Breastfeeding mom trying to lose weight....?

Question

i delivered at 246 ( yeah i know, wow) and im down to 207 and she is only 5 months old... so, my problem is that for over 3 months i have been desperatley tring to lose that last 7 lbs so i can be under 200 again, but its not happening..... i cant take diet pills cuz im breastfeeding and so i have been eating very well and walking with her in the stroller a couple miles a day at least 2 or 3 times a week... im on my 4th week doing that and im getting so frustrated because i have fluctuated between 204 and 207 the whole time .... somebody help me please!!!!!!!

my ultimate goal is 165lbs but my short term goal is 195lbs by September 15th.....

any suggestions?

Btw
This is what i eat (seriously every day!)

Special K for breakfast ( and sometimes a banana or a yogurt)
organic burrito for lunch (210 calories)
chicken and brown rice for dinner , or veggies and brown rice, or a lean cuisine......

im so serious that i eat this everyday, im on my 4th week doing this

Answer 1

It sounds like you're mostly doing great. I do agree with Tracy that you might be restricting your intake too much. If you go below 1400-1200 calories in a day, you send your body into starvation mode where your body hangs on for dear life to the pounds you have in reserve. If you think that BF burns about 500 calories a day, and you're taking in only 1200 calories, that means that your body thinks you're taking in 700 calories!! It might sound counter-intuitive, but you might need to eat more--concentrate on adding more fruits, veg, and complex carbohydrates.

This time has always been a plateau for me. My second baby is nearly 5 months. I find that I slow down my weight loss for a month or so, but then start losing again when my baby has another growth spurt and demands more calories from me. As long as you're still watching what you’re eating, and maybe taking the baby out in the stroller for 15 minutes or so, you’ll continue to lose.

My pattern is like this: Lose a bunch, plateau when I lose nothing, lose, plateau, lose, plateau, and then lose. It took you nine months to put it all on, let yourself have nine months to take it all off.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

WELL! Congratulations on your weight loss success so far!

Have you figured out a total for your calories? Breastfeeding you should be eating about 2000 calories at least.

How active are you?

This is what I see:
Your calories are a little low, which isn't so bad, but the low cal part can only be done successfuly for about 2 weeks, then your weight loss starts to slow down.

You have also been walking a few miles a day, which is MORE than acceptable activity. Keep that up.

In your situation, there is ONE thing you can do: Increase your DAILY calories by 300 to 500 for ONE WEEK. So, instead of 1500 cals, you will eat 2000 per day...just an example...add the cals to what you already eat)

Then go back down to your lowcal diet, but only for 2 weeks. AFter those 2 weeks, raise your calories again for one week, then lower for another 2 weeks....Keep doing this "2 weeks low, 1 week higher" plan until you get to your goal weight.

During the weeks when your calories are higher, you can add a little more walking if you want, but it isn't necessary.

When you get within 10 pounds of your goal, start lifting light weights. Don't do any weight training until you get to that stage in your weight loss. I personally like Kiana Tom's books on weight training for women. They gave me tremendous results, doing the most basic weight lifting.

With this method, once you get to your goal weight, you will most likely keep losing weight, so you will need to increase your calories to stop the weight loss.

Tried and true. I did this and lost weight and got healthy.

Answer 4

talk with your doctor!!! sometimes pregnancy can throw off your thyroid level and a simple blood test will be able to tell. also since you are breastfeeding it may be HARDER to loose the pounds since your body retains what it needs since you arent eating a lot - or atleast a large variety. i have the same problem right now breastfeeding my 7 month old. there is no such thing as dieting while breastfeeding, just eating healthy - and personally i think you need to eat a little more. keep it up for another couple weeks, sometimes it takes weeks to see results, esp if you've had the weight on for a little while. i will say though, that when my son cuts out a feeding or picks up an extra solid food, i lose a pound or 2. and remember those huge milk boobs have to be about 7 lbs!! so you've reached your goal!! lol that's what i keep telling my self! good luck!!! oh, if you're on medication for PPD, that can slow weightloss too.

Answer 5

I'm going to tell you something you won't like to hear: please don't diet while you're breastfeeding. Eat healthfully and exercise. Eat lots of fruits and veggies and continue taking your prenatal vitamins. Your baby is getting nutrients from you and you need to take good care of yourself.

Consult your doctor or nutritionist if you need help. Your meals sound healthy enough, but you may not be consuming enough to sustain yourself.

I understand where you are coming from. I was at 224 when I gave birth. By the time my child was 5 months old I was down to 190....but then I just stopped losing weight. I promised myself that I could go back to focusing on me AFTER I stopped breastfeeding.

