! mental note ....do NOT have too much cake in the house ! ZuleikaD- did you carry on eating normally or did you end up eating less ...??

For first few months I gained weight, due to eating shed loads of cake. After about 6 months the weight started coming off, and now DS is 10 months I'm pretty much back to pre-pregnancy weight, and still losing

No, I was eating completely normally, but I didn't really hit the cake and biscuits (don't really like them much, not because I'm particularly virtuous!) and I wasn't eating extra.

Ds is 6 weeks old and I have lost 13lb in the last 5 weeks. I have been eating as normal including takeaway, meals out, attended a wedding.

I've not lost weight either time but it does make you hungry and I eat cake like its going out of fashion. Though I haven't actually put weight on...

For me it definitely helped me lose weight in the beginning. The weight fell off me, and I was eating a lot. Producing enough breast milk to sustain your baby uses lots of energy. I couldn't believe it, it was the best way to lose weight ever.

I don't know if it helps. But I was back to size 8 at week 6 or so. By around 4mo, I was slimmer than I was before pregnancy.

I bf dd1 until 6/7 ish weeks. I was back at my normal weight around 6 weeks iirc.

I am still bf dd2 and I only really lost the weight when I went dairy free for her reflux! This time round bf has given me an amazing appetite.

It does help you lose weight if you watch what you eat but the trouble is for alot of people they are hungry all the time :o

I did weightwatchers though and you get extra points for breastfeeding and it fell off really. I b/f for 18 months with that one though

My weight loss slowed for first few months or so but I ate shit loads as was so so hungry. But in the last two months i'm not so hungry and have lost loads of weight. At 5 months i'm now my pre pregnancy weight, if not bit less! And I dont restrict myself one bit either or exercise much!

No. I lost a lot quite quickly, but I have a horrible mum tum and a fat bit around my middle. From experience, that bit won't go until I finish bf dd. Although given her reluctance to wean, that could be a while yet.

I used to have a wasit like a wasp. I mourn it every time I wear a belt.

DD was the perfect diet aid! Every time I sat down to eat a meal she demanded a feed. I found it hard to eat much myself and feed her at the same time. DH was being great and cooking lovely meals, then cutting mine up when DD started screaming (she had reflux and did not just cry, she screamed), but I found eating one handed without dropping food on her rather tricky.

Did for both of mine, weighed less than before pregnant for both though put on 3/4 of a stone when finished (nothing to do with being able to drink wind again ). I did go to slimming workd after gavinv my ds and lost sll rhe weight easily and quickly. I lost some more thpugh slower once he wax weaned but he got chicken pox when he was 9 months and didn't eat but went from 3 bf to 5 or 6 a day and I lost half z stone in a weak!!

Apologies for terrible spelling - have had an eye op so can't really see stupid iPhone autocorrect!!

Not the firs 2 times because I ate everything in sight. But with DC3 I kept a food diary, and the weight fell off. You might not be able to 'eat to hunger' and lose, but if you pay a bit of attention or are lucky enough not to be constantly famished, then you can start running a sizeable calorie deficit very easily.

TBH I'm not sure! I went back to my pre-baby dress size quite quickly but it took my tummy a bit longer to settle down. By 12 weeks I no longer had a paunch but I had been wearing my own clothes for a while before that (I had an emergency csection though and heard that the uterus takes longer to go down after that? Though that may be an old wives tale!). I definitely needed to eat more regularly in the early weeks and if I didn't have supper I was starving for night feeds! But am not sure how much of that was BF and what was stress/sleep deprivation. I'd say try not to worry too much about your weight - let's face it noone would dare tell a new Mum she looks fat (except maybe my MIL..) & everyone will be too busy looking at your gorgeous new addition to notice if you've had a few too many Mars bars!

I am dissapearing after bfing for 18 month and counting. I don't watch what I eat really, although meals are always homemade and healthy and cakes tend to be made by me. I recently tried to buy a pair of trousers for work and even size 8 were huge. I sound smug? Not at all, I hate being a stick and would love to be a big curvaceous woman (or at least a size ten like I used to).

I put on 3 stones during pg and although I lost just over 2 stones of it after giving birth, I am now 11lbs lighter than before pg.
LO is nearly 4 months. I have found it is falling off, which would probably be alarming if I wasn't a bit of a porker well-rounded pre-pregnancy. I'm hoping my weight will stabilize later on (and if not, I'll eat a bit more).
I eat a ton of food, but am Vegan, so it's not particularly calorie dense. I also walk about 3-6 miles every day with LO in sling, who is 16lbs, so that will also have something to do with it. I feel really well in myself, and don't 'feel' like I'm losing weight IYSWIM.
Still have a proper jelly belly though, just in case that's all sounding a bit smug, so hope what Astr0naut says is the case for me.
I have a horrible mum tum and a fat bit around my middle. From experience, that bit won't go until I finish bf

One of my friends is very slim and she ended up having to stop bfing her strapping DS at 9 months because she was losing too much weight, so I think it can be hard to get the requisite calories when you're so busy with a new baby. k2togm1
Good luck with everything.

Works if you limit your cake, pastry and snack intake ! My key lesson learned is to let the baby cry if necessary while you make yourself a proper lunch and eat it rather than snack on the go. When you are tired though - it's really hard to think of healthy low GI foods that you can eat one handed, never mind when you are in the supermarket. :( Making a meal planner /online shopping favourites for the second time around.

Hi all ,

Thanks for all your replies. YOu mostly sound positive about the benefits of bf on weight loss ( apart from the mum tum but not sure how much we can control that .....!?) . Mainly i am just hoping that the bf runs smoothly and weight loss will be a natural benefit of this :-).

I am now 30 wks + 4 and have gained about 18lbs - have been trying to eat 'properly' but that is becoming more difficult as i get bigger ;-)

Will see how it goes xxx

Yes I think , I rarely weigh myself but I was fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes from about 6 months though rather snugly. (I didn't do any gym or excercise other than pushchair pushing) By 15-16months of feeding they were starting to get rather loose on me. Im pg again so luckily didnt get to the point of having to buy smaller size clothes.

It happened for me despite consuming several mountains of chocolate and cake. I am a stone lighter and a dress size smaller without doing a single thing.