Trying to lose weight while BFing?

[starryfish]

How do I try to lose weight while BFing and not hurt my supply (I am 4.5m pp)? I was fortunate to lose almost all my PG weight quickly after birth. I still have 5lbs from that, but I was also at my heaviest weight when I got PG. I am overweight and have a good 30 lbs or more to lose. Do I just track calories and add 500 extra for BFing? My diet is limited already bc I have to be dairy free for my baby. I drink plenty of water each day (100+ oz). Any other tips? Thanks! 

[boiler717]

I literally cannot lose weight. Every time I try to track calories, even accounting for extra, my supply tanks. I would focus on healthy foods vs cals and go from there. I lost all my PG weight then around 6m PP started gaining and now I'm back up. I know others have had success so maybe they have better tips.

[icedcoffee]

Following. I'm finding it to be very difficult. I'm 5.5m pp. The weight is just not budging. I have no time to workout, but I've been making an effort to eat healthy and drink water. It's just not enough. I fear the weight won't come off until I wean. My boobs are HUGE now. I used to be a B cup. Wahh.

Also---I need to get the remaining easter candy out of my house.

[spk926]

Weight watchers works well for me when nursing or not. When nursing it gives you extra points to use.

[icedcoffee]

Oh---also, we just had a health screening thing at work and they told me I need to lose weight based on my BMI.  That stung.  I just keep trying to remind myself that I am producing nourishment for my kid and that is amazing.

[longtimenopost]

The thinnest I have been post college was when I was nursing A and couldn't eat milk or soy. Maybe try cutting soy? You'll find you basically can't eat anything processed. I think I need to take my own advice here... The problem is that I gained 25 lbs when we weaned, and I'm now 10 lbs over that after having another baby  . I'm tracking calories in MFP.

ETA ditto Kirkette. I have been pregnant or nursing since September 2011. In that time, my weight has yo-yo'd within a 50 lb spread!

[lolo]

Start by accepting that weight loss and BFing don't work simultaneously for everyone.

Some other ideas:

Limit empty calories. Replace one snack or meal a day with a predominantly raw veggie option. Ensure you have enough protein, fiber and fat to feel full and satisfied. Brush your teeth when you are done with food for the evening if you tend to snack before bed. Try lifting weights or increasing the # of steps you take each day. Work on only one thing at a time and add a new one once the first becomes automatic. Plan your meals and snacks to limit impulse eating.

[Susie]

At delivery, I was +26 pounds relative to pre-pregnancy.  From there:

Lost 10 by hospital discharge
Lost 4 more (14 total) by 1 month pp
Lost 0 more (14 total) by 6 months pp.  Wanted to throw things.
Lost 3 more (17 total) by 9 months pp, after dropping a pump session
Lost 3 more (20 total) by 1 year pp, after dropping another pump session
*****weaned between 13-14 months
Lost 3 more (23 total) between weaning and 16 months in spite of the holidays
At 17m, I've got 2-3 more to go.

So basically, the rate of my weight loss was closely tied to my milk output.  It's a shitty choice to have to make, but for me, EBFing meant hanging onto the weight.  I tried MFP, I trained for and ran 10 and 15k road races in the first year... all it did was hurt my body.  Next time I vow to have more patience with the process and give my body a little more grace for as long as I'm BFing.

[RexManningDay]

I couldn't do it the first time around. I gained about 40 lbs while pregnant, and hung onto the last 15 the whole time I was EBF. Once L started eating solids, I was able to lose about 5 more ... then another 5 when she weaned ... and then I got pregnant again and gained 50 lbs. lol. So now at 3 months PP, I have 20 lbs to lose. I think I'll be able to lose about 5-10 of them no problem while still nursing, but I doubt much more than that.

If I have any actual advice, it's to watch the content of your calories rather than just the numbers (like not much sugar). Elementary, I know, but I've found the makeup of my food makes a bigger diffeeence when I'm nursing than otherwise.

