Weight loss & BF

[BellaOfTheBalls]

Right diet gurus!

I am still BF'ing DS2 who is 7mo. I get married in 2 months & ideally would like to lose about a stone (ish) before then; I'm a size 16, 13st 7lb & 5"7. I have tried SW & WW both of which drastically affected my milk despite assurances that they wouldn't. I am exercising more (Zumba on the Xbox & walking everywhere).

I usually stick to my own version low carb as I find the weight comes off quickly & I tend to maintain it fairly well. I steer clear of rice/pasta/potatoes/bread/sugar etc but continue to have veg & some fruit - is the appropriate while BF'ing?

Why did you feel WW effected your milk supply?

Really what we know about breastfeeding is that unless you really starve yourself then you should have a problem with BF espicaly as we are so well fed in the west. As mum's in poor countries manage to Bf fine without a problem

There is some usefull info hear on weight loss while BF www.kellymom.com/nutrition/mom/mom-weightloss.html

Not necessarily my milk supply but definitely the quality. DS2 barely gained 8oz in 3 weeks yet was feeding almost hourly and went from sleeping 4-6hrs overnight to less than an hour. This all stopped as soon as I starting eating my normal diet again.

Might be coincidence, because your body draws on your fat reserves if there's a deficit when breastfeeding...that's the reason we put on fat during pregnancy. I lost a steady 1-2lb a week while breastfeeding and didn't notice any difference in baby.

How old was your DS when this happened, how many calories a day were you eating, and how much weight did you lose? I have a book on losing weight whilst breastfeeding. I'll have a look in it for you if you like?

Neither WW or SW should affect your milk in any way unless you were living off those awful WW ready meals??

Both are fine if you are BF as actually neither are a diet. Both are just about retraining yourself to eat the right sort of food, in the right quantities and in the right proportions. So SW extra easy dinner of chicken breast with sliced toms on top, SW chips and veg all the same amount is in the right proportion.

This is how my SW consultant explained it to me when I was worried about it as ds was only 16 weeks and still ebf. He is now 2 and both my dc and I eat SW meals. My HV was horrified when I told her when ds was weighed when he was 8 months that I had lost 4 stone until I explaned hjow it works and she was totally supportive as eating a healthy balanced diet (sorry for that word) is what I wanted.

Hi my babe is 6.5mths old, I've been losing 1.5

Hi my babe is 6.5mths old, I've been losing 1.5-2lbs a week since Xmas using my fitness pal app to log my food. I eat 1400calories a day net, I actually eat 1800 but exercise off 400 walking hour each day on school run and shred dvd 3* a week. I've lost 20lbs since Xmas and exclusive BF until 3wks ago as we now weaning. Good luck, you can do it.

I'm also breast feeding and am currently using my fitness pal. I am allowed 1700 calories a day and have been able to stick to this and milk supply seems fine. I dont eat much meat so tend to have a lot of carbs, but my weight loss is averaging 2lb a week, and I still have 8lb more to lose.

Quality of milk isn't effected by what you eat either, your body priorites your baby's needs over yours.

It's was probably just a coincidence and he was having a growth spurt at that time.

Common for milk supply to drop after 6 months due to baby taking less as getting nutrition from elsewhere.

Milk supply should not be compromised by ww and esp not sw, and tbh if you felt either of these diets affected supply then any diet would be the same.

Your version of low carb is fine, and if that works for you do that.

He was 8 weeks. Initially I thought growth spurt but it wasn't usual growth spurt behaviour & I didnt see the weight gain I would normally expect. As I say it stopped the second I stopped SW. I cook everything from scratch anyway.

If it is of any use... i'm currently breastfeeding an 8month old. I found dieting in general did affect my supply but have found a happy medium with low carb. A lactation consultant told me at beginning that increasing protein is great for quality of milk. I haven't cut out cabs completely as don't want supply to drop but all is well at min. Also I didn't drop a pound before dc was six months- not for want of trying but wouldn't budge! but ever since has been 1-3lbs a week. hope it helps