I have a question about eating and breastfeeding

Hey all,

I'm a breastfeeding mother, the thing is I'm trying to lose alot of my prgnancy weight and it has been 3 months. I lost about 15POUNDS so far! My goal is to loose 15 more and back to my normal wight..  The problem is i'm breastfeeding and my munchkin drinks alot out of me and I always feel hungry and burned out all the time. I have a 5 year old that keeps me busy on my feet and on the go all the time so watching my portion size is so far out - I drink alot of fluids and I eat alot. How am i going to loose this 15 pounds? is 3 months to long or to short after having a baby? I eat really healthy, and I always cook from home. Is it okay for me to have a bigger portion size during meals? I don't snack - I only eat 3 meals a day and drink alot of fluids...  

I'm not a nutritionist by far, but I breastfed my daughter for a long time.
In the hospital I was basically force fed 5 times a day. They said it was vitally important to get in as much as possible because your body uses so much just to produce the milk.

I felt like I was constantly eating!

I gained about 60 pounds while I was pregnant. (But I was a teen and had an unhealthy BMI at the time) I went from about 100 pounds to 165.

I lost almost all of that weight, down to 120-130 within months while breastfeeding. (Which put me up to a healthy BMI)

I lost this weight while still eating like a cow, lol, in my opinion at least.

I'm sure everyone's body is different but I know that's one thing my breastfeeding coaches pointed out to me as a good part of breastfeeding was it gets that "baby fat" weight off.

Congrats on breastfeeding as well! I'm a huge advocate. It's so beneficial in the long run!

Double post

15 pounds does not sound like that much more to lose.  Congratulations!  You are almost there!  You need to eat an additional 600 calories (approximately) a day to support breastfeeding, or so I was told.  I made sure to exercise everyday 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on babysitters, time, etc.  Add whatever exercise you can through the day.  Your body produces prolactin while breastfeeding, which is an appetite stimulant, so forget about trying to restrict yourself.  You'll only make yourself crazy.  Believe me, that's what happened to me!  I just quit breastfeeding about 3 weeks ago and finally I can control my eating a little better.  Be sure to cut the junk food, though.  Good luck!

I too have a three and a half month old sucking the life out of me. I also have a five year old that is pretty demanding as well. My son wakes up every two hours still. I am pretty exhausted most of the time. I try to eat little meals throughout the day. Sometimes every two to three hours I eat a little something because if I dont I will end up eating more because I feel so hungry. I make sure to stay within my calorie limits and eat a balanced diet.

As the saying goes, "It took 9 months to gain the weight, it should take that long to lose it." You have lost half the weight in a matter of 3 months; that's fantastic!

If you're feeling hungry all the time, maybe it's because you aren't snacking. I agree with the above post in that you should probably be eating 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day as opposed to eating 3 large meals. Spacing out your calories like that will help you feel full longer. Eating things that are high in protein and fiber while drinking a lot of water will keep that full feeling around as well.

When I left the hospital after having my daughter, they told me to increase my calorie intake by 500 calories a day. I ate about 250 over instead since I couldn't exercise (c-section) for a while.

I am also breastfeeding and have a 3 month old, and I also feel the same way.  My problem is losing weight, period.  I don't think that i've lost any (as I havn't stepped on a scale since the day I left the hospital).  I have read too that smaller meals during the day is alot better then having 3 large meals.  It keeps your metabolism consistant. 

My problem is eating the RIGHT foods throughout the day...

Congratulations on your weighloss already by the way!  I wish I could have done that!  :)))))