breastfeeding and weight loss

Anybody else loose gobs of weight breast feeding?  I have been exclusivly breastfeeding my 5 month old son since he was born, and I have lost almost 30 pound now, without hardly trying!  I lost 20 pounds givng birth.  Then for six weeks I sat at 185 pounds (I am 5' 6"), didn't budge from that.  That was 15 pound more than my pre-pregnancy weight.  But after that I joined a gym, and I started to loose weight, and loose it fast.  So now I am loosing about 2 pounds a week.  I am down to 157 now.  In fact today, my mom made a comment that I am looking thin and that she is worried about me loosing too much weight and that my milk will dry up.  Well, I still have another 20 pounds until I am "thin", but I look so much better. 

Although I have been working at it a little bit.  I haven't been watching my calories too much, but I did join a gym and work out 5 to 6 days a week.  This is mainly because I am a SAHM and am bored to death.  But it is like, no matter how much I eat, I still loose weight.

Did anybody else have this happen?  Is this normal?

Yes, breastfeeding burns lots of calories!!!! It is very common that women lose weight while breastfeeding.  Many end up lighter than before pregnancy. Just be sure you are eating the extra calories each day to support the breastfeeding (at least 300), especially if you are exercising in addition!!!!

I initially lost 20 pounds then hit a plateau. Turns out, I wasn't eating enough. About a month ago, I started eating more and have been losing about 3 pounds a week. I'm only 8 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight @ 5 months postpartum. I'd like to lose and additional 15 pounds after hitting my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm really hoping to get there by July.

The weight from my first child did NOT come off easily while I was breastfeeding. I'm assuming I wasn't eating enough with that one. I'm really surprised at how much I have to eat in order to lose weight. That phrase right there just boggles my mind!

Perfectly normal, IMO. Congratulations on the baby and the weight loss!

with all 3 of my kids I lost all the baby weight  by week 6 post partum(but I never gained more then 26 lbs).

I did also lose even more weight nursing and I ate like a horse.  But I forgot to cut back after nursing ended and the extra weight loss did come back on.

Even though Im heavier then before my first pregnancy I was too small back then(15 years ago).

Yes, I breast fed my twins and lost so much weight. Pre pregnancy I weighed around 165 lbs (I'm 5'7) and was around 200lbs at my heaviest preg weight. I was around 150 within 3 months of giving birth (and I was eating enormous amounts to try to feed 2 babies!) I think a lot of my preg weight was water weight though

Cesty8, Congratulations - on your baby and your weight loss! I think your working out is what is really helping, and 2 lbs per week is safe. Also, your milk will not "dry up" from losing weight. Even malnourished women can produce milk for their babies. Your body will deny you nutrition before it will deny your child! (But I'm not suggesting you starve yourself. Google it if you're worried.)

I was 175 before I got pregnant, then dropped all 25 pounds I gained within 2 weeks of giving birth.... but I was so hungry breastfeeding that I began gaining weight again! I want to set a good example for my daughter (who will be 5 months next week) so I started monitoring my calories a month ago, and I'm down to 169. By exercising, you're not only burning more calories from the workout, but also building muscle, which burns calories better than flab does. This is horrible, but I figure I was consuming anywhere from 2400-3000 calories before, and now I'm at a reasonable 1800, which is helping me lose 1-2 pounds a week in combination with breastfeeding. I'm not saying to be rude to your mom, but if she's paranoid like mine, you may have to just smile and nod but do what you know is best.