[starryfish]

Thanks all. You confirmed what I thought. I figure I will try and if it doesn't work, I'm ok with KOKO like I'm doing now.

[janegold]

It's so hard. I started tracking calories a couple weeks ago because not only was I not losing any weight (beyond the 25 lbs I lost right after birth) but I had gained back about 10 lbs from that - I am so hungry all the time! So far I'm down about 5 lbs so tracking calories is working but it is rough. To keep up my supply, I am not being too restrictive - still eating about 2200 calories a day with moderate exercise - but just being more conscious of what I am eating has helped. I think I was so hungry that i was easily eating 3000-3500 calories a day and not realizing it. I kept expecting breastfeeding to make the weight fall off and it just didn't happen...took me 4 months to accept that, lol.

[Velar Fricative]

I did well for the brief period I was on Weight Watchers after having DD1, but by then I was already having supply issues and supplementing with formula. I didn't notice a further decrease as long as I consumed my extra nursing points. The weight never fell off with just EBFing, and I'm still holding onto a ton of weight nearly 4 years later (including 3 pregnancies of various durations later too, so that doesn't help).

Unfortunately it's a sucky choice for many women - either keep BFing while understanding that the weight may not budge until after weaning, or stop BFing in order to see the scale budge. I originally felt a lot of guilt thinking about choosing the latter this time around (I'm 6 weeks away from my EDD), but ultimately I'm happy with my plan and maybe I'll luck out with WW not decreasing my supply much or at all. There's no wrong choice.

[starryfish]

Apr 24, 2017 10:27:02 GMT -5 janegold said:

It's so hard. I started tracking calories a couple weeks ago because not only was I not losing any weight (beyond the 25 lbs I lost right after birth) but I had gained back about 10 lbs from that - I am so hungry all the time! So far I'm down about 5 lbs so tracking calories is working but it is rough. To keep up my supply, I am not being too restrictive - still eating about 2200 calories a day with moderate exercise - but just being more conscious of what I am eating has helped. I think I was so hungry that i was easily eating 3000-3500 calories a day and not realizing it. I kept expecting breastfeeding to make the weight fall off and it just didn't happen...took me 4 months to accept that, lol.

Yea I eat whatever I want bc I haven't gained weight yet also bc my diet is super restrictive since I cant have dairy....I need to just start eating better....first steps lol....but yes the HUNGER is real, esp now that I am pumping at work. 

[halfpint]

I was one who gained weight while BFing - I even tried WW with the extra points for nursing, it just kept creeping up. I couldn't lose again until I weaned, so I just made peace with that and moved on. I just tried to eat as healthy as possible, and make sure the calories I was eating were at least nutrient filled.

[mekia]

I tried for a hot second and I was starving to death.

I hold onto the last 10-15 lbs while nursing. We weaned in December and I'm still stuck on the last 5-8 lbs, I think I'm just going to accept that this is my new normal.

[froggy76]

I can't make an effort to lose weight while nursing without causing supply issues. With DD, I was at a healthy weight when I got pregnant and slowly lost the 30 lbs pregnancy weight the course of 9 months, while nursing. The problem was that I was always hungry while nursing and I didn't have to watch my diet to lose the weight slowly, so I ballooned after I weaned because I was used to eating too much.

I'm also 4 months PP now and I have a long way to go. I have 25 lbs left of pregnancy weight to lose, and another 15 beyond that to get back to a healthy weight. I'm just going to try to get healthy habits in place so that when I wean I can get serious and the dietary changes won't need to be so drastic.

[smock]

It really varies so much by person. I was able to lose weight while BF'ing without affecting my supply, but I was very gradual in my goals. I'd eat about 2000-2200 calories and do some moderately strenuous cardio/strength for ~20-30 min a day. I think your plan of starting slow without high expectations is great.

[sierramist03]

Ugh I could not for the life lose weight while I was breastfeeding. I usually just tried to watch my junk food eating and tried to eat healthier.

