Calling all breastfeeding low carbers!

[dane]

Hello ladies,

I found this website through a yahoo search for breastfeeding and low carbing. How nice to see other women in the same boat! :wave:

I've read a few of the threads here, and am wondering who is still out there? It'd be nice to get a little group together here. I found another website with a nursing mother group, but after lurking there awhile, I decided they're not for me. This board seems much friendlier! :agree:

I have posted in the introduction forum, but wanted to say hello here, too. I have 2 sons,(Dominick, age 6, Zsolti age 5months) both caesarian, both breastfed, and plan to have another (though hopefully a little girl next time ;) ) next year.

Look forward to meeting you!

Lisa

[twinmomma]

WELCOME!
I have identical twin boys that are 3.5 and have a girl who is 10 mths old and we are nursing still. Well somewhat! Welcome to the board!

[dane]

Hi Twinmomma!' :wave:

Oh my, you're a brave woman! Young twins plus a little one! :lol: And bf'ing.........how kewl! Actually, I would love to have twins........sort of like a BOGOF for pregnancy and delivery :agree: . But sadly, there are NO twins anywhere on my immediate family tree.

I see from your stats that you have made some progress.......how has it been? Have you had to fight every pound, watch every bite? I weighed myself this morning, after my first week back, and I haven't lost anything...........but not gained, either, which was my first goal! Plus, I just restarted jog/walking on Sat. and Sun., and am feeling it today, so I wonder if my muscles are holding water for repairs.

How many carbs are you at? Exercise? I suppose I could move my lazy butt over to your journal and check for myself, huh.

Thanks for the welcome, and hope to see you around! :agree:

[PinkLotus]

Hello Lisa... :wave: another nursing LC mama here! :) My name is Mattia, and I am still nursing my 2 year old son, Sebastian. I've been a member of this board for a while now, though I haven't posted too often, and I agree with you - this is a great place for support. Best wishes on your journey towards better health.

[dane]

Hi Mattia! :wave:

Nice to meet you! I love your son's name, Sebastian. Do you have a nick name for him? I nursed my first son until 2, and plan to do the same for the newest. How have you done, weight-loss wise? What is your carb level? Do you keep a set number of calories per day? I'm still trying to figure out what will work for me. :agree: Thanks for popping by!
Lisa

[PinkLotus]

Thank you, Lisa. :) Sebastian's nickname is Bas, or sometimes Bastian.

Weight-loss wise, I couldn't be happier. I lost 90lbs. my first 11 months on plan, and an additional 7lbs. or so the past 5+ months. I've basically been toying with maintenance during this time, while dealing with some of my emotional issues that helped me to gain all this weight in the first place. As of today, I am back in weight-loss mode though, and I plan to lose at least another 50lbs.

Being much heavier when I started, I could lose steadily consuming as many as 2500 calories/day. These days, I have to keep my calories under 2000/day in order to lose, and under 1800/day in order to lose at a pace I'm happy with. I have generally lost weight while consuming 25-35 net grams/day(I only subtract fiber). We eat a mostly whole foods diet, so at least 95% of our intake comes from healthy, nutritious foods and not packaged, processed foods.

What's helped me more than anything is FitDay PC. I lose best while journaling my food intake with FitDay because it keeps me honest, and helps me to find trends in my weightloss. If you haven't tried FitDay yet, I highly recommend it. It's the easiest way to actually SEE what works for our body, and what doesn't.

Thanks again for the sweet compliment. I love talking about this stuff, so if you would like, add me to your buddy list. One can never have too many weightloss buddies. :D

[jende]

Hi all. I am also a breastfeeding mom. My baby, Nicholas, is just over 6 months old and I would love to continue to nurse him for another 6 months. I don't know that I will make it however since I seem to feel horrible as long as I am breastfeeding. My minimum goal is to bf for the first 9 months then see how far I can get after that. I'd be interested to know if there are any other ladies out there that just don't feel like themselves during this time. I gained 15 lbs after I had my baby which was really strange. I have always had trouble losing while bf, but gaining, yikes! Thankfully, the weight gain seems to be under control since October. Sure wish I could lose though, now it seems like I have so far to go.

I have 5 kids in total, ages 9, 7, 5, 3, and 6 months. They keep me fairly occupied, but I still find the time to exercise and sit at my computer. Look forward to chattin' with ya.

