EBF and weight loss

[Van1300]

My LO is 2 weeks today and back up to his birth weight. He is gaining an oz a day and has been nursing really well. I also pump 1-2 oz towards a freezer stash daily.

I am overweight at 5'1 and only gained 5 lbs during my pregnancy, delivered at 190 lbs. The weight is falling off me. I've lost almost 25 lbs since then, weighing 167 lbs this morning. I am shocked because this did not happen with my daughter. I gained 15 lbs with her pregnancy and only lost that amount, getting stuck at 185 lbs and we EBF for a year.

I am not complaining at all, believe me. I am just wondering how I got so lucky this time and how far I can go. I ideally want to get to 130 lbs, which is what I weighed when I got married in 2006. I am not dieting and was just cleared to start walking (post c section). I was thinking about joining weight watchers qt 6 weeks postpartum, but we will see!

[l_Kimmie_l]

I was the same weight and went to the same weight. Then sat there and gained some back. I have to diet to lose. I EBF and will gain if I eat what I want, even though I eat healthy.

[crunch!910]

I CAN'T lose weight when breastfeeding. I know of other women that have this problem too. I even know someone that quit breastfeeding her less than two month old for this reason.. but she's terribly vain, selfish, and has severe body image issues (or at least must have to recognize the importance of BFing but still choosing to quit). I figure I'd rather be fat and a good mom than a skinny, but a selfish mom who would choose diet pills over my baby's health.
I so wish I were the type that didn't get fat when pregnant and nursing. I hate being fat.

[VeganCupcake]

I can either gain or lose while breastfeeding, depending on how I eat. I joined WW about 6 months after my DS was born because my weight loss had stalled, even though I was tandem nursing and pumping to donate. I can eat a lot and my appetite can really be out of control while breastfeeding.

My experience has been both times that in the early days postpartum, it is easy to lose weight, but then I can put it back on by eating everything in the house.

[Van1300]

Ya I guess I am going to have to be very careful and make sure I don't start putting any weight back on. Like I said, I am sorta in a state of shock that the weight has come off as this didn't happen with the first postpartum period. I know at some point I'll stall or start to gain back. But for now, I am just going to keep nursing

[Miss squish]

Healing from surgery takes a lot from your body.

When I had knee surgery I lost 20 lbs. I wasn't overweight to begin with either.

A c section is major abdominal surgery, much bigger deal than knee surgery. i bet in addition to bf'ing its taking a lot lf your bodys reserves to heal. I had a c section too and lost almost all the baby weight (um a lot ) in the first 6-8 weeks pp.

[songbird516]

Originally Posted by crunch!910 I CAN'T lose weight when breastfeeding. I know of other women that have this problem too. I even know someone that quit breastfeeding her less than two month old for this reason.. but she's terribly vain, selfish, and has severe body image issues (or at least must have to recognize the importance of BFing but still choosing to quit). I figure I'd rather be fat and a good mom than a skinny, but a selfish mom who would choose diet pills over my baby's health. I so wish I were the type that didn't get fat when pregnant and nursing. I hate being fat.

That is so sad. I didn't lose anything for 3 months, then started losing again. Even when my baby was gaining a pound per week, I lost nothing! I apparently didn't have any water weight, either, because after the birth I lost a whopping 11 pounds from a 7 pound baby + placenta and that was it for 3 MONTHS. But my baby was healthy, and that was enough for me. I started slowly losing again around the 3 months mark and now I have 8 pounds to go to pp weight. Not awesome, but not too bad.

OP, I don't know what's normal for me really because with my first I got postpartum thyroiditis (hyperthyroid) when my DD was 5 months old and I lost 25 pounds in 2 MONTHS. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty awesome being thinner than ever before in my life, but I don't recommend any of the other side effects. 130 seems to be my body's happy place, and I have about 10 pounds to go to that point now.

[Van1300]

I had hypothyroidism before my first pregnancy and that's when I gained the 50 lbs I've been carrying around until now. The first pregnancy 'cleared up' the hypothyroidism, but I never lost the weight. I also took hormonal birth control which I think prevented me from weight loss.

This time around, I'm still on BP medicine since it was high during my 2nd pregnancy and that was the root of my bed rest issues. I'm not planning on taking any hormones this time, hubby is going to get a vasectomy in a few months and we'll use condoms until then.

[katy_green]

I gained about 45lbs while pregnant and now at about 3.5 months pp, I've lost about 30lbs. We nurse on demand when we're together and then I pump for while I'm at work. I had A LOT of water weight so the weight just flew off in the beginning, but I haven't lost anything for a while.