By the time my baby was a year old, I was down to 180. But when I stopped nursing, I GAINED 15 lbs (totally hormonal....all the changes in your body can do that).

Now my son is 18 months old and I no longer breastfeed him. I've been low-carbing (healthfully...lots of fruits & veggies....just less white carbs like bread, rice & sugar). I've dropped 15 more pounds.

Hang in there. You'll have all the time in the world to lose the weight after you're done nursing your child. For now, eat healthfully and exercise. It will slowly come off.

And understand that everyone is different. Some people will swear to you that they lost all the weight by breastfeeding and dropped it all in 3 months. Others never lose the weight no matter how hard they try. We're all different.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Try working in some light floor exercises (Crunches, lunges, leg lifts) while baby is napping. Also, you might want to try varying your diet a bit. Keep it around the same calorie content, but change it up, otherwise you're likely to get bored and go insane and down a whole bag of Chips Ahoy or something. Add some more dairy to your diet as well. Lifting weights (start with 3 or 5 lbs) builds muscle and muscle helps burn fat.
I wouldn't recommend diet pills even if you weren't breastfeeding, because the moment you stop those, you'd gain any weight right back.

Answer 7

you're not eating enough. Or often enough.

You burn more calories while breastfeeding than you EVER did while pregnant. Pregnancy uses about 300 extra calories a day, breastfeeding about 500. Baby will always come first, so because you're taking in so few calories your body is in starvation mode and will hold onto that weight like its going out of style.

Your body burns most of its calories in the digestive tract, and in the use of, or rest of, muscles.

Walking is great, keep it up. I would add something with weights, to gain some muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, but it burns more calories even while resting, and will help you shed more pounds in the long run.

You want to keep up your digestive metabolism, so eat about 6 small meals a day, never go below 1200 calories, especially while breastfeeding. Just take those reagular meals and cut them in half, and eat every few hours.

You need healthy fat and lean protein while nursing. Fiber helps fill you up and detox you.

you're on a great track, you'll reach your weight in no time. Just be smart and dont starve yourself so much.

Answer 8

I have 4 children and gained 40 pounds each time then lost it all by 3 months afterward. (Like from 115 lb-155lbs) I normally eat and drink: 6am-4 ounces orange juice, 8 am-12 ounces of milk, 10am-oatmeal for breakfast, then 1 pm a salad with vinegar only-lots of veggies and a bit of cheese, 2pm-12 ounces of milk, maybe a hard boiled egg, 6pm dinner like baked chicken, 2 veggies, rice or pasta. That is mostly it for whole day long. Plus like 4 large glasses of water. I think you need more snacks, and also a few glasses of milk in there? Also I wear a pedometer and strive for 12,000 steps a day-with 4 children under age 6 it is hard to exercise so I literally walk up and down stairs inside, jog in hallway just to move around. This is more important than the diet part I think. Without the pedometer my baseline was like 5,000 steps only!! Trying for 12,000 steps a day is like 3 1/2 more miles!! Try wearing one just to get an idea of how much you are really moving. If that does not help or is enough then maybe have your doctor test your TSH and thyroid hormones, that can effect your weight as well. Good luck!! Don't eat any processed food either-no non-fat cookies or anything like that or soy anything that can keep weight on also. I think you can safely lose about 1 pound per week. You have lost 40 pounds in 5 months that is wonderful-don't give up!! I weigh myself every day and write it down and average seven days-do not get frustrated if your weight flucuates over the week-the overall average is what you need to look at. Prevention magazine on-line is a good resource for exercise also.

Answer 9

I'm in a similar boat. First.....
Remember that it takes 9mths to put it on and more to lose it (I know its a cliche but its soooo true)
Second...
forget the bloody calorie count it will drive you nuts!!
Just remember that if you eat more sugar or carbs than needed then you need to burn that. Breastfeeding burns calories in some women but not all....I'm an example of that and my GP said that it can actually make you gain a tad more weight because you give so much more to the baby/toddler and need more to retain for yourself!
Third...
give yourself a break. the world out there is shocking with image concern and how a mother should look after pregnancy I mean look at the celebrities who have their own private chefs, trainers, nannies etc! what money can do !

all the best and email me if you wanna chat

[e-mail]

x

Answer 10

You need to exercise.
I delivered at 181. That was 3 months ago and I now weigh 148. I do ALOT of walking, 3-5 miles a day and I lose about 1-2 lbs per week. Plus I also breastfeed and eat healthily.
However my first month was a slow go I hovered around 161-162 for a month with no more weight loss. Then it just started to come off when I added the exercise regimine