Can you diet while breast feeding? Anyone else struggling!

[MrsVidic]

Hi,

I'm Bfeeding dd2 who is 15 days old. With dd1 i joined slimming world when I stopped bfeeding at her first birthday. I lost 1 1/2 stone and was really happy when I achieved my target and was a size 10. Then as planned we concieved dd2- I put on 2.5 stone in pregnancy and ditched the slimming world plan (as I suffer morning sickness when preg)

Anyway I rejoined slimming world last monday as I had promised myself I would and was very suprised to find I had already lost 1 stone 9 lbs! However, I have really struggled to follow the plan this week. DD is feeding lots and I literally feel like I need to constantly eat.

Anyone else?

I tried a few times to diet when breastfeeding but it just didn't happen for me, I constantly needed to eat. I started my diet when DS2 was 6 months old - when I weaned him and cut down on the feeding.

Now 10 months later I am slim again. Your DD is very little, don't worry about dieting for a while.

It is so frustrating to be wanting to lose that baby weight quickly isn't it? People have lots of thoughts about losing weight and breastfeeding. Did you know that breastfeeding uses brown fat laid down around your bum? Love handles I think they turn into if not used. A good enough reason to breastfeed alone if you ask me!

Your little baby is still new and your milk supply is just getting cracking so it pays to eat when you are hungry and sleep as much as you can (depending on the energy levels of dd1!). You will probably be feeling hungry due to both needing to make milk and feeling tired. Try to eat at least 1500 calories a day though, with less there is a risk that toxins from weight loss will affect your baby through your milk with a very low calorie diet. Slow weight loss is better than crash dieting. Healthy eating and lots of water is great. You probably are still bleeding too? You'll feel better when that stops if you are.

I wonder if you might be a little dehydrated? That can make us feel like eating and make us sleepy, making us feel like eating again! Hang on in there, they say nine months on, nine months off. Just think, it takes about an extra 500 calories a day to produce a good supply if you are cue feeding. All that feeding is helping you lose weight!

I've had 4 DC (my youngest is 18 months) I've fed them all for ages and find that although weight drops naturally during the first 9 months to a year, it is much easier to lose weight while still breastfeeding into the second year and so on. You start to feel much more normal energy wise and breastfeeding is a great help to use up calories!

Sorry this is so long! Hang in there!!! You've done it before, it will happen.

Your dd is two weeks old! Give yourself a break. I don't think you need to give headspace to a diet this early on, certainly not one so rigid. Just try and eat more healthily, and the weight will come off. You only have under a stone to lose. I know it's not nice to hang onto the weight (I should know, I'm in the 5 stone plus club with each pregnancy ) but for me bfing was definately stopping me losing anything. When I dropped feeds it literally fell off me. I am worried you're putting so much pressure on yourself though. Have you even stopped bleeding? Your body needs all the nutrition it can get to regain your strength.

I would definitely say to leave any thought of dieting until your baby is at least 6 weeks old. For me the 6 week mark with DS2 happily coincided with the new year and so I started on Weight Watchers then. They are really good and make allowances on the diet for the fact that you are nursing.

Since January I have lost around 3 stone and am now well under my pre conception weight. I haven't been totally strict with the diet but stuck to it very well for the first two months and after that, although I have been naughty I have still used most of the basic tricks of the diet.

I definitely think that having that 6 week break and allowing your body that time to recover before starting to think about any dieting is what has made it easier for me. I know that when you've just had a baby 6 weeks feels like a long time but it really isn't, and I found that people are generally shocked if you've made it out of bed during this time, never mind attempted to lose weight.

I dont think dieting would be very good for your body, but slowly you will lose weight as long as you eat healthy. I lost the majority of my weight when I stopped bfing. I think my body was holding onto the excess fat or water or whatever it was, in case it needed it. Guess everyone is different.

I know you're really motivated to lose the weight, but you have lots going on at the moment and your body is ramping up your milk supply. Eating the SW way does mean a lot more cooking from scratch which isn't always do-able when you have a hungry newborn and another child. If you manage to do this every day you are super-woman!

I would second the suggestion that you leave it a little bit longer, enjoy eating what you fancy when you fancy it (within reason of course) and what is easy to make for a few weeks longer and when you are happy that your bfing is going well.

DD2 is 9 weeks and I have just finished my first week of SW - I'm guessing you know that we can have LOADS more healthy extras when ebf - I think 6 on EE (although I've only been managing 5). I'm finding it easier to meal plan and cook than I would have 7 weeks ago, a few weeks makes all the difference.

Good luck with what you decide to do!

IMO your slimming world people are being irresponsible to sign you up when your baby is so young.

Can you just concentrate, for now, for at least the next 3-6 months, on making the best possible food choices that you can? Eating as much as you need of healthy, nutritious food?

I totally understand why your would want to lose the weight again, but really, why the rush?

I can understand where you are coming from Meryl but for me personally, I am v overweight and need to lose the lbs for my sanity/confidence and health. SW is essentially a healthy eating plan (at least the way you do it when bf because of the additional healthy extras) so it acts as a guide for me to make the best food choices, otherwise I'd be eating cake at every opportunity.

That said, I'm only one week in so may be saying something different next week.

And DD hasn't suffered - she put on 9oz this week...

I think she was addressing the OP who tbh doesn't sound overweight at all.

I get that BooBoo, but was using my experience to suggest an alternative pov.

I think that SW is totally acceptable when BFing, but you shouldn't beat yourself up if you can't stick to it. I was overweight and my mum was very rude about it (ie that it would affect my long term health) but for me, to have the energy to EBF for 6 months I needed cake and ice cream!

The OP has a two week old baby and has already lost more than half of her baby weight.

As someone who has been both overweight and very slim and somewhere in between I totally understand why, having lost the weight Mrs V might want to lose the rest, but I don't think she needs to put pressure on herself about it at the moment. Slimming World are, as they say round here, having a laugh.

Do you REALLY need them to tell you to not eat cake?

Yup. I need rules.

But do you really need to pay slimming world lots of £££ for rules?

Thanks for the replies- I am still bfeeding and will hopefully continue for the first year. I put this as a priority over weight loss etc ie if I can't loose weight I'm not going to stop bfeeding.
Week 1 back on sw was ok- I ate a lot more than I should syn wise but stuck to the plan 4 meals and dropped 2 lbs. The reason I like sw and went back early was because it makes me eat a lot healthier (I have a tendency to avoid meals and eat crap if I'm not reporting to anyone).

God I sound pathetic! Anyway I feel miles better this week as I am going to keep going but not going to berate myself for being weak some days!

2lb is great then! Good for you. Your approach sounds v sensible to me.