Question for other moms who breastfed

sparkle · Post by **sparkle** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 5:15 pm

I have been faithfully doing No-S since late January, and am at almost a month of all green/yellow days. I have exercised 5-6 times per week for at least 30 minutes each time. I have very moderate S days.

My problem is I'm not losing weight. In the past, the way I've been eating, I most definitely would have lost weight. Some nights I go to bed feeling a little hungry, and in the past that would have meant a change on the scale the next morning. I can only conclude that my body is resisting change because I am still lactating. My daughter has weaned herself, but I still have a small supply of milk.

I have a hard time seeing how with what I currently weigh, eating approximately 2000-2200 cal per day and 300-700 cals in exercise I am not seeing enough of a calorie deficit to lose at least a small amount of weight. My metabolism was tested a couple of years ago and shown to be fairly good (at least at the time).

Anyone else have the experience of the body being stubborn to lose while still lactating?

I'm sticking with it because above all else, this eating style feels sane and balanced. I just wish I would get some positive reinforcement soon.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 5:47 pm

Well, it's been about 28 years, but I think it's difficult to lose weight while breast feeding. I lost when I stopped. Having said that, I think every woman has a slightly different experience with that.

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 8:03 pm

I also breastfed my son up until he was 7 months old. I did not lose weight like they said that I would. Actually I have struggled to get the baby weight off. He is 2 years old now and I am about 10-15 lbs away from pre-baby weight. I am suprised it hasn't come off faster, but now I really am getting into the swing of working out. The scale isn't moving so much, but the clothes are getting looser. I'm so jealous of my sister-in-law who is petite and walked out the hospital in her skinny jeans. : (

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 8:58 pm

I breastfed my son for 4.5 months, and I didn't start losing weight until I weaned him. I think every woman is different.
Olivia, I'm still about 5 pounds heavier than I was before I had my son 2 years ago, but I've lost some additional inches, so I'm wearing all of my pre-pregnancy clothes. I'm hoping that if I get much more careful with my eating, these last 5 pounds will eventually come off.

Clarica · Post by **Clarica** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:26 pm

a friend of mine was just talking about this the other day--she couldn't lose weight while lactating, and even gave up and resized her wedding ring, but once she stopped, it just dropped right off.

sparkle · Post by **sparkle** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:35 pm

I think I just have to keep being patient. Now that my daughter doesn't want to nurse any more, it's just a matter of time before I stop making milk. This is just one more aspect of parenthood that requires patience and persistence. This is ironic since I had to work so hard to create a milk supply (medicines, herbs, constant pumping and effort).

I guess I just have to postpone my vision of getting back into my jeans. I'll get there eventually. At least with No-S I haven't gained and can be sure I won't.

Dandelion · Post by **Dandelion** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 10:36 pm

I am one of those who doesn't lose weight while BFing. In fact, if I didn't eat enough I would actually gain weight. I discovered that a surprisingly high percentage of women don't lose weight while BFing.

It's not easy being patient, but I figured that wasn't my 'job' at the time - taking care of my baby was and it would balance out eventually - and it did.

Cassie · Post by **Cassie** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:04 am

I also found it very hard to lose any weight at all while breastfeeding, & only after a few months of stopping & after gradually putting myself on NoS did I start losing weight. Its hard to say though what's happening in your case because, first, every woman is different when it comes to bf & losing weight, but second, most importantly, NoS is unfortunately/fortunately not a quick weight loss program. So it may just be that you need to stick to it for far longer in order to see some real weight loss.

I think its important to establish the NoS rules for at least 2-3 months (to be honest I would say even more) & then try to think whether there's anything you can do to improve your food choices in order to see more rapid weight loss. Give your body time to adjust, you just stopped bf so let that happen & take its time, & gradually you'll see results with NoS. As you yourself point out, the immediate result which is very encouraging is that your eating will be less disordered, you'll be in a much more healthy frame of mind regarding eating, and then once that's established for a while, it becomes easier to cut down on calories slightly (if that's what you feel you need to do) or to improve your food choices. But you need the basic framework first, for at least a few months...

Journey · Post by **Journey** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 12:55 pm

I will be breastfeeding after baby comes. I was hoping that it would help me at least lose the pregnancy weight.

OH...why is weight loss never simple?

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:22 pm

Journey wrote: OH...why is weight loss never simple?

It is simple, that is, not difficult to understand. It's not easy, that is, without effort.

sparkle · Post by **sparkle** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:05 pm

I should clarify--I'm no longer nursing (as evidenced by the fact that wine is now a part of my dinners again). My daughter weaned herself. I am still lactating a partial supply though. It was well worth retaining this weight if it was indeed because of breastfeeding. I'm just anxious to move on to the next phase now that she has.

I've had a rough week due to both of us being sick and I think I just need to focus on being healthy and having long term balance--not the short term disappointment of still not fitting into my jeans.

Actually, I think I may need to buy some jeans and a few attractive tops that fit my current size and instead of considering this giving up, just recognize that I need to feel attractive as I am now and that will help me in my efforts to improve.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:32 pm

sparkle wrote:Actually, I think I may need to buy some jeans and a few attractive tops that fit my current size and instead of considering this giving up, just recognize that I need to feel attractive as I am now and that will help me in my efforts to improve.

Wearing clothes that fit you NOW is not giving up. It's respecting yourself.

I actually have a basic color palate so that all my clothes are pretty much interchangeable. This means as I lose and need to replace garments, I don't have to buy a whole new wardrobe, but just replace pieces one by one as they get too big. I always look nice and pulled together, and I don't feel like the rag picker's child or a sausage.

pinkhippie · Post by **pinkhippie** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:43 am

Im breastfeeding currently and I am also one of those women who doesn't seem to lose weight while nursing. When I weaned my first the weight pretty much dropped off; however I had a LOT going on in my life and pretty much stopped eating out of sheer adrenaline for a while. So I can't count on that again.

My goal is just to eat more healthily as I notice I feel so much better and have more energy when I dont eat sweets and I don't stuff myself on food. I need all the energy I can get with a baby so thats been helpful! I also want to be in shape even if I can't neccessarily lose the breastfeeding weight so I have been trying to work out a little bit every day. For me, its just dancing around the living room with my baby.

Something I just recently discovered (duh) is that I stress eat. It sounds sooo obvious but it was really disguising itself as hunger and when I finally realized it and started doing some deep breathing relaxation techniques before I ate and in the middle of the meal, suddenly I realized I wasn't as hungry as I thought I was.

So yeah we will see what happens.

IowaMom · Post by **IowaMom** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 3:11 am

I never lose *all* my baby weight until baby completely weans and the milk dries completely up. Since I've nursed two babies to the 1 year mark, it takes a while.

Rea · Post by **Rea** » Sun Mar 21, 2010 5:41 pm

I lost all my baby weight while breastfeeding, the last 10 lbs went off by going back on the no s diet (though I went off during the holidays and now have 6 to lose again

) . I think if you're not losing weight, try to cut back a few calories at every meal. Either that, or lift weights so that you gain muscle and therefore burn more calories at resting. But I'm not an expert.

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Question for other moms who breastfed

Question for other moms who breastfed

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