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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

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

45 replies

Boop33 · 30/08/2012 09:26

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 ! :-)

OP posts:

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Blu · 30/08/2012 13:02

Weight fell off me - someone told me that exclusive bf takes 800 cals a day.
But then I carried on eating as if it didn't matter after bf dwindled to 2 feeds a day and i got fatter than I ever had been in my life.

JollyHockeyStick · 30/08/2012 13:04

I lost weight quickly for the first 12 months of BFing, despite eating lots of cake, especially before DS started solids.

Actually, despite eating a ridiculous amount I found it difficult to keep weight on.

Now DS is 16 months my weight has been fairly steady for the past 4 months and I'm beginning to have to think about what I'm eating again.

MrsBingo · 30/08/2012 13:27

Gained 3 stone both times and was back to my pre-pregnancy weight within 8 months to year (while eating lots of pastries and other fatty/sugary foods). Breastfeeding itself didn't make me more hungry though.

dietcokeandwine · 30/08/2012 13:28

Sorry to disappoint you, but although it seemed to help speed up initial weight loss, I found that once milk was fully in and a feeding pattern established, I developed what I called my 'breastfeeding blubber' and most definitely put weight on. I wasn't eating that much to excess, either. I couldn't fit into anything other than maternity wear for the first six months. Boobs, hips and tummy just developed these fatty feeding pouches and I was the heaviest I'd ever been.

The positive side to this though was that within 2 weeks of stopping BF (I stopped feeding at 7 months with my first two, and will do the same with my third due in Jan) the weight just fell off. It was like liposuction I literally stopped feeding and within days was back into my normal clothes, and my food intake didn't alter at all.

I think this is one of those things where everyone is different - some people swear that it helps weight loss, I'm just not one of them. I certainly won't let it put me off BF, though - I'm planning to breastfeed this baby and will just accept the 'feeling fat' issue until I wean him/her. Then again, you can't breastfeed for ever and I have to say I'd rather carry the extra weight for that short period and then slim down rather than get skinny through breastfeeding and have it all pile back on once I've stopped!

nickelcognito · 30/08/2012 13:31

I don't know.

I think it has for me.
I really do eat for two now - i have breakfast, snack, lunch, pudding, tea, pudding and snacks, and I still appear to be losing weight.
I bought a set of scales a couple of weeks ago and i've lost 2 lbs since then (and i weighed less than my pre-pregnancy weight when I first used them)

DD's 8 months and still mostly BFing.
I am constantly hungry, too.

Goldrill · 30/08/2012 13:34

Similar story to dietcoke here - I am still BFing at 22 months but it wasn't till DD started on solids at 6 months that the weight came off.

I was a bit put out tbh - I ate the same as usual and was looking forward to being back to normal shape but it didn't happen at all - and then I noticed a lot of people had the same thing happen. Such is life!

nickelcognito · 30/08/2012 13:34

i wonder though - i didn't eat much extra when i was pregnant - i ate healthily and only added one or two healthy snacks. I definitely eat more now than i did then.

nickelcognito · 30/08/2012 13:42

"( apart from the mum tum but not sure how much we can control that .....!?"

good knickers.

OneLittleToddlingTerror · 30/08/2012 13:42

nickel I didn't gain much weight when pregnant either. That probably helps weight loss more than bf. That's why I'm not sure if bf is the reason I lose it so fast. I'm also very active. I was cycling to work till 36 weeks, and restarted exercising after I passed the 6 (or was it 8) week post-birth check. It was yoga initially, but aerobics fairly soon after that.

nickelcognito · 30/08/2012 15:01

i think you might have a point.
i exercised right up until my due date (but was 16 days late) and i class carrying a baby and pushing a pram as exercise (didn't go back to dance until 3/4 months)

ItsMyLastOne · 30/08/2012 15:13

18 months after our DD's were born, my twin sister was half a stone lighter than pre pregnancy, having BF'd her DD the whole time. I however was 12lb heavier than pre pregnancy having never managed to BF.

hermionestranger · 30/08/2012 15:17

Ds1 I put weight on, ds2 I couldn't keep weight on despite eating cake by the wheelbarrow load.

Moominsummermadness · 30/08/2012 15:26

I breastfed all 3 DDs, and each time lost weight quite quickly. Infact, with DD3, I went up to 11stone 12, and four months later I was down to 8 stone 5- I actually looked a bit gaunt, so had to make a conscious effort to regain a little. Am soon due to have DC4,but have gained more weight this time. Am hoping it does come off fairly quickly again.

babyboomersrock · 30/08/2012 15:41

I breastfed all 4 of mine and was back at my pre-pregnancy weight within a few months. With my first, I was actually my pre-pregnancy weight (7stone 12) at the 6-week check-up.

My weight gains were pretty large for my size - between 2.5 and 3 stones each time - but feeding huge babies, living in a house at the top of a hill, and pushing an enormous old coachbuilt pram did the work. I ate like a horse, but all home-cooked/home-baked food.

ladymarian · 30/08/2012 16:23

It definitely did for me. I bf my DD for 5 months and have never been thinner/lighter but I was very run down - bf'ing seemed to suck the life out of me! I ate normally to start with but by the end I was eating a lot as I felt like I needed to. I was on full-fat milk, large breakfasts and 3 course meals but the weight was falling off me! I'm not sure it was entirely normal or healthy but that's just how it was for me.

javotte · 30/08/2012 17:03

I stopped eating sugary crap after DS was born (no restrictive dieting) and lost 30lbs in the first 6 weeks. I was massively overweight though.

theverysuccessfulone · 30/08/2012 18:15

Yes! I gained 15kg during pregnancy and in 5 months had lost 21kg - after several years of dieting, breastfeeding was the only thing that made me reach my target weight! (eating a lot, I must say)

I think that was because I BF exclusively - DS never got near a bottle of formula.

theTramp · 30/08/2012 18:22

you have only gained 18lbs - blimey, well done you. I'm already heading that way and I'm 11 weeks.

Original poster

Boop33 · 30/08/2012 20:57

Thanks again for messages - i think its just that we are all different and we have to accept whatever happens !
the very successful : How amazing is that - the breastfeeding diet ! ha ha !

theTramp : The 18lbs has only been put on during the last few weeks - but that was mainly due to the fact that i was throwing my guts up until 18weeks otherwise i'm sure it would be more by now as i love my food ! ;-)
xx

OP posts:

AGiraffeOnTheDivingBoard · 30/08/2012 21:11

I think there are two distinct camps. For some women the weight drops off thanks to BF.

For others they hold on to half a stone / 10 lbs. My theory was we've evolved so that the body would hold onto fat so that you had reserves to feed your baby should a pestilence and famine hit your village.... this is completely unproven and could just be my excuse for feeling like I needed carbs the whole time as completely knackered. I stopped BF - last bit of weight dropped off.

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