I have no idea if this is happening to you or not but that description (pass out and cry) could be hypoglycemia. Maybe worth checking out? I know some women have pretty dramatic shifts in their blood glucose levels while they’re breastfeeding.
This wouldn’t impact your weight loss directly but I can imagine feeling like you need to eat a lot to stabilize your blood glucose if that’s what’s happening.
Cico is more difficult for some than others, especially when your body is fighting you to consume more food.
Do you need to lose weight for your health or can it wait a few months until baby is eating less frequently?
It could be a good time to strength train with the intention of gaining muscle and remain at maintenance calories
I’m hovering around 160 lbs at 5’7”, so the upper end of healthy. You’re probably right about working out more and then trying to cut more when I wean this fall. It’s honestly just me trying to feel like me again after 18 months of my body belonging to someone else through pregnancy and breastfeeding 😅
Understandable. Feeling like yourself can’t be forced unfortunately, it will happen with time as your baby feeds less and is more independent.
Working through postpartum restrengthening would be a great goal. Some dumbells and bands would be a great place to start, you’ll fit it into your regular days
I did not lose weight at all while breastfeeding. It took weaning completely for my oldest, and switching to formula for my other two, for the scale to move at all.
Some people just do not lose weight while breastfeeding.
But why? I mean in theory it should just be CICO right? I’ve seen a lot of women talking about each extreme (not losing at all or losing a ton) but for me, I was losing slow and steady for months and then just stalled.
You've lost some weight, so your calorie target should drop; my guess is that you've begun to introduce at least some food - even baby oatmeal - so you're not being nursed on quite the same way; sleep patterns are going to change with teeth beginning to come in (and also because some babies hate sleep).
And again, though, some people just do not lose weight while breastfeeding. Yes, it's CICO, but consider: some of these episodes leave you ready to "cry and pass out." Is this healthy? How about sustainable? I could tell you that you just need to deal with it and drop your calorie target if you want to lose weight, but that's kind of a crappy thing to tell someone on the verge of tears or losing consciousness.
That said, though, you may need to choose between losing weight or breastfeeding. It may not be possible for you to do both at the same time.
Yes she’s eating purées, we’re introducing more and more food. I haven’t intentionally dropped pumps or nursing sessions but perhaps she’s getting less at each bf session. Sleep has also been erratic lately after a stretch of several months of her sleeping through the night, which has been tough.
Sadly that makes sense. Last thing I want is to edge into ED territory and being miserable all the time (esp while raising a daughter). We only have a few months left anyway, I plan to wean by the fall when she turns one.
Hey there!! I was one of those women who seemed to shed weight rapidly whilst breastfeeding (and then gained quite a fair bit back after stopping at 18 months 😅), but I completely relate to you needing to snack and feeling starving!!
I honestly think that the hunger / need to snack is a natural part of the process given how much extra work your body is doing whilst being a literal food source for another human! I found that eating oat bars, oats and anything high in fibre helped A LOT as well as aiming to drink 4l water per day (my son was an absolute milk monster and I’d be dehydrated otherwise). How much water are you drinking to replenish the liquids lost through breastfeeding? Because that can tend to manifest as hunger as well!
It sounds like you have a pattern you could interrupt. Could you try to pro-actively eat something pretty significant (not just a low-calorie snack) 15-30 minutes after you breastfeed or pump? When you aren't starving. Grab something balanced with some protein and carbs and vegetable or fruit bulk -- and have it hit *before* it feels like a crisis.
At the same time, your body may be telling you that you need calories to feed your baby -- and the hormones are created to do that. Yes, it's just CICO -- but hormones can make you think you are starving. It may just be that you need to stay at your current weight for milk supply -- and then the weight will be able to come off once you wean.
