Losing the Last 10 Pounds...

If you are breastfeeding, why would you worry about your weight? I thought breastfeeding was the MOST important thing? I did not breast feed for over three months. I am frowned upon. I thought you "breastfeeding" mothers were the end all, be all of Moms. Far better than me. So, again I ask, why do you care about your weight when you are doing SOOOO much better than me? If you are "mothering", why does your weight have an issue?

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I agree with the others who say BMI is not an accurate measurement of your health or fitness level, and I’m a fitness professional. Your body just went through an amazing process, give it time to adjust. It took me a year to lose the weight from my first pregnancy and I, too, am still 10 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight with my 6 month old. Having a period may help, I had one when my baby was 3 months and I lost 3-4 pounds at that point, but haven’t lost much since. Continue breastfeeding, continue eating healthy, don’t cut back too much since you need the nutrition and calories for your baby and continue exercising. It will come off eventually. You may want to try varying your exercise routine to shock your body to get it to respond, but, as someone else said, you will probably hit plateaus, so don’t get frustrated, just ride it out. Just remember, some people lose the weight right away and for others it can take years, I've seen it all at the gym.

Congratulations on finding 3-4 days a week to exercise with a baby!

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i agree with the others in that yes, BF'ing helps lose weight faster - however not necessarily all of it. Like many others, I lost most of my weight while bf'ing (in combination with some moderate exercise like stroller walks!) during the early months, but it slowed down after about the 4th or 5th month. After I weaned my son (when he turned 1), I lost the rest of my weight. Again, I was workign out (not strenuously I admit) and trying to 'eat right'. Chasing him around probably helped too! ;)

When he started solids, it didn't make a difference in my weight, although it DID make a dent in my milk production. I pumped, but it's simply not as effective as direct nursing. That might be also why my period came back (around 10ish months).

Your body just might need those extra 10 lbs so that you can breastfeed.

You sound like a healthy person, active, etc, so don't worry about being classifed overweight.. that scale is different and not reflective of someone who is nursing. These general 'scales' are just that. General.

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Sometimes your body hangs onto a little weight while nursing to keep a good supply for your baby. You will probably lose it after you are done nursing. I'm the type that loses all the weight within just a few weeks, and I love it. I would say continue with healthful eating, and activity, and once you do stop nursing it will probably fall off. Hang in there.

K.

I couldn't lose the last ten pounds until I completely stopped nursing. I swear my body wanted to hang on to it! A few weeks after nursing it just dropped off. I didn't have to do anything. A lot of my friends, were the same way too.

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BMI is a ball park figure and rarely takes body types into consideration.

If you feel good, feel healthy, and your child is doing well...then don't stress about it. If you are feeling unsure about your health, go get a checkup and have the doctor run some blood tests to see what your "numbers" are.

Keep in mind, itt will take you at least a year after the birth of your child before you truely begin to feel as you did before you became pregant.

sometimes you hit a plateau... something that works really well will stop, your body just gets used to what you are doing... try switching up your exercise routine... sometimes doing some kind of detox will help lose the last little bit too, but im not sure if that's something to do while breastfeeding... something to look into.... good luck! :)

The last 10 lbs is always the hardest to lose when you are losing weight. You should aim to lose .5 to 1lb a week because you are breastfeeding and because that's probably about how fast that last 10lbs will come off. If you are really having a hard time then I would either consult your doctor to make sure you are eating the right number of calories (you may be eating too little trying to diet or you may be eating too many trying to compensate for the nursing which burns 500 cals a day). It's really important to make sure you eat the right amount for you and your baby. You could also check out Weight Watchers, they have a program designed just for nursing moms. Good luck!

I wouldn't say muscle weighs more than fat. A pound is a pound no matter what the substance but muscle is certainly more dense than fat :). Wait until you're done breastfeeding... I think the body needs to hold onto extra fluids to make breast milk in the case you're not drinking enough fluids. :). It will go, especially if you're active and healthy. The BMI is bu#%^~*#. I knew a guy who was overweight (according to BMI) but he could run a marathon in 4 hours! Also, your body has done an amazing thing creating your daughter... Give it a little time... Hard I know... My second is 4 months right now and I'm exclusively breastfeeding too. But keep up the activity and visit it again once your little one is weaned. :)

