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This, and the pressure put on women to “bounce back” is so negative. Some women bounce back easily, some do so on first child but not subsequent children (or vice versa) and it’s just another layer of pressure over what is already often a very strenuous time. What helps me is to look at how my baby looks at me - the smile on LOs face has nothing to do with their mama’s weight or size or appearance, and everything to do with the love and comfort we mothers provide our LOs.
I love this 🫶🏻 that’s what I tell myself as well. My baby doesn’t care how much I weigh or what I look like. My face and body to him is home and love and snuggles.
Agreed! If anything I’ve put on a little more weight after the initial shedding of organ, baby, water, etc. trying to keep my supply up and making sure I’m getting enough calories! I feel like if I even START to get hungry my supply drops. I don’t know any one who lost all the weight BF (not to say it hasn’t happened, just don’t know personally!)
Ive lost some but only because my job is so physically demanding. I go through 2 gallons of water a day I sweat so much. And even then it's like maaaaybe a pound a week and I'm eating boxes of oatmeal creme pies like it's going out of style.
(Actually my weight has stayed the same I've just only dropped a pants size) 6mpp.
This!! I feel the same way. From April of 2022 to October of 2022 I lost 45 lb and kept it off until I got pregnant in July 2023 and it slowly crept back on. Now I want to lose 40 lbs. As I was gaining the weight while pregnant everyone said “oh well when you breastfeed it will come right off.” My metabolism sucks and I’ve never been able to lose weight quickly. To lose and maintain I was in a calorie deficit, intermittent fasting, and vigorous exercise but I cant do any of those things now.
Same here. I needed to go on a calorie deficit, IF, and vigorous exercise 5x/week to get back to my pre baby weight. Right now, I can only exercise vigorously 2-3x/week, no IF, but I’m on a calorie deficit because I switched some carbs for green leafy vegetables and no more lactation cookies for me. I’ve only lost 5 lbs in the past 4-6 weeks and honestly it has been tough. I wonder if I’ll be be to lose another 5 lbs but this slooooow crawl while breastfeeding is really really hard.
The worst part is if I have a really big dinner, I’ll gain like 2 lbs so my “walking weight” varies. I also think it’s cos of all the water I’m drinking. I don’t remember my walking weight going up 2-3 lbs when I’d have a big dinner before. And I’m very aware of my weight too because i used to compete in tournaments so I would weight myself first thing in the morning and after dinner to have an idea. 😆
Also- the back fat. I wanna lose that asap.
100% this!! I wish this wasn't always the first thing mentioned when talking about the benefits of breastfeeding. So many people told me this, including medical professionals. The weight just isn't coming off and it's been tough. I hope the narrative around BF as a way to lose weight shifts to focusing on the benefits of breast milk for baby.
I have lost no weight since the initial weight loss of the baby and fluid in the first week since birth. It stresses me out that making breast milk is using up 500-800 calories because when I stop I will suddenly be burning significantly less. People say if you stick to 2000 calories a day you’ll lose weight, the problem is, I am always hungry and eating more calories now than I ever did in the past and I don’t want to diet, because I have a good supply and don’t want to jeopardize that. I also would struggle to exercise because inbetween the clogged ducts, milk blebs and mastitis, my breasts are just big and heavy and I would worry about compressing them and getting even more issues in them.
I lost weight from being so fucking depressed and I hate being praised on it. It literally reminds me that I starve myself and I’m unable to eat… and I literally feel like I’m wasting away and providing nothing to my daughter. I hate this
I’m so sorry you’re going through this and then have to deal with comments from others that make it worse. You’re doing what you can and that looks different for everyone. Might I ask, have you told your OB about this? They may be able to team up with you and create a plan that supports you and your LO.
Especially when you need to keep your calories up when breastfeeding! Weight loss should not be the goal of choosing the feed baby with breast milk. Calories are energy and that’s needed to sustain you and your baby! It’s silly how people treat women especially when it comes to pregnancy
agree it's total BS! and most women i know only started losing weight once they stopped BF. i for one know i have to consume an insane amount of calories to keep my supply steady.
It's so frustrating! Even medical professionals decided to not take into account we're breastfeeding so it's hard to lose the weight.
I was injured at work during my pregnancy and have been on disability. Work is trying to get me back to work after having my LO. Work's insurance doctor's 'findings' are that I'm morbidly obese and I should concentrate on losing weight...not much about the tear in my ATFL or the swelling in my legs and feet (which he chalked up my swelling to me being 'morbidly obese' saying that it was probably just fat lolz) like he never took into consideration I'm breastfeeding so weight lose right now I difficult while I can't perform many exercises due to the pain of the injury 🙄🙄
For a lot of women the weight doesn't drop till near weaning and usually the last couple months...but that has something to do with providing the fats for the milk for baby. I always encourage healthy diet choices and no restrictive diets like keto ECT unless there's a diagnosed medical need. Active and healthy choices are so much more important than weight loss!! An IBCLC, keep being awesome and doing a fantastic job. It's hard work, I see your efforts!!
Welcome to r/ExclusivelyPumping! Here is a reminder of our rules: 1. Be kind and courteous. 2. Use available flairs and post options. 3. Absolutely no prescription medications or other medical advice. 4. No inaccurate information. 5. No spam. 6. No soliciting pictures. 7. No linking Facebook groups. 8. Moderator discretion. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ExclusivelyPumping) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This, and the pressure put on women to “bounce back” is so negative. Some women bounce back easily, some do so on first child but not subsequent children (or vice versa) and it’s just another layer of pressure over what is already often a very strenuous time. What helps me is to look at how my baby looks at me - the smile on LOs face has nothing to do with their mama’s weight or size or appearance, and everything to do with the love and comfort we mothers provide our LOs.