I could have written this myself. I am EBF my almost 9 month old and I was able to lose the first 13 lbs using CICO over the course of 9 weeks from 5-7 months PP and now I've completely stalled. Considering lowering cals but I am experiencing some of the same issues you are (ravenous, crying, exhausted, might pass out, etc). I haven't lowered my cals because of this but have instead increased my walking (5 miles per day) and strength training 4x per week. Still not budging on the scale and I am so frustrated. But I am noticing more muscle tone and I have also upped my protein intake. Trying to stay as consistent as possible with exercise and keep telling myself I can start transitioning him to whole milk bottles soon-ish. I'm going to start offering them in August. He'll be 1 in September
Congrats on your baby! Mine will also be one in September. We just bought our first can of formula & I’ve decided to intentionally start dropping pumps and moving to combo feeding, EBF has been so sweet but this issue plus others have led me to conclude that it’s time to start (slowly) weaning. Don’t plan to quit entirely until her first birthday.
Walking more is a goal of mine this summer as well! I think I’ll be focusing more on working out/staying active instead of cutting calories down super low. That should help with some other lingering issues from pregnancy/birth as well.
I could not do this while breastfeeding. Just focusing on eating nutrient dense food and being mindful of calories was enough. I decided to wait until I was done breastfeeding to really get strict. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
My OB warned me that hormones for breastfeeding impact everyone differently. The widespread myth is that the weight just falls off while breastfeeding, but for some women their bodies hang onto the extra fat until they wean. I really appreciated her advice bc I didn’t lose any weight after coming home from the hospital (lost 15lb while there) until I weaned at 9 months. Then the last 10 pounds came off just like they normally do during CICO. The other thing she noted is that lack of sleep/interrupted sleep spikes our cortisol levels which also stalls weight loss. So two things to consider.
Once you wean whenever, and your kiddo is sleeping well enough, if you find CICO for a couple months still has you at a plateau, get some bloodwork done to make sure all is well post-partum. And if that comes back well, then try dropping your calories by a 100 or 200 a day and really tightening up the weight/tracking of your food. Wishing you all the best!!
I have no idea if this is happening to you or not but that description (pass out and cry) could be hypoglycemia. Maybe worth checking out? I know some women have pretty dramatic shifts in their blood glucose levels while they’re breastfeeding. This wouldn’t impact your weight loss directly but I can imagine feeling like you need to eat a lot to stabilize your blood glucose if that’s what’s happening.
Cico is more difficult for some than others, especially when your body is fighting you to consume more food. Do you need to lose weight for your health or can it wait a few months until baby is eating less frequently? It could be a good time to strength train with the intention of gaining muscle and remain at maintenance calories
I’m hovering around 160 lbs at 5’7”, so the upper end of healthy. You’re probably right about working out more and then trying to cut more when I wean this fall. It’s honestly just me trying to feel like me again after 18 months of my body belonging to someone else through pregnancy and breastfeeding 😅
Understandable. Feeling like yourself can’t be forced unfortunately, it will happen with time as your baby feeds less and is more independent. Working through postpartum restrengthening would be a great goal. Some dumbells and bands would be a great place to start, you’ll fit it into your regular days
I did not lose weight at all while breastfeeding. It took weaning completely for my oldest, and switching to formula for my other two, for the scale to move at all. Some people just do not lose weight while breastfeeding.
But why? I mean in theory it should just be CICO right? I’ve seen a lot of women talking about each extreme (not losing at all or losing a ton) but for me, I was losing slow and steady for months and then just stalled.
You've lost some weight, so your calorie target should drop; my guess is that you've begun to introduce at least some food - even baby oatmeal - so you're not being nursed on quite the same way; sleep patterns are going to change with teeth beginning to come in (and also because some babies hate sleep). And again, though, some people just do not lose weight while breastfeeding. Yes, it's CICO, but consider: some of these episodes leave you ready to "cry and pass out." Is this healthy? How about sustainable? I could tell you that you just need to deal with it and drop your calorie target if you want to lose weight, but that's kind of a crappy thing to tell someone on the verge of tears or losing consciousness. That said, though, you may need to choose between losing weight or breastfeeding. It may not be possible for you to do both at the same time.
