postpartum weight loss and body image - Page 2

[akind1]

I've noticed in alot of my EBF friends that were a healthy weight or kind of on the skinny side pre-baby didn't lose the weight until after breastfeeding; while women like me who are above, if not well above, where they "should" be lose the weight fairly easily by breastfeeding. I think for the more slender moms, their body is trying to hold onto the extra fat stores for a "lean" time. where as for those of us who are already above the "ideal" weight, our bodies seem to reckognize that there is plenty of fat stores and we can afford to lose some of that. That is just my observation

I gained about 25 lbs while pregnant - from 225 to almost 250. I have lost all but the last 4-5 - and my LO is 10 weeks old today. I think if I cut back the Hagen Daas (I am a sucker for their ice cream) and start really excersizing, I'll continue to lose and do well. I would love to be under 200 by summer . . . (but that's another story)

as far as body image, I've just not really liked how my boobs have gone all weird shaped with breastfeeding. It's bad enough I was a DD pre pregnancy and I'm like an F or G now . . .(not that DH is complaining, but he is not lugging the things around is he - with a baby attached no less!)

[nukuspot]

Thank you for all the new responses, and whoever brought this thread back up. I am beginning to agree with those of you who are suggesting this extra weight storage is due to breastfeeding. I don't drink any fruit juice ever, and eat a very low grain/starch diet with a high emphasis on organic meat/fish/egg/nut/seed protein and veggies with lots of oils (olive, coconut, sesame, hemp, pumpkin seed).

The thing is that this is how I have eaten for the last few years, so it's not like I made a huge diet change recently. I had hyperemesis during my pregnancy and was severely nauseous the whole time. Perhaps I am just so excited to start eating food again and am eating too much, or it's breastfeeding stores, or it's lack of enough water.

Many of your responses are very informative and I am definitely trying to drink more water, walk longer each day, graze rather than eat meals, and cut back on nuts and nut butter. However, I do take heart in those of your responses that think this extra weight will go away after I am done breastfeeding. I am sure that will be a long time from now, but it is my hope if nothing else I do changes it. I know it's not the best thing to be so focused on body image for a new mother. As a midwife I counseled many women about this same issue and used the words that many of you use for me. I have a history of negative body image and and eating disorder in my teens, and this postpartum period has brought many of those issues up for me again. I do not want my DD to ever have these issues, so I am trying to write them down here instead of discussing them aloud. Thank you for listening!

[seaheroine]

I didn't get down to my pre-preg weight/old clothes until I stopped nursing (12mo for DD1). When I did, it was like I shed the weight overnight.

Be gentle with yourself, mama. You're craving those fats to feed your baby. I'm going to be much more realistic this time around...I too expected it to fall off the first time but I heard sometimes our bodies hold onto fat when nursing to help protect the baby. Maybe your body works the same as mine?

[noobmom]

Originally Posted by nukuspot

Thank you for all the new responses, and whoever brought this thread back up. I am beginning to agree with those of you who are suggesting this extra weight storage is due to breastfeeding. I don't drink any fruit juice ever, and eat a very low grain/starch diet with a high emphasis on organic meat/fish/egg/nut/seed protein and veggies with lots of oils (olive, coconut, sesame, hemp, pumpkin seed).

The thing is that this is how I have eaten for the last few years, so it's not like I made a huge diet change recently. I had hyperemesis during my pregnancy and was severely nauseous the whole time. Perhaps I am just so excited to start eating food again and am eating too much, or it's breastfeeding stores, or it's lack of enough water.

Many of your responses are very informative and I am definitely trying to drink more water, walk longer each day, graze rather than eat meals, and cut back on nuts and nut butter. However, I do take heart in those of your responses that think this extra weight will go away after I am done breastfeeding. I am sure that will be a long time from now, but it is my hope if nothing else I do changes it. I know it's not the best thing to be so focused on body image for a new mother. As a midwife I counseled many women about this same issue and used the words that many of you use for me. I have a history of negative body image and and eating disorder in my teens, and this postpartum period has brought many of those issues up for me again. I do not want my DD to ever have these issues, so I am trying to write them down here instead of discussing them aloud. Thank you for listening!

I just read this thread but I wanted to say that my "numbers" before/after my first were almost exactly the same as yours. And I lost all the first 20 lbs in like 2 weeks after birth--then...nothing. I did start to lose the last 10 pounds as DS cut back on nursing. I think my body just likes to keep that last bit of weight as insurance. It sounds like you're doing really well. Keep up the good work!

[CageFreeFamily]

I had exactly the same scenario with my second... same foods, same hunger, etc. I couldn't drop the last 20 lbs even when I cut calories. I was craving raw milk like mad too, so I finally gave in and decided that I was just stuck with the weight and would drink as much milk as I wanted.

I upped to about four large glasses of raw, whole milk a day and the two weeks following that decision I dropped 12 lbs. I thought maybe it was a fat intake issue, so I upped the raw butter consumption and added cream to my smoothies and I dropped another 15 in the 3 weeks following! I was below my pre-preg weight and the weightloss just stopped. It's like my body knew the right weight and dumped down to it as soon as it felt like it could count on an acceptable level of fats. Despite the rapid loss my milk supply never diminished.

[CassnBeth]

I am so glad you have gotten more of the "it's probably the breastfeeding" type responses because I was really shocked at some of your first round of answers -- especially here on MDC. It sounds to me like your body is hungry and, since your weight doesn't look problematic or prediabetic from before your pregnancy, I don't see any reason not to trust your body when it is asking for healthy foods. Anyway, weight doesn't mean anywhere near as much to individual health as modern americans think it does. You're a new mother, not a little girl and I am sure you look lovely.

[Icehockey18]

I just wanted to add: if your hungry, eat. I graze all day because I'm hungry all day! If I waited until a meal I would be starving!!!! Your body is craving what it needs, so eat it! You're eating heathy and walking, and taking care of you lo, that takes a lot of energy and you need food for that! I am still eating much more than I did before I was pregnant, bf'ing makes you hungry!!!

[j_p_i]

I'm glad to find this thread, as I have been thinking about this a lot lately. It turns out, I am not one of those women who loses a lot of weight breastfeeding either. DD is 8 months old, and I still have about 15 lbs to go until I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I eat healthy and work out, though recently have amped up my workouts and have seen a little weight come off from that. I walk with DD in the kelty backpack and the dog twice a day, about 2.5 - 3 miles total. I have also started the ea active, which is kicking my butt! So I just have to stay focused on that and eat healthy, and I think the weight will come off once I'm finished breastfeeding.

ETA: I have also increased my water intake. I think this will help with feeling hungry, as long as I remember to do it!