Csection, Breastfeeding and Losing Weight

K.:

congratulations on the breastfeeding!!

you need to eat to run your body... so eat healthy... try to get some exercise take the children out for walks.. good for all of you.

i am sure there are some facilities in your area that may have people who can help with exercise routines or yoga ..

P., RLC, IBCLC
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions

Hi K.,

I am a fitness and wellness professional that specializes in women's health with pre and postpartum care. I am a Master Trainer with Healthy Moms Fitness www.healthymomsfitness.com if you want to see more info.

I had a c-section, exclusively b-fed and was in the same situation, I was super hungry and gained about 5lbs more...your body is telling you something and you may not be feeding it enough to supply enough milk for your girl. Here are some tips to get you by:

Drink half of your body weight in ounces, so if you are 160lbs, then you would need 80oz, sounds like a lot, but it is helpful to keep your supply and lose weight.

After you b-feed eat some protein and fat. Example would be, 2T of nutbutter on toast (you can add a little honey if you wish) Applebutter is great, there is no sugar in that.

Eat every 2-3 hrs, you must include a protein, fat and carb at each meal. So 2 eggs scrambled with veggies and toast with coconut butter for b-fast in an ideal b-fast. Hummus and veggies is an excellent snack so is raw almonds and an apple (all the concerns with nut allergies only occur with processed nuts...I ate nuts all of the time and we have no allergies)

And the last tip I will give is that I did not begin losing weight until I began sleeping through the night myself :) Sleep is very important and vital to weight loss. I just now got to my pre-pregnancy weight 15m later and I gained 45lbs...even as a fitness professional, it was hard for me too and that is realistic!

Feel free to reply back to me if you have more questions. There is a lot more that goes into this, but we only have so much time.

Congrats and enjoy the holidays with your family!

J. W. MPH, ACE-CPT
Wellness Educator/Lifestyle and Wellness Consultant

It takes TIME~I'm talking a year or more~ for our bodies to get adjusted to all the changes involved with pregnancy, childbirth & breastfeeding.
The media does us all a disservice when they highlight how quickly celebrities regain their pre-pregnancy bodies. Since their careers depend on their appearances I am sure that despite their personal trainers, chefs & other unlimited resources many of them resort to using drugs or other unhealthy practices.
You say you can never get enough food. This may be more about your emotions and stress & WHY you eat rather than WHAT you eat.
Find ways to step up your activity level and you will burn calories and manage your stress levels too. Experiment & find an activity you enjoy. When we engage in vigorous activities the body releases feel good chemicals like serotonin, dopamine & endorphins that regulate appetite & moods. Especially with breastfeeding you might be eating when you are actually thirsty. An easy way to remember to get enough fluids is to drink a full glass of water each time your nurse.
Be gentle with yourself~focus on how you describe in your profile that you 'love it & wouldn't change it for the world'.

I am an Exercise Physiologist specializing in prenatal and postpartum fitness. The suggestions from the previous fitness professional were definitely on. The only thing that I would add is that it's possible you're NOT getting enough food. Because you're breastfeeding, your body has a heightened starvation mechanism. If you do not get enough calories to sustain you and the baby your body will hold onto what it needs to make sure it has stores. This is exacerbated by the fact that you had your babies so close together.

I work with many moms in the same situation (I myself just had my third under 4 years!). We offer many options to help moms get back in shape. Check out www.bigbellyfitness.net. If you would like, keep a journal of what you're eating for a few days, why, and when (preferably not Thanksgiving or the weekend) and e-mail it to me. I'll review it and make suggestions for you.

Good luck!

Your pregnancies were so close together that you don't really have a sense of how yoru body bounces back at this point. In my experience, it will take 6-9 months before you're back to your preoregnancy weight. Some women hold onto an extra 10 lbs until they wean. Stop thinking about it, is my advice. The weight will come off before you know it. Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you're full. Try and get some exercise.