Losing Those Last Baby Pounds and Breastfeeding

My daughter is 11 months, and I still have 2 to 3 extra pounds around my belly after having to lose 25 myself (not including what came off with the baby). I lost the major chunk pretty fast by running, but I haven't tried losing that last bit until weaning (hopefully after 1 year) because I'm nervous about my milk drying up. So, hopefully both of us will be able to lose that last bit after weaning.

with me once i quit breastfeeding my 1st child I gained all my pregnancy weight back. Try lowering your calorie intake that should maybe take a few more lbs. just keep eating healthy after you quit. remember though that your body gives you a hunger que when you are de hydryated so make sure your drinking water. What i do now ( i am nursing as well) is I have a set water bottle that i use and its 20 oz so my goal every day is four bottles which is 80oz which equals 10 glasses. You need that amount even if your not breastfeeding. Also I can fill you up so your not so hungry. add a little work out or walks and you should be able to lose the extra....If you had a c section it might be harder to lose because those muscles might still be numb and hard to work out. A good supplement will be good too. Like Arbonnes Hybrid for women. It has 3 kinds of calcium, antioxidents,digestive enzymes to keep you "going" ( if you know what i mean). its truly great and its ALL NATURAL!!!! and it is ok for baby since its all natural.go on line and look. at www.arbonne.com . you'll love them!!

I had a similar experience and did find that the weight came off faster when I stopped breastfeeding. I also joined WeightWatchers a month after I stopped breastfeeding, which helped too! Congrats to you for breastfeeding as long as you have!

It was true for me! I held onto about 20 lbs the entire time I nursed my son (until he was 1). Once he was weaned, I did start doing Weight Watchers, but I lost the weight FAST! Faster than I ever had when just dieting, so I do think that my body decided to let it go more quickly since I was done nursing.

I have a 6 month old and feel like a loser because I have 20 pounds to go to be back to my pre pregnancy weight, I am breast feeding too. I would be very happy if I only had 5-7 pounds. I put on about 60 pounds during my pregnancy, I didn't eat like a pig either, the weight just coming on until the end. After I gave birth the weight was coming off so fast I was so happy. Now I have been at the same weight since he was 8 weeks old. I have heard different things from different breast feeding moms, but a fair amount do say that they couldn't shed the extra pounds until they stopped breast feeding. I hope that is true, because I don't want to get pregnant again until I lose this weight. At least I will be able to exercise more, every time I try to reduce my calories or exercise enough to lose weight I notice my milk supply drop, so for me it is very fustrating. So many of my friends formula feed ther babies and they were exercising right off the bat and lost the weight. They didn't have to worry about their milk supply, but I know I am doing the right thing for my baby by breast feeding. In time I will lose the weight. Congratulations on breast feeding your girl so long, that is definitely more important than 5-7 pounds and once you decide to wean her you can really focus on losing those 5-7 pounds and I am sure you will!
M.

I was fortunate enough to lose all the baby weight from pregnancy and then about 10 more pounds while breastfeeding. I never did regain my original shape, though. Also, after I stopped breast feeding I quickly put on about 8 pounds. Unfortunately, you may have to chalk up the extra pounds you still have to staying there. Just be careful when you quit breast feeding to watch your weight closely. It comes on fast from my experience!

I am due to deliver baby #2 next week and plan to breast feed. I am five years older and worry about losing the baby weight this time around. Hoping the feeding helps again. We'll see. Good luck to you! And remember, having a child changes your body permanently but it's all worth it. Being a healthy mom is much more important than being thin!

I know I'm probably not normal since I never lost weight quickly when I nursed my baby so I am probably also not the best person to respond, but you asked what other people's experiences have been so I thought I'd share. My body held onto (and still holds) extra weight since I had my baby... and he'll be three this month. The "experts" I've spoken with say that you can't just target the problem area, but have to do whole body weight loss activities to lose everywhere. It would be nice if you could just target the abs and leave the rest of your body alone, but it doesn't work that way. If you are dieting and exercising regularly, you will need to "shock" your body. Don't give up on food (your baby needs it while you're still nursing) but put extra effort into your excercise routine or mix it up and do something you have never done before. good luck! I think it's great that you only have 5-7 lbs. left to lose! Great job!!

I finally dropped my last 10 pounds after stopping breastfeeding. I am sure that is why you are having trouble. Good luck!

I lost the last several pounds plus more after my first baby turned 1 year, BUT I was still breastfeeding. It was actually quite dramatic. My appetite decreased dramatically even though my son was still very dependent on breastmilk at that point.

So, my experience is that it is the 1 year time, not the cessation of breastfeeding. It's not clear from your post if you're planning to wean or not. I would encourage you to continue if a few pounds is your only motivation.

Hi P.. I quit breastfeeding my son at about 7 months. It has been about 6 weeks now and I havent lost a pound, in fact, i haven't lost any weight since the day I came home from the hospitol with him. I too eat about the same as I did pre-preg. I think excercising is the key (beyond your daily running around). I know that with all we have going on in our lives with babies, finding the time to excercise and eat right can be a challenge. I hope that all goes well for you, i know I am struggling with the weight issue myself and hope to find a way soon to take it off.

Actually, you burn more calories breastfeeding than you did while you were pregnant, so while you do put on some extra padding to ensure there is sufficient fuel to burn to make milk, (which is actually stored in the 'saddle bag' area), if you are exclusively breastfeeding and eating about 2000 calories a day, and providing you gained 35-40 lb. in pregnancy, you will probably burn all of that off in about 6 months just from nursing (also depending on activity level, etc).
However, your question is about weight gain after breastfeeding stops. Yes, it is common to gain weight, if you do not burn those extra calories you had been burning in lactation in some other way, and you continue to eat the same amount of calories.
The bummer of that is, that in order to burn the same amount as when producing milk, it would take 2 or 3 hours a day on a treadmill if calories aren't cut! If I had known that, I'd have kept lactating and donated to a milk bank!
K. Wildner, CCE,CHt, HBCE
www.kimwildner.com

When I quit nursing, I gained about 5-10lbs. If you want to lose weight when you quit nursing, you're going to have to exercise and elminiate nearly ###-###-#### calories a day. I could eat like a horse while nursing and those same eating habits post-weaning made me pack on the pounds.