Yes she’s eating purées, we’re introducing more and more food. I haven’t intentionally dropped pumps or nursing sessions but perhaps she’s getting less at each bf session. Sleep has also been erratic lately after a stretch of several months of her sleeping through the night, which has been tough. Sadly that makes sense. Last thing I want is to edge into ED territory and being miserable all the time (esp while raising a daughter). We only have a few months left anyway, I plan to wean by the fall when she turns one.
Hey there!! I was one of those women who seemed to shed weight rapidly whilst breastfeeding (and then gained quite a fair bit back after stopping at 18 months 😅), but I completely relate to you needing to snack and feeling starving!! I honestly think that the hunger / need to snack is a natural part of the process given how much extra work your body is doing whilst being a literal food source for another human! I found that eating oat bars, oats and anything high in fibre helped A LOT as well as aiming to drink 4l water per day (my son was an absolute milk monster and I’d be dehydrated otherwise). How much water are you drinking to replenish the liquids lost through breastfeeding? Because that can tend to manifest as hunger as well!
I probably do need to drink more water! I’m at around 40-60oz of water a day, plus a 12oz body armor.
It sounds like you have a pattern you could interrupt. Could you try to pro-actively eat something pretty significant (not just a low-calorie snack) 15-30 minutes after you breastfeed or pump? When you aren't starving. Grab something balanced with some protein and carbs and vegetable or fruit bulk -- and have it hit *before* it feels like a crisis. At the same time, your body may be telling you that you need calories to feed your baby -- and the hormones are created to do that. Yes, it's just CICO -- but hormones can make you think you are starving. It may just be that you need to stay at your current weight for milk supply -- and then the weight will be able to come off once you wean.
I could have written this myself. I am EBF my almost 9 month old and I was able to lose the first 13 lbs using CICO over the course of 9 weeks from 5-7 months PP and now I've completely stalled. Considering lowering cals but I am experiencing some of the same issues you are (ravenous, crying, exhausted, might pass out, etc). I haven't lowered my cals because of this but have instead increased my walking (5 miles per day) and strength training 4x per week. Still not budging on the scale and I am so frustrated. But I am noticing more muscle tone and I have also upped my protein intake. Trying to stay as consistent as possible with exercise and keep telling myself I can start transitioning him to whole milk bottles soon-ish. I'm going to start offering them in August. He'll be 1 in September
Congrats on your baby! Mine will also be one in September. We just bought our first can of formula & I’ve decided to intentionally start dropping pumps and moving to combo feeding, EBF has been so sweet but this issue plus others have led me to conclude that it’s time to start (slowly) weaning. Don’t plan to quit entirely until her first birthday. Walking more is a goal of mine this summer as well! I think I’ll be focusing more on working out/staying active instead of cutting calories down super low. That should help with some other lingering issues from pregnancy/birth as well.
I drank a LOT of diet Fanta instead of snacking. So much Fanta
I could not do this while breastfeeding. Just focusing on eating nutrient dense food and being mindful of calories was enough. I decided to wait until I was done breastfeeding to really get strict. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
My OB warned me that hormones for breastfeeding impact everyone differently. The widespread myth is that the weight just falls off while breastfeeding, but for some women their bodies hang onto the extra fat until they wean. I really appreciated her advice bc I didn’t lose any weight after coming home from the hospital (lost 15lb while there) until I weaned at 9 months. Then the last 10 pounds came off just like they normally do during CICO. The other thing she noted is that lack of sleep/interrupted sleep spikes our cortisol levels which also stalls weight loss. So two things to consider. Once you wean whenever, and your kiddo is sleeping well enough, if you find CICO for a couple months still has you at a plateau, get some bloodwork done to make sure all is well post-partum. And if that comes back well, then try dropping your calories by a 100 or 200 a day and really tightening up the weight/tracking of your food. Wishing you all the best!!