[dane]

Hello Jende, and Mattia :wave:

I'm not worrying too much about calories yet...I1m mindful of them, and have been using FitDay. The past week or so I have had anywhere between 1600-2100, and I'm not sure if that's too low (we're supposed to eat an extra 500, right? :rolleyes: ) I did gain about 20lbs with my first baby, during the first year postpartum. I just found a study on a search engine that concluded that "Mobilization of tissue reserves is a general, but not obligatory, feature of lactation." That's me, gotta be the exception! Seems like you, too, Jende!

Anyway, I left the hospital at 81kg, and 5 months postpartum found myself at 86, so the gain has started, and I am concerned with stopping it. I've been trying to keep my carbs 30-60, which includes a cup of fresh, raw milk that DH brings home daily. I firmly beleive the Ca in that is the most absorbable form. After tracking my foods, and eating cheese, I see that my average Ca intake is still only 1000mg. I am trying to get 1250-1500 w/o supplements, because the only stuff available here is CaCO4, not very absorbable. :( Do you guys monitor your Ca and/or protein intake?

We don't have any commercially available LC frankenfoods here, a mixed blessing. My mom mails me Splenda, which is helpful. Otherwise, everything is from fresh and I cook from scratch.

Jende, you also chose a great name, IMHO. Nicholas was on my list this time around, but I didn't like the Hungarian version...Miklaus. So I went very traditional instead :lol: I have always felt pretty good bf'ing...it was during pregnancy that I felt most out-of-sorts. I hope you can figure out a way to feel better, and then continue to bf. I bet you feel pretty dragged down with all the kids under 10! :eek: Very cool.

I have just restarted lifting free weights, and some moderate cardio. What kind of exercise do you guys do, if any? I have never been able to lose through diet alone.

BTW, I wouldn't mind doing the buddy chat thing, but I'm 6 hours (at least) ahead of you guys, and am usually online when you're fast asleep!
Take care,
Lisa

[jende]

Doesn't it suck gaining weight after having a baby Lisa? I'm sorry you have to go through that too, but it makes me feel a little better to know that I am not the only one out there that gains during this time even though they aren't eating too much more. I confess that I really pigged out while at my Mom's house over the holidays but didn't really gain that much, so I think the gaining problem is probably under control. I think I am a person whose system really becomes upset when my hormones are off. This is probably why I start to feel better after I wean.

I started exercising fairly soon after I had the baby and am now starting to see that I will get back to where I was before. I'm lifting weights three days a week now and just doing some walking on the treadmill for the days in between. I'm very fortunate to have a power rack, olympic weight set, and lots of free weights in my basement, so I have no problem getting to "the gym" :cool: . I'm back doing squats, deadlifting and bench press.

I'm glad you mentioned the calcium thing because I really have not been paying that close of attention to it.

Jen

[dane]

Hey Jen,

You should look into starting a journal, or at least a gym log.........then I can come by and bug ya ;)

I'm lifting weights three days a week now and just doing some walking on the treadmill for the days in between. I'm very fortunate to have a power rack, olympic weight set, and lots of free weights in my basement, so I have no problem getting to "the gym"

You are fortunate! I have a bench and FW's, too, plus one of those universal gym contraptions, but no power rack. I have had an energy surge in the past few days, which I contribute to the lifting. I'm feeling hyper! :hyper:

Good news/bad news this morning.........I have lost a kg (~2lbs), but baby woke me up at midnight, 4, and 6am, crying....he felt like a little hot coal. He has a fever, poor guy, and I managed to get him to take some infant Panadol. He's sleeping right now.......I think he might be cutting teeth...he's just started biting down on me! :eek: DH will be calling the Dr. later to see if anything else will be required.

Talk at yall later!

[jende]

Lisa, I love my power rack. The bench and weights should be fine for your upper body and you could really blast your legs by doing single legged stuff (squats, deadlifts). A person can always improvise. Before I was pregnant last year I was following a program by a sadistic Australian strength coach to increase my squat and deadlift. In the beginning weeks, alot of the exercises were single-legged and body weight stuff. It was ALOT harder than I thought it would be.

My baby also had a fever when he was 5 months. He needed to be coddled for a couple of days then went right back to his routine when he felt better.

[dane]

I love my power rack.
:lol: I'm going to look into getting one when tax refund money comes in, then. By then, hopefully, I'll have reached limits w/o one.

Baby's doing much better this evening. It's good to hear you had a similar experience that worked out. I don't recall teething problems with my first one.