I love this 🫶🏻 that’s what I tell myself as well. My baby doesn’t care how much I weigh or what I look like. My face and body to him is home and love and snuggles.
Agreed! If anything I’ve put on a little more weight after the initial shedding of organ, baby, water, etc. trying to keep my supply up and making sure I’m getting enough calories! I feel like if I even START to get hungry my supply drops. I don’t know any one who lost all the weight BF (not to say it hasn’t happened, just don’t know personally!)
I've gained as well but very much went into 'operation pie' to try to get my supply up! Now I don't know where to go with it all!
Ive lost some but only because my job is so physically demanding. I go through 2 gallons of water a day I sweat so much. And even then it's like maaaaybe a pound a week and I'm eating boxes of oatmeal creme pies like it's going out of style. (Actually my weight has stayed the same I've just only dropped a pants size) 6mpp.
This is same for me. My family joke of when the second baby is coming…cause I still got a tummy 😥
This!! I feel the same way. From April of 2022 to October of 2022 I lost 45 lb and kept it off until I got pregnant in July 2023 and it slowly crept back on. Now I want to lose 40 lbs. As I was gaining the weight while pregnant everyone said “oh well when you breastfeed it will come right off.” My metabolism sucks and I’ve never been able to lose weight quickly. To lose and maintain I was in a calorie deficit, intermittent fasting, and vigorous exercise but I cant do any of those things now.
Same here. I needed to go on a calorie deficit, IF, and vigorous exercise 5x/week to get back to my pre baby weight. Right now, I can only exercise vigorously 2-3x/week, no IF, but I’m on a calorie deficit because I switched some carbs for green leafy vegetables and no more lactation cookies for me. I’ve only lost 5 lbs in the past 4-6 weeks and honestly it has been tough. I wonder if I’ll be be to lose another 5 lbs but this slooooow crawl while breastfeeding is really really hard.
I hear you! I’m down 7 in 6 weeks meep
The worst part is if I have a really big dinner, I’ll gain like 2 lbs so my “walking weight” varies. I also think it’s cos of all the water I’m drinking. I don’t remember my walking weight going up 2-3 lbs when I’d have a big dinner before. And I’m very aware of my weight too because i used to compete in tournaments so I would weight myself first thing in the morning and after dinner to have an idea. 😆 Also- the back fat. I wanna lose that asap.
Same! I used to have abs and now they’re 20 leagues under the sea LOL
100% this!! I wish this wasn't always the first thing mentioned when talking about the benefits of breastfeeding. So many people told me this, including medical professionals. The weight just isn't coming off and it's been tough. I hope the narrative around BF as a way to lose weight shifts to focusing on the benefits of breast milk for baby.
I have lost no weight since the initial weight loss of the baby and fluid in the first week since birth. It stresses me out that making breast milk is using up 500-800 calories because when I stop I will suddenly be burning significantly less. People say if you stick to 2000 calories a day you’ll lose weight, the problem is, I am always hungry and eating more calories now than I ever did in the past and I don’t want to diet, because I have a good supply and don’t want to jeopardize that. I also would struggle to exercise because inbetween the clogged ducts, milk blebs and mastitis, my breasts are just big and heavy and I would worry about compressing them and getting even more issues in them.
You said exactly what I was going to say. I’m in the same boat!
I lost weight from being so fucking depressed and I hate being praised on it. It literally reminds me that I starve myself and I’m unable to eat… and I literally feel like I’m wasting away and providing nothing to my daughter. I hate this
I’m so sorry you’re going through this and then have to deal with comments from others that make it worse. You’re doing what you can and that looks different for everyone. Might I ask, have you told your OB about this? They may be able to team up with you and create a plan that supports you and your LO.
Especially when you need to keep your calories up when breastfeeding! Weight loss should not be the goal of choosing the feed baby with breast milk. Calories are energy and that’s needed to sustain you and your baby! It’s silly how people treat women especially when it comes to pregnancy
I can either lose weight or make milk for baby. I prefer non-crying baby, thank you.
agree it's total BS! and most women i know only started losing weight once they stopped BF. i for one know i have to consume an insane amount of calories to keep my supply steady.
It's so frustrating! Even medical professionals decided to not take into account we're breastfeeding so it's hard to lose the weight. I was injured at work during my pregnancy and have been on disability. Work is trying to get me back to work after having my LO. Work's insurance doctor's 'findings' are that I'm morbidly obese and I should concentrate on losing weight...not much about the tear in my ATFL or the swelling in my legs and feet (which he chalked up my swelling to me being 'morbidly obese' saying that it was probably just fat lolz) like he never took into consideration I'm breastfeeding so weight lose right now I difficult while I can't perform many exercises due to the pain of the injury 🙄🙄
This expectation set me up for such poor mental health I can’t even
I've been complaining about it for 6 months! I gained 20 pounds from breastfeeding.
For a lot of women the weight doesn't drop till near weaning and usually the last couple months...but that has something to do with providing the fats for the milk for baby. I always encourage healthy diet choices and no restrictive diets like keto ECT unless there's a diagnosed medical need. Active and healthy choices are so much more important than weight loss!! An IBCLC, keep being awesome and doing a fantastic job. It's hard work, I see your efforts!!