Breastfeeding and weight loss....old wives tale?

My maternity leave is nearly done and it's time for me to get back to work.  I am breastfeeding my son (8 weeks old) and have been told by many a mom that breastfeeding should have helped me get to my pre-pregnancy weight by now.  I have only lost 15 of the 35 pounds I put on during my pregnancy.  Nothing seems to be going back to where it should be -if you know what I mean- and none of my work clothes fit.  Breastfeeding doesn't seem to be doing the "trick".

I was very active prior to having this child and was fairly active during the pregnancy. After my son was born I'll admit it, I didn't watch to closely what I ate, but just started counting calories this week.

Any thoughts on how many calories I should be consuming and how active I can be to lose the weight?  Does anyone have any secret ab work-outs that might help get rid of the inner tube that has camped out around my waste?

Hi Mollydefeyter,

I just wanted to lend some support and helpful words, your only 8 weeks post partum and to loose almost half of what you gained total in 8 weeks is great.  Now that you are past the first two months and have established a good supply and feeding routine it's safe to start dieting, generally speaking if you are only breastfeeding your child you should be adding 500 calories a day onto your normal calorie intake.  You will want to monitor this closley and if you suppy changes you will want to adjust your intake.

As far as activity goes, if you have been cleared by your doctor do whatever you want to.  Remember that if you get dehydrated it will effect the taste of you milk and your supply so you will want to watch that too.

But most of all your doing great, keep up the good work.  It took 9 months to gain it and will likely take a while to loose it.

Thanks HotHarmony! 

That makes me feel a ton better.  I just wish I wasn't so hungry all the time, LOL.  I have gotten the approval from my doc to start working out again, so I'm going to ease into it today.  Wish me luck!

When my doc gave me the okay to start exercising he suggested that I try and remember my pre pregnancy cal intake, and add about 300 calories to that. Which, for me, was around 1700-2000 cals.

I understand the "nursing munchies"! It's probably the only time you get to sit down and be still for 20 minuets or so, so why not nibble on something, right? I would just have some fruit or some low fat crackers. Maybe some cheese. Nothing hot, though. I'm still worried about dropping hot liquid/food on the baby and burning him!

Hormones play a big part in how/when you loose weight. 15lbs in about 8 weeks is still amazing! Thats about 2 lbs a week, which is healthy and normal. I gained 55 lbs with my last pregnancy 9 months ago. I lost about 17lbs at birth, though. My son was 10lbs 3.3 oz, so alot of that weight was him! But, reducing my cal intake, breastfeeding, and slowly increasing my exercise regimen to 4x a week, 45 min a pop helped me drop another 30 lbs. I have about 10lbs to go, and it doesn't want to leave me. It likes me alot, but I think the relationship with my tummy is one sided!!

I nursed my 3 kids for a minimum of 1 yr each, but I didn't have a time that I said "all the weight should be off by now". It really varies, depending on the amount of weight gained, metabolism, and activity, as well as if you're exclusively breast feeding or supplementing with a formula or cereal.

My advice is to drink water. LOTS of it!! (which you probably feel like doing anyway). I always ate when I was hungry and the weight eventually melted away.

With all of my kids, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight (or lower) within 6 months. As for the "inner tube", I got no advice for ya there! I'm still working on mine, and my youngest is 4! :P

Good luck, and don't get discouraged! After all, it took 9 months to put it on! :)
 

Thank you everyone for such great advice!  I guess I just need to keep doing what I've been doing and the weight will eventually come off.  Everyone has been so supportive on this forum! 

Thanks again!