[hymen]

My plan is to maintain my weight while BFing and then try to lose after baby weans. I tried about a month ago and my supply wasn't as good. Even when I pumped you could just tell my milk wasn't as fatty. I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight, but would ideally like to lose 10-15 more.

[lilac05]

After my first, the weight magically fell off.

That did NOT happen after #2! Any time I'd attempt to watch what I was eating, my supply would drop. What helped a little was to focus on adding one vegetable to every lunch and dinner. I tried (& failed) to have healthy snacks during the day. The veggies at meals really helped because I was ADDING something instead of restricting something. But because I was doing that, I was simply less hungry for unhealthy snacks.

Be patient with your body. It takes time to gain that weight and it takes time to lose it!

[hymen]

Apr 24, 2017 23:30:29 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

After my first, the weight magically fell off.

That did NOT happen after #2! Any time I'd attempt to watch what I was eating, my supply would drop. What helped a little was to focus on adding one vegetable to every lunch and dinner. I tried (& failed) to have healthy snacks during the day. The veggies at meals really helped because I was ADDING something instead of restricting something. But because I was doing that, I was simply less hungry for unhealthy snacks.

Be patient with your body. It takes time to gain that weight and it takes time to lose it!

Yes, with DS1 I was eating a jar of Nutella a week and still losing weight.

Then with DS2 and DD body was/is like "HA! Sucker!"

[simpsongal]

I was reading/liking replies but didn't have time to respond yesterday.

I BFed DS for 18 months, I'm BFing DD now (6 months). Weight loss and BFing just don't go together for me. Typically, I have a happy weight that's decent and doesn't take too much effort to stay around there. While BFing? NEWP.

I've been exercising and eating better this time around but the weight wont budge. I'm toned, but in a way I look heavier b/c I'm gaining muscle and not losing weight. After weaning DS, I remember shopping for a new wardrobe and looking decent in pics - the weight started to come off ~2 months after weaning.

I'm sorry. I'm just trying to stay positive and remember that this is all temporary. On the up side, no AF yet (took 11 months to return w/DS).

[laurack]

I think for me after six months I slowly began to lose.

With my son I gained 30-35 pounds and lost 20 after having him. Between 2 weeks PP and about six months I carried an extra 10-15 pounds then at 6 months slowly lost, about a pound a month.

I wasn't able to diet as breastfeeding made me ravenous and I also wasn't really able to exercise much due to the time commitment of nursing and pumping. But with no behavior changes really at least not on purpose, between 6 months and weaning at 14m I had lost the weight for the most part. Still 3-5lb heavier than I used to be but it's acceptable

I'd say for now, just try to focus on eating as much healthy food as you can and getting activity where you can. I know it seems like it's been SO long but 4 months is nothing really in the grand scheme. I hope it starts to come off soon.

[redpenmama]

Apr 24, 2017 14:53:58 GMT -5 smock said:

It really varies so much by person. I was able to lose weight while BF'ing without affecting my supply, but I was very gradual in my goals. I'd eat about 2000-2200 calories and do some moderately strenuous cardio/strength for ~20-30 min a day. I think your plan of starting slow without high expectations is great.

This is pretty much exactly how I've approached it too. 

I'm 9w postpartum and have about 20 pounds left to lose (I gained a little over 40). I have been a little more aggressive in my quest to lose weight this time in that I've cut out all processed foods and am eating pretty clean (with previous kids, I gave myself a little more leeway on the food front). For whatever reason, I have always lost about 50% of the weight pretty quickly, then stalled out and not lost anything for about 2-3 months. Then, the weight starts coming off and I've gotten back to pre-preg weight around 7 months postpartum. Ultimately, breastfeeding has helped me get 10-15 lbs below pre-pregnancy weight, but it certainly doesn't come off quickly. 

I think you have a good plan. Just remember it takes time. I keep telling myself that every day when I want to cry when I'm getting dressed.