How soon after birth can you start to diet

[twiglett]

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very early Twiggy
I imagine the healthy eating option, with extra portions on account of breastfeeding, I think is 500 cals a day for fully b/f to have?

not while you're bfeeding, twiggy

Twiglett - I got this book which I found really useful. I think if I'd stuck to it I might have lost a bit of weight, but I wasn't disciplined enough.

It's not a diet - it's a healthy eating plan with guidelines for filling foods with the correct amount of calories needed to support b/f which are suitable whilst feeding (rather than the rubbish that I reached for when I was unfeasibly hungry due to b/f).

It's written by a nutritionist who seems to talk a lot of common sense - especially about what you can and shouldn't eat whilst feeding. Nothing seems to be forbidden, but there's a fascinating chapter on caffeine.

Eat Well and lose Weight While Breastfeeding

Weightwatchers (quite rightly) won't accept a b/f mum until baby is 6 months old and then you need to go to the meetings to have a special plan devised for you.

hth

You can diet sensibly when breastfeeding - have you tried WW- I thought they did take new mums before six months. There is no medical reason at all not to diet - just don't starve yourself.

I rang up WW at 6 weeks and they said I could start whenever I liked but if I was breastfeeding I needed a note from my doctor to say I was breastfeeding....
Twiglett, give yourself a bit of time ... I started gently doing the WW b/f plan (28 points) at 6 weeks and I have lost nearly a stone now ... DD is now 15 weeks. Just 1 1/2 stones to go .... sigh ...

My bub is 3 months and I have joined weightwatchers. I had to sign to say my GP had consented. However I felt GPs have more to do seeing people who are actually ill than passing comment on whether I looked well enough to shed a few pounds.

I think the reason GPs are under so much strain is that we are always being recommended to consult a doctor on daft things.

Before you go to gym workout it tells you to consult a doctor...........

Anyway not lost any weight. Not managed a day on less than 40 points yet.............. ooops

You need all the energy you can get at this time! As its so sunny and nice why not just try eating loads more fruits, vegetables etc and skip the biscuits at the coffee groups. I read somewhere that a biscuit a day is 10lbs in a year! So that would help. With all that breastfeeding your body will start to sort itself out. Good luck!

Oh Twiglett, I remember that feeling sooo well when dd1 was a couple of weeks old - and I know other people saying 'don't bother at the moment' can be just NOT what you want to hear.

But honestly - having been there - can you bear to be a bit of a chunkster for a couple of months? It's just that the first couple of months are so gruelling that you might find dieting an extra strain. I know I threw all good intentions to the wind and lived on chocolate for the first couple of months with both my babies - I was so knackered I needed the fat/sugar rush!

HTH and big hugs

In my experience, it's extremely hard to lose weight while you are breastfeeding, even if you are dieting. So, it was a wasted effort. My metabolism slowed down, it seemed whilst bf DD1. So this time, I've just decided I'll be fat for the year and start dieting after I stop bf.

almost 40, I thought it was just me and my stoborn body, but I am finding it very difficult to loose weight while breastfeeding!! I am hungry all the time and crave the most unhealthy things still trying tho.

I absolutely can't lose weight while bf, am now feeding 3rd baby in 4 years, each time I crave sweet things all the time, and can't stop eating.
both the other times I lost all the weight I put on (about 2 stone with each child) but only after stopping the bf. it's so irritating isn't it? it may be good for the baby but I am sick of being fat for many months each time.

Fennel-- it is a nightmare!! I'm sick of it too

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well done twiglett. I am trying not to eat so much chocolate etc, I have been quite restrained this last week but have still not lost any weight. maybe put on a couple of pounds. but am determined to lose weight while breastfeeding this time.... it must be possible.