LOOSING WEIGHT WHILE BREASTFEEDING???

So my daughter is now 7 months old.  I lost about 30lbs in a week after I delivered her.  After that I have been at a stand still.  My clothes have been gradually fitting better and my stomach isn't as big as it was a month after delivery.  But the scale still says the same stinking weight.  I want to be back to where I was... at least 155 would be good.  As of right now I fluctuat around 175.

I am still breastfeeding and pumping at work so that doesn't leave me too much room for strict dieting.  I excercise when I can (at least once a week).  I have heard that as soon as I stop breastfeeding the weight will come off.  Does anyone know if this is true?   Any mothers have any weight loose advice?

Well, I did but then hey I put it back on still eating for two LOL. 

I know some that lost all the weight during or after breast feeding & some that didn't.  But I wouldn't cut back on anything while you're still bf.  Try to eat healthy, be as active as you can & hey we'll be here if it doesn't fall off afterward.  

I don't think that stopping breastfeeding makes you lose weight, if anything, you are more able to lose weight while breastfeeding because it burns more calories. I think your body might hang on to an extra 5 lbs or so when you are breastfeeding because it needs extra fat stores.  You can still count your calories while breastfeeding, but I don't think you should cut calories more than 500 per day.  Breastfeeding women need more calories each day so you should still be able to eat a higher amount of calories.

I think that it is very healthy to breastfeed and I have nursed 3 children each until they were about 14 months old. My reasoning for this was because at 1 year I could switch them to whole milk and that way they never needed formula which saved me a lot of money.

I currently have a 18 month old and I am 5'7'' and was at 175 until he was 9 months old, then I moved down to 165 where I have been for quite a while as I have a hard time sticking with the number of cals I need to lose weight.  When I got pregnant I weighed 155. 

Hope this info helps you!

I lost all my baby weight - and then some - while breastfeeding. In fact, after I weaned my 2nd child, I ended up weighing less than I did in college, a decade earlier.  For me, breastfeeding was the greatest weight loss plan! I did not "diet" per se - no calorie cutting. But I did eat a very clean diet, at the time I was vegetarian, and I exercised a lot.

What I understand is that breastfeeding only works as weight loss if you keep up with it for up to a year. It's the later months, when the child's caloric demands have dramatically increased, that suck the body fat right off of you. Now, I didn't breastfeed for a full year. I weaned the first around 10 months and the second around 11 month mark. I let my children guide me for when they were ready, and that coincided with around the time they started walking and were more independent and less content to sit on my lap for feedings. Also by this age they could hold a cup quite easily - a good thing since neither one ever took to a bottle.

Well, I didn't lose any weight while breastfeeding on purpose because I had so much trouble keeping any milk supply that I could get, I wasn't about to stress out my body with weight loss too.  Once my son hit 1 year, well, a little over 11 months actually, I gave myself the OK to start losing some weight.  As soon as I started, my milk production hit the floor.  Granted, I was only pumping at work once a day and some days I even missed that because I had so much stored in the freezer, but still, much much less milk.

I DID lose plenty of weight, but I'd attribute that more to the exercising that I started and the mind set that it was OK to lose the weight now then I would to not breastfeeding.  I nursed my son for 2.5 years, stopping pumping at work at 1 year and just nursing at night the rest of the time.  I've done that with all three of my kids.  I've never noticed weaning to automatically make me shed any more weight.  I know, that Girlfriends Guide book says you will - but it just didn't hold true for me.

-Robyn

I think it's a mistake to severely cut your calories when you are breastfeeding.

I suggest though changing your diet so that you get more of your cals from protien (which your body needs a lot of to make milk), and adopting an exercize regime for yourself, especially weight lifting, to build up muscle mass so that when you do wean your babe you will be in shape and have lots of calorie burning muscle to start your weight loss!

Thanks for all of the input!  My only downfall is not being able to excercise very often.  My husband and I are both in the military (which you would think excercise would be up there on the list... but it isn't) and live very hectic lives.  My husband deploys and goes away for training a lot so I am usually left by myself with my daughter.  Whenever I have extra time I usually have other priorities like cleaning, food shopping or laundry.  I'll get there eventually... I am not too concerned with cutting crazy amounts of calories or anything.  Mainly just being more aware of what I am eatting.  Whenever I stop breastfeeding I will be able to concentrate more on the loosing wieght.  It is just frustrating being 20-25lbs heavier then my 'norm'.

This is a link to a thread that discussed this not too long ago.

Hopefully it's a start. (I'm off to a breastfeeding meeting or I'd answer your question in better depth.)

Breastfeeding will help you lose weight because you are burning like 500 extra calories a day having your child nurse. I dropped like 20 pounds (206-186) my 1st week after baby (she's now 15 months). It feels awesome but then you're at a stand still. While you are breastfeeding it isn't a good idea to diet too much BUT you can make healthier decisions. Pick snacks with fewer calories. I don't think that the weight will be dropping off easier after breastfeeding. But that is my opinion. I have a harder time losing weight now that I have mostly weened my kid (was 196. now 183 and dropping). I think it is awesome that you are nursing though. I now have read previous posts and this one is kind of redundant but regardless, you need not fret over your weight while your nursing. Just eat healthy and move around when you can. Once you stop breastfeeding maybe you will have a bit more time to work off that booty.