I've Cut Back on Milk & Am Dropping Weight (Not the Desired Effect)

[Metasequoia]

I had trouble keeping my weight up after Dd2 was born, my normal weight is 120 & I was down to 112 (I'm 5'9) by the time she was 2 months old.

Ds was born this past March & so far, I've managed to maintain my weight - a few weeks ago I was at 118-119ish, which is slightly under, but okay. Since he was born, I've been drinking 2-3 gallons of raw milk a week & I'm thinking that maybe I have the milk to thank for keeping my weight up. Yesterday I weighed myself & I'm down to 116, that's getting a little low.

How many calories are in a glass of raw milk? I've cut back, partly due to money (or lack thereof) & partly because I'm still debating whether or not I *want* to drink milk. Perhaps I should just continue until Ds cuts back on the nursing. He's 7.5 months & 21+ pounds, refuses to eat food & still nurses frequently during the night.

What other foods are packed full of calories? I don't want to drop anymore weight.

[sphinxie]

Whenever possible, have another helping of food.

AFAIK nothing beats grains & beans for calories? Well excepting meat, I never studied meats.

[kallyn]

It's probably the sugar in the milk more than just the calories, although dropping out the calories from all that milk would make a dent in your overall intake.

I would just eat more whenever you eat. 3 eggs instead of 2, extra 1/2 cup of soup, etc.

[BetsyNY]

Butter, butter, butter!

[RAF]

Hello,

I am currently pregnant, but normally I am very similar to you. I am also 5'9" and underweight, when I am not pregnant. I have found that just upping my fats does nothing to increase weight gain, and it shouldn't because eating fat doesn't make you fat. Actually, the times when I tried to focus on fats and proteins to put on weight, I ended up thinner. I think what works for me is more healthy carbs, along with the fat. I like homemade bread and rolls, etc. to eat for snacks with plenty of raw butter on them. It is really the only way I can keep on weight. I also avoid sugar, because it doesn't help with my appetite and actually makes me feel worse. I also haven't really found drinking milk to significantly affect my weight either way, although after I birthed my second dd, I drank a ton of raw goat milk a day and still had all the weight melt right off of me, unfortunatley.

[phroggies]

Are you worried about supply issues if your weight drops too far? Or health issues for yourself? Or do you just not feel comfortable with it going that low?

I ask because I would think if it's a supply thing that adding more fats would be the best way to keep your body doing what it's supposed to. Coconut oil might be an option--not cheap, but cheaper per calorie than raw milk, at least around these parts. Ditto flax seed oil, which is also supposed to be great for nursing. But if you have other reasons and want the weight itself, I'd agree with the pp who suggested whole grains, etc.

. . .trying very hard not to hold against you the fact that you're so tall and slender. . .

[Ruthla]

I can't imagine it's any more pleasant to be 100 lbs and have to shop in the girls' dept than it is to be 185 lbs and have to shop in the "plus size" dept- it sucks to be an unhealthy weight and it sucks to not be able to buy clothes in the regular grownup dept.

Coconut oil seems to be advertized as a way to get lots of energy and not lose weight- something about the way it's metabolized promotes having the calories burned up immediately rather than being put into storage. I've found that, in my failed weight loss attempts, too many carbs are what really "do me in." SF also suggests avoiding too many crispy nuts if you're trying to lose weight, as the kind of fat in nuts other than coconut can promot weight gain.

I'd think you'd eat the same thing as the rest of the family for regular meals, but add in snacks to try and keep your weight up. Good butter slathered on sourdough bread (or bread dipped in olive oil) is a quick, easy snack for a busy new mom. Crispy nuts are another good snack. I'd suggest adding olive oil, not just coconut oil, to as many foods as possible (reversing SF's oil advice for weight loss.)

[mamajessica]

I do some PP doula work for a woman who struggles with the same thing. I make her a smoothie everyday made from coconut milk (1/2 of a can), kale (you can omit that, she just likes the extra it gives), fruit (blueberries, strawberries, whatever), and whole milk yogurt. It seems to help her keep her weight up since it's in addition to her regular eating. HTH!

[Metasequoia]

There's no problem with my milk supply (fortunately) I just look & feel unhealthy when I start going under 118. It hurts to lay on my hips, my clothes fall off, not to mention the *constant* comments from people varying from, "Look how skinny you are!" to borderline accusations of anorexia/bulimia .

I actually have coconut oil & coconut milk, I'll up my consumption of both.

I guess part of my "fear" of losing weight stems from my experience after Dd2 was born. I lost so much weight & by the time I was down to 114, I felt like I bottomed out & then had menengitis & dropped further down to 112, I looked awful. I feel like my immune system wasn't up to par because of the fact that I was severely underweight & perhaps I wouldn't have had menengitis if I had been strong & up to my normal weight. It took me a looong time to get back up to 120 lbs, Dd2 was almost 2 years old.

Thanks Ruthla, that's exactly how it feels.

[kettunainen]

I'm glad I found this post. I've been trying to put on weight, as I'm almost positive that whenever I do get pregnant (currently TTC now), I'm going to end up losing weight during the first trimester due to nausea and food aversion.

I've upped my fat intake (coconut milk, peanuts, seeds, butter, some cheese) and I've actually lost a couple of pounds. Not at all the desired effect.

I'm on a low-carb, no wheat, no sugar diet (am hypoglycemic with wheat intolerance), so I'm outta luck when it comes to adding in things like breads (even non-wheat bread has too many carbs).

I'm going to try mamajessica's suggestion of the smoothie (sans kale, tho') and see where that takes me.

Good luck, Metasequoia!

[Shirelle]

In EFLF Fallon says to avoid all nuts when you are trying to lose weight, so I would probably eat a lot of nuts for snacks. Try adding a little more grain to your diet.

But, if you have a lot of energy, aren't getting sick, and feel good--then tell your friends and family to leave you alone!

[Tcarwyn]

You might want to get your thyroid checked as well..pregnancy induced hyperthyroidism is not uncommon...do you have any other symptoms of hyper thyroid at all? (nervousness, bulging eyes, etc?)

Tanya

[Metasequoia]

Originally Posted by Tcarwyn

You might want to get your thyroid checked as well..pregnancy induced hyperthyroidism is not uncommon...do you have any other symptoms of hyper thyroid at all? (nervousness, bulging eyes, etc?)

Tanya

Nervous, yes, more like anxiety, but I usually struggle with that - it actually didn't start until immediately after Dd1's birth. I'm also going through a separation & dealing with threats of a custody battle, so it's hard to say what the cause of the "nervousness" is. (I doubt the stress is helping with the weight issue either.)

My chiro mentioned that my left eye was bulging back in May, but I wonder if it's always been that way, in some pictures, that eye looks a little bigger.

I've had a mess of strange symptoms since Ds was born & have been to a few doctors, one ran a full panel, including a thyroid test. I've read that not all docs know how to properly diagnose a thyroid condition, is it worth a trip to an endo?

[nicolena]

re: thyroid--explore this site if you have a chance. you could see how you think your minerals etc are while you're waiting to get a test. i thought i might be hypo, so i started adding foods high in iodine and selenium to my diet (sweetweed and brazil nuts--which my littles crave, so maybe i was right). i've made some other changes, so i'm not sure if that's what helped my symptoms or what, but the site helped me learn more about nutrition.

good luck!
m