You’ve heard it before, probably even from your OB-GYN or your midwife when she was listing the benefits of breastfeeding to you. Your mom, sister, aunt, girlfriend or coworker might have told you. Maybe you googled “baby weight” or “benefits of breastfeeding” and read it there.
hello baby, bye bye treadmill?
Breastfeeding an infant burns about 500 calories per day. Wow! 500 calories a day! That’s like jogging an entire hour. Or doing two back-to-back bootcamp classes!
Only… it doesn’t quite work that way. It’s true that maintaining a supply of breastmilk requires a woman to eat approximately 500 calories more than she normally would to maintain her own healthy bodyweight. BUT… that’s the key – it requires you to EAT those calories. If you don’t eat enough calories, you might not make the same quantity or quality of breastmilk. So dieting is not really an option when you’re breastfeeding. The LaLeche League recommends you consume a minimum of 1500-1800 calories per day in order to safely lose a healthy amount of baby weight while still providing quality milk for your little one.
The female body is an enigma. No matter how much we learn about dieting, fitness and fat loss, we are still at the mercy of Mother Nature.
I breastfed my first child for 23 months. That’s right. When I found out I was pregnant with #2 I was concerned about being active, nursing my
happy baby, chubby mommy. fair trade.
toddler and providing enough calories for my growing baby, so I decided to wean my toddler. After weaning, I actually LOST about 5 pounds that had, despite all my efforts and all my knowledge about fitness and weight loss, been clinging to me for 2 years since giving birth. Now I’m nursing my second and, almost 5 months in, I am reigning in my expectations, settling in for a long chubby period and expecting to lose those last few pounds with some hard work once I’ve finished breastfeeding for once and for all. And it’s not just me. Friends, clients, acquaintances have all told me they’ve experienced the same sudden weight loss during and after weaning.
So what gives? If nursing burns calories, why do you LOSE weight when you wean? Shouldn’t the weight melt off while you’re nursing instead?
The truth is that a breastfeeding body is in many ways like a pregnant body. Hormones produced during the breastfeeding stages help a woman (without asking her opinion, mind you…) maintain fat stores to help feed her and baby in the event of a famine. Once baby is weaned, many women see a weight loss as hormone levels return to normal.
The best formula for losing that baby weight is to eat according to your hunger (read: not your cravings, your hunger), drink according to your thirst and exercise at least 3-4 days per week with a combination of strength training to boost your metabolism and cardiovascular exercise to burn off extra calories.
And patience. The other part of that formula is patience.
How have your postpartum weight loss efforts worked? Did you find you lost weight at certain stages more easily than others? Share with us!
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23 months?! Wow, you’re a trooper and obviously a strong believer.
I’ve heard many women say they retained about 10 pregnancy lbs until the stopped nursing.
At 6 months, I’m still holding 20 of my 40 pregnancy pounds (and still nursing). I workout 2x/wk and am eating better and better every day.
The sore spot for me in energy level. I totally have the will to workout more but not the energy. To compound this, I am anaemic (iron deficient) so my energy is low on a good day. I am trying to combat my energy level with good nutrition. If you have any other insight to share, I’d love to hear it.
Hello,
I gained 45 pounds during my pregnancy. Plus I was up 10 pounds when I got pregnant due to IVF meds. So after I had the baby I really had 55 pounds to take off. I would say that the last 20 was difficult. Then the last 10 just wasn’t coming off at all. I decided to join Weight Watchers. They have a breastfeeding program. It took me 3 months to take off the remaining 10 pounds. My baby is 7 months old and I am back into my pre-pregnancy clothing. I still have a bit of a tummy, but after 3 kids.. i’m not complaining. I think that will take a bit more time to get rid of
I have four children, the youngest of which is four months old. I always breastfeed my children for at least a year. I had my first at age 30 and the pounds melted off. Then I had my second and they were impossible to take off until she was almost weaned. The third time the pounds came off pretty easily and now I am struggling at being about 8 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight which is the same each time I get pregnant. I gained 20 lbs with the last two pregnancies. I eat well and very little and I am convinced that hormones play a huge role in my efforts to lose weight. I have many friends who are struggling/have struggled in the same way. I am sure that when I stop breastfeeding this time the pounds will come of quickly. I just continue to exercise and eat well and enjoy my baby because she’s not going to be at this stage very much longer!
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