hi ladies...since most of you have been through this before, i thought i'd ask: what is a realistic goal for me to set for myself to lose per month after giving birth? i know (from another thread) that i can expect to lose between 10-15 pounds in birth and possibly more in the first few weeks after.

but what about after that? is it reasonable to expect to lose 10 pounds per month? or more like 5? or will i just lose normally as i would have if i didn't have baby? i'm talking about the 6-12 months AFTER giving birth. do the hormones from giving birth and breast feeding affect weight loss long-term?

also, i heard that breast feeding makes a difference in how much you lose, since milk is high in calories. have any of you found this to help? i am planning on breastfeeding - purely for the benefit of my baby, but if it will help me lose faster....that's a plus right?

any insight will be appreciated!!

aloha!!!

IT depends on a lot of factors. If you are breastfeeding, you do not need to restrict yourself as much. Most women find they do need carbs to keep up their supply. This is your one chance to feed your baby, so that should be more important than weight loss. I never lost the weight till after I breastfed, but my BODY changed and I lost the belly fat. After bf, I did lose the weight again, eventually.

Some women lose it no problem, others find they have to work harder. Remember it took you 10 months to put it on, it takes at least that long for most to take it off. Congratulations!

I am bumping this thread in hopes of further discussion. I am due in four weeks and losing weight is one of my main concerns as I gained WAY MORE than I should have and am now clinically morbidly obese.

Hi there- new here-

I have 5 kids and lost differtly with all of them. Just keep in mind that it takes 1 year to recover from a pregnancy and childbirth.... Give yourself time and hug and kiss that sweet new baby.

I was also hungrier when nursing - make sure you let yourself eat to keep up that milk ....."dieting" made my milk decrease. Just make good choices when eating and you will get to your old self soon.

Congrats on your new blessing.

You are pregnant - there is no clinical name for pregnant weight! In my experience people who gain the most lose the most, so you might be pleasantly surprised. Wait at least three months to really look at the scale and then go full on. Nine months of recovery is what I count on - some people say "nine months up, nine months down". I am under my prepregnancy weight right now and I have a five month old. I have had three kids in 4 years and two months into Atkins I am 8 pounds below my start weight with my first. You will lose. Just give it time, especially if you are breastfeeding - you won't know ahead of time if BF will keep the pounds on or take them off.

How much you gain in pregnancy (sometimes 60 pounds or more) does not necessarily have a relationship to what you will weigh a year after the birth.

Janine

To Ivanna - everyone is different even if you breastfeed. For some women it helps them to lose and others don't really lose until after. This was hard on me when I had my first since I was expecting the weight to just melt. True I lost about 17 right away, but after that I lost maybe 5 lbs in the 14 months I breastfed. The weight did not come off again until I stopped. With this one I have no idea what to expect. I will just try my best to eat well at a level that will keep my supply good for the baby. I don't think I'll even worry about losing weight until after my 6 week checkup. I know it's hard to hear that but jschwab is right - being pregnant and then breastfeeding are not our bodies under normal conditions so your body will react differently.

I didn't lose all that much through breastfeeding & I was concerned to keep up my supply. Also, m-i-l and Mr. Husband made sure I was eating well during post-partum.

Other women I have seen became almost wraiths from breastfeeding.

I only really began to diet when I was sick of the baby weight 2 years after my youngest was born. He is now 9 and I am finally at my pre-pregnancy weight and want to go further.

I gave birth 5 weeks ago, and i lost a lot, i guess, b/c of breastfeeding. For me it works, but i ate only mod amount of carbs. My supply is better than it was w/ my first.

There have been some recent studies that suggest that it's actually harder to lose weight while you breastfeed. The body wants to hang on to extra fat stores just in case because it's now feeding 2 people. You should lose no more than 2lbs a week, maximum. Ideal weight loss while nursing is 1lb per week. Because you don't want to overwhelm the baby with the toxins your body is storing in fat cells.

I personally waited until now to start really trying to lose my baby weight (which really didn't change at all from birth on) because my baby just finally stopped nursing. So 15 months out I weigh about what I did when I was 8 months pregnant. *sigh*

I don't think there's been a lot of research on how low-carb diets affect nursing infants. I've read a lot of info saying not to go into ketosis during nursing, so maybe South Beach is the way to go.

I'm so happy you started this thread hulagirl - I'm so anxious now to lose the baby weight and I'm done breastfeeding and didn't see any real significant weight loss from it (I guess). I'm in that weird place now where I want to lose it all right now but want to realistically know what to expect as long as I eat healthy and exercise. I guess I'm just hoping it wont be too difficult to lose "baby weight" Never had to that before

I, too, am curious what to expect as far as weight loss after birth and how breastfeeding can affect the rate in which I lose. I had a beautiful baby girl about a 1 1/2 weeks ago, and lost 15 lbs. in the first week. I have around 15-20lbs. to go, but since I am breastfeeding I don't want to cut back on carbs to the point in which it affects my milk production. Also, breastfeeding makes me soooo hungry. What is a good # of carbs to eat while breastfeeding that will not affect my milk production, but will help me lose weight? Also, what can I expect in the coming weeks as far as wt. loss?

For me it wasn't so much the carb count that kept my milk supply up, rather than amount of water I consumed.

I'm also curious about this. No one warned me before I had the baby. I 've always heard you lose fast. I 've just started Low carbing at the begining of the month. My baby is 10 months & when she was frist born I lost 20 pounds that frist week & then I gained 15 pounds due to lack of activity & constant snacking on junk for energy. So far I've lost 7 pounds & still breast feeding. I take Milk thistle to keep up the milk supply.

But breast feeding is one of the best things you can do for your baby. You wouldn't believe the difference it makes.

the real concern with losing quickly is the toxins stored in your fat cells with be released into your system, and losing too much at once can put a lot into your system that the baby then has to deal with.

If you lose a lot the first week or two, I wouldn't be so concerned. Your body has a tremendous amount of water weight to shed after delivering a baby, normally you lose it slowly over several months, however if you're doing low carb, your early weight loss might primarily be waterloss. But after the first couple of weeks, it's probably best to keep weight loss as close to 1lb per week as you can. Which is hard, because I know you want to get that extra weight off as soon as possible, but it's just the best way to go about things.

I also think you can lose a little faster (like 2-3lbs per week) if your baby has started adding solid foods. If they're not relying on milk exclusively for their nutrition, they're just not going to nurse as often and get as much stuff into their system. Plus by the time they're approaching 1 year, their immune system is much stronger than that of a baby under 6 months.

Getting enough water and enough sleep will help your supply. there are several herbs that also help with supply, Fenugreek is probably the most successful in the most women, which is why it is so regularly recommended. If you can't find it, your local pharmacy should be able to order it for you even if they don't carry it, or you can easily get it online. Walmart, CVS, GNC all stock it, so it's generally obtainable. But if Milk Thistle works for you, that's great too. It's another of the herbs that helps some people, along with alfalfa and Nettle.

Things to avoid include Peppermint (even tea) and Sage, because they can decrease your supply. And decongestants (cold medicines) can really decrease your supply.

Koalaty,
You sound like me I started at 170. My goal while I breast feed is 120. If I can go lower then that's cool.

The toxins is part of the reason I've put off dieting for a while. But I can't stand this still looking pregnat when my baby is almost a year old. I'm sure people are thinking when's the baby due.