Breastfeeding and weightloss

[Kelly814]

Hi everyone -- I'm normally just a lurker here but needed to post as I am at my wit's end! My daughter is almost 8 months old and I am still nursing her 5-7 times per day. I have been doing CTX weight training 6 days per week and CTX abs 7 days per week. I have also been doing one hour of cardio 5-6 days per week (Cathe, elliptical trainer, or outdoor running). I have been on this schedule since JANUARY and my weight will not budge. My measurements will not budge. I had a c-section so I couldn't do much of anything until 6 weeks postpartum, but I did start a walk/run program at that point.

Has anyone else found nursing to cause their body to hold onto fat for dear life? Is there anything else I can do? My diet is fairly clean with one cheat meal on Saturday nights. I don't want to wean my daughter until she is one year old. Is there anything else I can do or should I just give up? Thanks for your help!!!

Kelly

 

[shopaholic]

Hi Kelly,
Come join our postpartum check in. My daughter is 8 months old too, when was yours born? Alexis was born Sept. 12. I am now nursing her less due to solids and giving her formula when out. Due to this decrease, I suddenly lost those last stubborn pounds. You may want to also change your workout routine, if you are not already doing intervals add some like imax 1 or 2 to crank it up. You may also want to increase the weight work, for ex. do a total body tape one day then a cardio the next or do upper one day, i.e ctx upper then lower the next. The more muscle you build the more fat you burn. Hang in there.

 

[JulieMom]

Yes the average nursing mom does carry extra weight. But the amount that is averagely held onto is between 5 and 10 lbs. If you have more than that it may not be due to nursing. When you are nursing your body tells itself it needs fat to produce milk for the baby. So it that is why one you are hungry all the time (or a least I was) and two why you have exta lbs. I worked out while BFing and it took me 4 months to lose 8 lbs but I really did drop in measurements due to weight lifting.

Ok the next thing I have to say is purely information to think about. I am not a doctor, nor would I ever give advice like I was one. But in saying that I have met several woman who have thyroid problems that developed that were never a problem before making them not be able to properly lose weight when trying. Whether hypo or hyper, thyroid problems mess up your metabolism and makes it hard, maybe for some impossible to combat alone. You may want to call your doctors office tell them your experiance and see if they think it is a flag that your thyroid levels may be off. This is very common for women. But remember it's just a thought. I say it only cause with a good workout regiment you should see a differance in your body over the course of 4 to 5 months.

 

[cjbate]

You need to track your calories. I used to think I ate fairly clean too, til I realized the little bites here and there were adding up...even if it was something innocent like bread or pasta or mayo or a muffin here and there. I would think "Oh I eat fairly clean" but when I started tracking my calories I realized that "fairly clean" doesn't cut it. My son was 8 months old and I was still holding on to an extra 15 lbs. I had no trouble dropping it once I started tracking calories (I actually did WW with clean eating...but counting calories would do the same thing). I notice the best way was to have one serving of the meat and the starch, then fill up on fruits, veggies, and lo cal dairy. Try www.fitday.com

HTH!
Jen
"The best abs are built in the kitchen!"

 

[Kelly814]

Thanks for your advice. Carmen was born on September 26. I have 5 pounds to go to get to my pre-preg weight of 120. But I would also like to lose another 5 to be where I want to be. It probably didn't help that I gained fifty (hangs head in shame) pounds during my pregnancy. I did lose 35 pounds within the first 3 weeks postpartum, so I do think a lot of that was water retention ... not to make excuses for that outrageous weight gain. I think I'll try adding PH twice a week along with very close calorie tracking. I used to use fitday religiously before I was pregnant so I would love to get back to that. I look forward to joining the postpartum check-in!

 

[LovingLife]

Hi Kelly -- Just wanted to add that YES, you described it perfectly -- that on many (maybe even most) women, the fat wants to hang on for dear life when you are nursing. Have you ever read any of Debra Waterhouse's books. She has a great one called "Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell after Pregancy" and says that the popular notion of fat just melting off of you because you are nursing is the exception, not the rule. She says that the female body wants to have some fat stores available in case of famine or whatever so that it will be able to supply the baby milk.

I've had 6 babies and I didn't see this happen as much until after my 4th baby, but with the 5th and 6th, the fat became more and more stubborn -- it just wouldn't budge. But I had the knowledge and hope from the past experiences that once I stopped nursing, my body would give it up a bit easier. And it has. My baby is almost 18 mos. old and I'm almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

Another interesting tidbit. I have friends who are overweight to begin with on their pregnancies and they think it's odd that it takes me so long to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight when I work at eating right and work out so religiously. They often wear their pre-pregnancy clothes home from the hospital or certainly are by their 6 week visit. But along the lines with what Debra Waterhouse says, they still have plenty of fat stores left for nursing at their pre-pregnancy weight, so their bodies will let go of the pregnancy weight faster. Interesting, isn't it?

But back to you -- that's great that you are already so close to your pre-pregnancy weight and your baby is only 8 mos. old! Especially since you gained 50 pounds with your pregnancy. Good for you! Just keep going -- add some variety to your rotation to shake your body up a bit -- crack down a bit more on your eating if you can, and you will get back to your goal.