Nursing and Hunger

I breastfed both my kids..... and did NOT lose weight from it.
To me, it was all a myth.
But my friends, did lose weight, after giving birth. They happened to breastfeed too. They were lucky.

I did not lose weight, from breastfeeding. At all.

I'm sure you've heard the lovely "9 months on/9 months off", but for me the weight came off slowly and i couldn't shake the last 10 until i finished bfeeding my 20 month old - and looks like that as I currently bfeed my 27 month old. The one thing I have noticed and will try really hard to do with the next kid - is that my friends who did get skinny from bfeeding - ate like crazy! healthy stuff, of course, but all the time and huge portions. I am an undereater and I think it's really messed up my metabolism. I wasn't loosing any weight despite a strict 10+ hours a week doing sweaty workouts until I added 1000 calories to my daily diet and became really aware of my protein intake.
Also, undereating with my second caused me to produce "skim milk" so to speak and caused weight gain issues with my son. So not worth it.
I never intended to diet or undereat - just kept reminding myself to eat in moderation and get moving, but I wasn't compensating those burned calories.

So, don't try to "diet" and portion control. Obey your appetite and drink a lot of water.

Congratulations on your new addition and the decision to give them the best nutritional start a mother can provide!

Your baby is only 8 weeks!! Relax. Don't think about the weight, or dieting. Enjoy your baby, and ignore the scale. With my first, I really didn't pay any attention tot he scale and at 6 months, I thought I looked pretty good. At about 11 months, I did dip below my prepregnancy weight.

My daughter is now only 4.5 months old, and I am trying to remember what I did differently. I am so focused on the scale, even if I'm not dieting. I keep telling myself not to, but easier said than done. And I am starving!!! I have been plateaued for the last 3.5 months, then dropped 2 pounds, then gained them back!! I still have 20-25 pounds to lose.

My suggestion, to us both, is only to weigh yourself once a week if you need to, but just enjoy your baby, and it will come off.

No you don't. And sorry yes I am one of those girls that looses all my pregnancy weight pretty fast and then some but it's because I work for it. You can diet while breast feeding you just have to do it correctly. counting calories is what I did. To loose weight but not your milk supply you just have to stay between 1500 to 1800 calories a day. And I just ate little meals about every 2 to 3 hours to help with my hunger. Also protein is great. It helps you feel full. Like this is an example of what I ate.
breakfast-slimfast=190 calories
snack- 2 hard boiled egg & glass of water=140calories
lunch-lean cuisine=300 calories
snack-nuts, yogurt or fruit & diet pop= about 200 calories
dinner-regular dinner=around 600 calories
snack-weight watchers ice cream=130 calories
Total calories for the day=1560
I know how you feel cause I get so hungry while I am breastfeeding but you can lose weight. Don't give up!

I'm currently breastfeeding my fifth baby. I breastfed all of them for 2 years. My first three kids, I got back to my normal weight after 1 year. With my 4th, I was down to my Pre-pregnancy weight at 5 months... wow. Now my fifth baby is 5 months old and I can't seem to lose the last 20 pounds. I lost 40 pounds in 3 months (gained 60 pounds during pregnancy!!!! UGH!!!!) but in the last two months, I've lost NOTHING! I've been dancing a lot and getting in shape because I teach ballet but like you said, I'm so hungry all the time. I'm trying to eat less but I'm so famished all the time because I'm exclusively breastfeeding. I'm giving myself a year because with my other kids, it took a year to get completely normal. I hear that a year is pretty much what it takes to get back to the way you were. With my son that I was back to my normal weight by the time he was 5 months, my hips were still out of proportion. That took awhile. Having 15 to lose and your baby is 8 weeks sounds awesome to me. Hang in there and the rest should come off by the time baby is a year old. congratulations!!

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It's very common to hold onto the last 10-20lbs for a long time.

Evolutionarily (simplified, lol) it's because your body holds on to fat to turn into breastmilk in times of famine.

It'll come off eventually. Don't rush yourself.

Well, first of all, it's only been 8 weeks. It took a while for you to put the weight on and it's going to take awhile for it to come back off. It's just the nature of our bodies.
Make sure you're drinking plenty of liquids. It could be that you're thirsty and not really hungry.
If you're hungry, eat something healthy and filling. Try trail mix or some other type of nuts. Peanutbutter and cracker is good too. Fruit is always a winner. Eat healthy and you'll lose the weight. You want to make sure that you're eating about 2400 good calories a day. Whatever you do, don't start dieting (eating less calories) while you're breastfeeding!

Thirst can be confused with hunger. You are putting out a lot of body fluids and if you are not replacing them it can leave you dehydrated.

http://www.realage.com/tips/all-about-you-dont-confuse-hu...

http://www.pureandhealthy.com/blog/2010/08/hungry-you-cou...

I was so hungry and could not get enough to eat while I was pregnant. I thought is was normal, so I was surprised when I did mention it to my Doctor and he said that it is usually a sign of a mineral deficiency. If you mean just normal hunger than I guess that would not apply :) I did not lose any weight while breast feeding, it just does not come off that easily for some of us.

I held on to 10 pounds until I stopped breastfeeding. A few weeks after I stopped I lost 10 pounds and had not changed any of my diet or exercise habits.

I lost over 65lbs in the first four months after baby. I did it by breastfeeding and eating 1200 calories a day. My milk supply did not suffer at all. Unless you are severly malnourished your body will still make milk. I gained so much weight while prego that I felt horrible afterward. I know ppl say you shouldn't diet while bfing but I feel so much better about myself now. Now I just weigh myself everyday to help me maintain my weight--if I gain a pound or two then I know to cut back on calories a little for that day. Bfing really helps me too--it is like doing an aerobic workout everyday. I know it is hard when you are so hungry all the time. 15 lbs is really not that bad--I was way worse than that. In the mean time try not to beat yourself up--you have a new baby, which is hard enough by itself. Good luck!

I had about 50 to lose, so you are doing okay with 15! lol. I did not lose ANY weight when I was breastfeeding. I was CRAZY hungry....I swear I couldn't stop eating. So, here's what I did. I tried my very best not to get any chips, cookies, ice cream, cake, ect in the house. (which didn't help much when hubby would go out and pie apple pie and ice cream). but at least when I was super hungry at home all I could eat was the healthier things that I had. It's a pain in the butt to get yourself and newborn out the door, so that's how it helped me not gain anymore weight.
Drink lots of water. When the doctor says it's okay, start taking walks with the baby (your are in San Clemente! I grew up in San Juan Capistrano) the weather there should stay "nice" for quite some time still. Try and eat more veggies and less carbs. And then realise that it took your body 9 months to gain the weight so it should take about that long to lose it.
Congrats on the new baby!
L.