Losing weight after pregnancy is easy when breast feeding. A lot of energy goes into the making a producing milk. If you have had trouble finishing the last ten, then try a complete different exercise routine. Such as walking, jogging, biking , swimming, rollerblading, rollerskating, any of these that are different from your last routine will change the muscle groups being used and tone other sets of muscles. Why this works (not all the time) is because with the routine you have now your muscle group being worked have hit their plateaus and burn the calories you are eating now. When you switch to a different set of muscles, then you burn more calories because you are creating new muscles, toned muscles and muscles burn calories. And A diet change might be in order. Not necessarily less calories just different ones ( that are healthy). At 4.5 months your baby could accompany you to all those exercise, maybe not swimming though. And last but not least, Healthy is being able to walk for a mile or more and not feel winded, run up the stairs and not feel lightheaded, to sprint across the yard to your child and still be able to do it again in a few minutes, bicycle a diaper bag, a baby, a trailer to the store and feel good about getting the 60 lbs of groceries home. If you can do all that and more then stop worrying about the BMI chart. It is highly over rated, I am in the overweight category and I just complete an 11 mile bicycle ride yesterday and I could do another 11 and still feel good (maybe not my behind though). Good luck and Enjoy!!!

muscle weighs more than fat:)- and the same thing is happening to me- 3 onth old son- EFB, just started exercising 3 weeks ago and eating better- have only GAINED 1/2 lb!

first, please ignore the obviously bitter woman giving you a hard time about breast feeding. second, and I can only speak from experience here, that "loose the last 10 pounds after weaning" thing seems to be pretty right on. it went a little differently with us, as I am "comfort" nursing my 25 month old still, so I lost it before weaning completely. I noticed that when we moved from serious nursing, to more of a snuggle time, extra calorie when solids aren't her favorite thing, only a few times a day schedule that my extra weight began to come off. so my body was really only holding on to that extra fat for reserves for full time nursing... in short, yes, you probably will loose that extra ten pounds when you finish nursing, or more, and since it took 9 months to put it on, you can reasonably expect it to take 9 months to take it off again :)

Took me 9 months to put the weight on, took me 9 months to get back to (apx) my pre-pregnancy weight. When we stopped BF'ing completely (about 12-14 months or so) I was below my prepregnancy weight, I was so happy! but quickly put it back on snacking along with my toddler.. :(

You will eventually lose the weight, it just may take a little longer. I found that after the initial post-partum weight loss, it wasn't until about 5 - 6 months of exclusive breast-feeding that my weight really dropped off. I continued breast-feeding after introducing solids and ended up much skinnier than I was before the pregnancy!

Ignore the comment about breast-feeding mothers. Your decision to breastfeed exclusively is right for you and your child. As long as you eat well and maintain your exercise schedule the weight will go.

I lost most all of my weight in the beginning with my son and lost it completely at about 6 months. At 7 months I was 4 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant with him (and I am a skinny woman to begin with) so breastfeeding helped me to lose additional weight. However, even though I was still exclusively breastfeeding our son I got pregnant with our daughter at 8 months postpartum. I didn't gain much more with this second pregnancy (I actually looked smaller but gained more weight according to the scales). After giving birth to our daughter I have been working out at the gym and trying to eat healthier but the weight just doesn't want to come off this time around. I am still 16/18 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, although nobody believes me. Our daughter will be 7 months in 3 days so I am a bit frustrated this time around with my weight loss. However, I think part of my problem is that I have been pregnant twice already since our daughter was born (miscarried the first one at 4 weeks pregnant and had an emergency ectopic surgery at 7 weeks pregnant with the second). After figuring out I was pregnant both of these times I realized that was the reason my weight kept stabilizing and why I actually began gaining weight again twice.
Anyway, I wouldn't be too worried about the last 10 pounds. You will probably end up losing it here soon. Your body needs that extra weight to maintain milk production. You may already know this, but women who do not breastfeed lose their baby fat quicker but those women who breastfeed for at least 1 year end up losing more weight than the women who didn't breastfeed.

I breast fed for a year with both of my kids - full time for 9 months, then just day/night until one year. My body, both times, hung on to the last 8 pounds. As soon as I weaned them both, the 8 pounds was gone within a month - and I didn't do a thing differently. I truly believe your body hangs on to what it needs when breastfeeding, and for you, that might be 10 pounds. Everyone is different - one of my close friends was 3 pounds below her pre-pregnancy weight in 7 weeks after giving birth (insert swear word here - LOL). Just goes to show the wide range of experiences amongst different women.

And as far as breastfeeding goes - there is nothing wrong with breastfeeding and trying to get yourself back to your pre-pregnancy weight. It sounds as though your efforts are not at all impacting your nursing, so why shouldn't you try to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight? Making your life all about your kids and not taking care of yourself is a dangerous cycle so many of us moms fall into - if you are healthy and happy, your family will follow suit. It is sad that the person who was giving you a hard time about breastfeeding had such a negative experience with people who did not respect her decision NOT to breastfeed. But that's no excuse to take it out on you. Ignore her.