Can't drop weight while breastfeeding :( anyone else?

724 Views 9 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Dmitrizmom, Jun 12, 2005

mely

Discussion Starter · Jun 9, 2005

I am SO frusterated. I weigh as much as I weighed when I left the hospital - and my baby is 16 months old.

I don't usually count calories- I've done some food journals and my intake is reasonable. Plus I work out 3-4x a week - basically this is the most active I've ever been in my life. I've got 20-30 extra pounds that wont go anywhere.

I talked to my gyn when I went in for my yearly appt - and she was a doll. She said maybe my body is just storing fat because I'm nursing. When my son weaned, I lost 70 pounds in 3 months - it just fell off - but I was under a lot of stress at that time. My doctor told me that it was not a reason to quit nursing (I love my dr btw).

So I'm wondering if anyone else has this problem. I'm pretty frusterated with myself and my weight at this point - and if this is something that other people have experienced it might make me feel a little better. It's not something that would make me want to quit nursing, I just want to know if there is hope of losing these hips in the future...

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greensmile

· #2 · Jun 9, 2005

I was posting on the fitness board about this very issue. Not a problem with my first 3 kids but have retained weight with my last two. Still don't understand the reason. You have my sympathy!

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Trishy

· #3 · Jun 9, 2005

I have the same exact problem. I am not happy about the extra weight at all. Once my ds1 returns to school in the fall I plan to start exercising. I eat well at not too much, IMO. Otherwise, I am just going to wait until J is ready to wean and then start concentrating on slimming down.

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fourgrtkidos

· #4 · Jun 9, 2005

I had the same experience. With my first, second and most dramatically my third. I seem to gain while nursing or at least hold onto the extra and then after weaning drop it easliy. After my 3rd dc weaned at 3.5yo I dropped 60 lbs in 3 mos without changeing anything!

I think it is good not to try to dramatically loose weight while BF- TOXINS are stored in our fat.... it is our bodies way of getting poisons away from vital systems. I am talking polution, stuff we can not avoid, breathing, our neighbors chemical lawn care, contamination in our water and food. SO...... as we loose weight you r body breaks down the fat and the toxins get released and into the breast milk. Wait, till you wean to loose weight intentionally.

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nonconformnmom

· #5 · Jun 9, 2005

I lost weight while breastfeeding with my first two - I was thinner at 6 months pp than I had been pre-pregnancy with both of them. But with this third baby, I cannot seem to lose weight while breastfeeding. I lost the usual 25 pounds immediately after the birth but not a pound since then (I gained 40 pounds in each of my pregnancies). I don't know why I can't this time.

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amberthesugarcat

· #6 · Jun 9, 2005

I gained 30 pounds with my ds, lost 18 after birth, and have kept on the last 12 and he is 6 months. I eat normally and exercise regularly. I have read that your body does hold on the extra fat until you stop breastfeedling. I think the PP is right, it is a good thing. Most people I have known lost weight only after they finished BFing, or at least cut it way down. I think the body just needs the extra fat to make sure baby gets plenty of milk. Anyway, I feel sorry for you since I have the same problem. It sucks, but hopefully we will lose it before next baby! I told my dh that I refuse to get pregnant until I lose my extra 12 pounds from this pregnancy. Otherwise I will keep on packing on the pounds.

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Pelgie

· #7 · Jun 10, 2005

I think it is good to keep in mind what an important thing we are doing for our babies. I gained 55 pounds with ds although a lot of this was water weight. I found that all but 10 came off within the first few months while breast feeding. Then that last 10 just clung on like it needed to be there as "insurance weight" or something. I was a size 12 going into the pregnancy in the first place so it's not like I needed the 10 pounds to keep from being too skinny or anything. So I nursed ds until he was 26 months and I was a few months into a second pregnancy at that point. In other words, started that pregnancy 10 pounds up from where I started my first pregnancy. Now I'm almost 36 weeks along and have gained about 38 pounds so far. I just keep telling myself that when I'm all done devoting my body to having kids there will be plenty of time join weight watchers, start running or whatever else is needed to get into shape. I personally like to take the long view rather than get hung up on what my rear end looks like in the mirror on a day to day basis. Otherwise, it is too easy to get down on yourself and forget what an important life giving and life nourishing role you are playing. Although I will add that it is helpful that I've also been successful at getting dh on this bandwagon so that he is not all hung up on my being a swimsuit model either.

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addiesmom

· #8 · Jun 11, 2005

You're not alone. I couldn't drop the last 10 lbs of pregnancy weight while BFing. When DD weaned at 15 months, I dropped the 10 lbs within 2 weeks without even trying! I think our bodies hold onto the extra fat b/c it knows that we are nutritionally responsible for another person, and it's good to have a backup energy storage. I'm holding onto an extra 20 lbs this time

Oh well, it's not forever.

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ShelleyMom2in2

· #9 · Jun 12, 2005

Im here as well! No wieght loss since 1 week PP! I am currently 40lbs overwieght and cannot lose an ounce. Ah well....only a couple more years till he weans

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Dmitrizmom

· #10 · Jun 12, 2005

can't lose the weight here either. DD will be 2 in July and we are nowhere near ready to wean.... but I'd really like to drop some weight for health reasons (I have ALOT to lose to get to my ideal target weight). For now tho, I'm trying to eat healthy, exercise in moderation and enjoy the snuggle time with dd.

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