B/F mums lose weight faster .... a myth me thinks!!

[kiwicath]

Delivered 2 months ago. I'm breast feeding my little heart out but there's not a flicker on the dam scales!! Not expecting to be back to my pre baby body but I'm really starting to get worried now. Summer is here (in Egypt) and littlin starts his swimming classes in two weeks. I'm a diving instructor and so used to being lean, strong and tanned. Wouldn't change the earth shattered events that have happened over the last 12 months for anything but getting depressed everytime I look in the mirror. Want to diet a bit but worried about it effecting my milk supply (won't do anything to jepradise that). When should I start to see a change in body shape or will it all "hang" around until I stop breastfeeding???

I lost weight equally fast bottle and bf. Uterus shrunk faster bottle feeding

Oh and also there is the remaining 7 lbs that always hangs on till the year mark and then it goes with a bit of self discipline...

def a myth. you actually hold wieght specially round the back an chest. Dont fret it falls off when you stop.

I lost weight while BF. I think it depends on what you are eating etc. I actually went on a diet (slimming world) as it was a healthy eating thing. If you are eating chocolate etc when you getteh munchies (as BF makes you hungry) then yes you won't lose weight. But eat a sensible diet and you can.

I think 2 months is a little ambitious, I think 9 months is a better goal. But how much weight do you have to loose. I found I lost more weight Breast Feeding. With my first baby I gave up on breastfeeding and have never managed to loose that weight, but with my second I gained 40 lbs, lost 20 with the birth and the other 20 by the time the baby was 9 months. Also are you eating and drinking enough? If you are not getting enough fluids and calories sometimes your body will put you into starvation mode and hold on to everything.

Definitely think it's a myth also. With both of mine seemed to lose some weight initially and then nothing. No matter what I did I seemed to keep it on my back, top of arms and stomach, regardless of trips to the gym I couldn't shift the final 7lb. Once I stopped b/f ds at 11 mo the weight came off slowly. I also noticed that my appetite and taste in foods changed once I stopped. I suppose mother nature wants to keep those fat cells fed in case of famine.

Long thread on this - I think it is called 'can I diet while breastfeeding' or something - do a search with the words diet and breastfeeding. The studies show absolutely not change in the quantity or composition of breastmilk in women who are dieting normally (ie not literally starving).
Breastfeeding didn't help me lose any weight - I think I gained - and it didn't fall off when I stopped breastfeeding either (sorry!). The studies are very inconclusive and it appears to depend on the individual. There certainy is evidence that breastfeeding depresses the metabolism so you don't need many - if any - more calories - which certainly makes evolutionary sense - after all, if breastfeeding starved the mother it would be a bit pointless. If you have gained weight in pregnancy, then you certainly don't need to eat more calories because that's what the fat is for!
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

Thanks guys. I figured they'd be no magic date in which I'd wake up and it would be all gone . I put on 20kgs, lost 13kgs 3 days after birth and the 7kgs left haven't budged. I'm starving 24/7 but eating huge amounts of food. I think my main problem is that I'm not doing as much exercise as usual. I couldn't dive while pregnant so I put on much more than I ever thought I would. I know it'll go eventually and I'll try and eat more sensibly. I wish I never developed that roll of film I found of last summer!!!

Kiwicath, I have 2 year odl dd and 6 month old ds, bf both and found that I lost quite a bit at the beginning (2/3 months) then nothing for a bit and then some more at around the 5 month mark. Didn't change what i ate or how much i exercised or anything. Certainly didn't find with dd that anything 'hung around' until I finished feeding (12 months). HTH

You will only lose weight whilst breastfeeding if you are not eating calroie laden food! I didn't lose weight because I ate loads of chocolate. If you eat a good, well balanced diet you will lose weight. You can diet as long as you are sensible and do not crash diet which is no good for anyone.

kiwicat, 7 kilos don't seem a lot to me (it's roughly a stone), I put on nearly 3 stones with my pg (and I am talking 2 months after the birth, not while still pg!) and I was the one who initiated the thread Aloa mentions, as I was v depressed. I never lost a gram in the 6 months I was breastfeeding and I was eating like I normally do.
The weight started dropping off the week after I stopped breastfeeding, I have already lost 2 stones in 3 months and have one to go, which doesn't seem much to me now (everything is relative )but I am confident that it will drop off easily once spring is here and I will start walking everywhere again.

At the of the day I believe that this is a very subjective thing and what worked for me may not work for other people as we all have different metabolism and backgrounds, you were a very sporty person, so it's normal that your body is holding to some fat as it's used to you working out, I am sure the extra weight will melt as soon as you start exercising seriously again, but only do it when you and your baby are ready!

I lost weight while BF. I have a stubbon couple of kilo, but I lost 10kg in the first 2 weeks. Must say though that it isn't the figure on the scales but the shape. Like charlie says I am retaining on my back. I bought a book on how to diet while BFing, but it was too commonsense really to be helpful. My plan is to get to the gym a couple of mornings a week, but the gods seem to be conspiring against me on that point. Goodluck!

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I've just made a conscious decision to eat sensibley, 6 months after DS2 and still BF. Mainly eating small meals at regular intervals rather than left over chicken nuggets from DS2's lunch as first meal of day.

For instance now, I am having fish and chips but on a side plate not a big plate. Excuse me while I polish halo

I lost 3 stone in a year when breastfeeding, initially just through breastfeeding and then a combination of bf and dieting (you shouldn't go beneath 1800 cals a day though if I remember rightly). By the time ds was one I was the slimmest I'd been since I was about 20 But 8 weeks after birth is very soon Kiwicath, be nice to yourself and remember you've only just had a baby! I read once that weight is 9 months up and 9 months down and it does seem to be true for most people...

Interesting comments - especially about the weight hanging on round the back. Why is that, anyone know?

I too thought the weight would drop off me whilst bf but have so far managed to lose a whole 3lb with WW points, once the initial post partum weight loss stopped
Mind you, I only lose a lb every other week or so, and that all seems to be exercise based - it seems to make no difference how much I do or don't eat, but a couple of long walks into town (rewarded by shopping when I get there and punished by having to cart it home!) seems to make the difference, dammit!

Know its been a while since you first put the message, but only just joined mumsnet. Hope the breastfeeding still going OK, kiwicath. If you still want to know, I lost with WW while bf, I think it was about 28 points - 8 extra for bf.