[jende]

The power rack is a good investment since you can do so much more with it. I easily justified the cost since I can't get out to the gym with all these kids under foot and one or two years of a gym membership would be the cost of the rack and the olympic weights anyway. Between hubby and I, I think we've gotten our money's worth and more.

Now the problem is that I want a personal trainer to go with all that equipment. I'm sure that I'm staying within my comfort zone and not working out with the proper intensity here at home all by myself. Perhaps I'm up for an expensive birthday present this year ;) .

Jen

[dane]

That's a good idea! Always nice to have some expert guidance and encouragement! :agree:

[janiebee]

Hi Ladies...Thanks for inviting me here Dane. I'll just start off with an introduction and a little bit of my background. My name is Janie and I'm a single mom of three (Bradley, 10, Halie, 7, and Ayden, 5 months). I am breastfeeding Ayden and plan to do so for a good while. Anyhow, I'm TRYING to get into a LC diet (currently failing miserably) I tried it for about a week until my milk supply practically VANISHED. Poor Ayden was sucking like there was no tomorrow and couldn't even get two drops of milk. Soooo...I've gotten a little off track. I need to start on the fenugreek and start over again. The past few days have been anything but LC!! (Had spaghetti for dinner....yikes! Carb cravings are back in full-swing!!)
Right after I had Ayden I lost weight like crazy...thirty pounds in three weeks! Now I'm just plain stuck. I haven't lost a lb. in the past four months...except for the two pounds I lost Lowcarbing, but I'm sure that I've gained it back these past few days. Plus I managed to gain a few lbs over the holidays. I'm so glad I found a place to communicate with other breastfeeding mamas going through the struggle of losing weight! It sure feels nice to not be alone!!
Janie

[dane]

Hey Janie,
How're you doing? Is your milk back to normal? Sure hope things are good.
Lisa

[jende]

Hi Janie. I sure hope you can get your milk supply up. I wonder how hard we should be on ourselves with the whole dieting thing while we are breastfeeding. I think it's phenomenal that you lost thirty pounds. I had a similar experience for 2 weeks after I delivered. I had basically lost most of my weight from pregnancy and felt fantastic. The problem I had during this time is that I wasn't producing any milk. When my baby turned bright yellow and became very lethargic, I had to take note. I then went through a stressful process of increasing my supply through drugs and pumping. That is when I crashed and started gaining weight, became exhausted etc. When I started gaining I panicked and got into this bad cycle of deprivation followed by indulging cravings. 15 pounds later, I really committed to cutting the unhealthy carbs and any other trigger foods from my life, and just following good, balanced nutrition. What is the point I am trying to make because this is sounding more like my life story now... oh yeah, maybe the key for you to get your supply back is to let your body have the foods it needs (from healthy choices) and forget about the weight loss for now. I decided to make my focus not gaining instead of losing and have been successful (even though I'm dying to lose). And wow, I could not imagine raising 3 kids on my own. If you have alot of stress in your life that really makes a difference to your eating success.

[82sara82]

My name is Sara, I have a 3 y.o. girl and a 15m.o. DS which I am TRYING to wean. I am in the unfortunate camp of gaining while BFing. I lose most of the weight by 3 weeks postpartum, but it creeps back on. I am at my all time heaviest non-pregnant weight and I'm only 10lbs under what I delievred my DD at. I'm hoping Atkins will workout for me. I'm concerned about the ketones.....

[dane]

Welcome Sara!

I know what you mean with your 15mo.......my first nursed until he was 2, and I was more than ready at that time, :lol:

I think you will find that low carbing works well for you, and there are many different varieties of the same basic premise.......avoid sugar, flour, overly processed junk, and get some regular exercise. If you just follow these rules, you should lose without heavy ketosis, and therefore no worries.

Atkins site will recommend the maintenance phase for nursing moms, but I think that's just CYA....."covering their a$$"........induction is probably a bit harsh for a nursing mom, but starting at 30-60net carbs is working just fine for me.

Good luck to you!
Lisa

[janiebee]

Hey gals. Well, the good news is that my milk supply is back to normal and, I must say, Ayden is quite happy about that! :baby: But the not so great news is that I'm finding it difficult to stick with lowcarbing for right now. I definitely plan to go back to lowcarbing once Ayden is older and weaned or at least eating more solid foods. Jende and Dane, I think you are right about just trying to eat healthy and focus more on the baby right now than losing a bunch of weight. It is hard though, I look at my old jeans and dream of wearing them again!! :lol: Sooo, what I have been able to do is just watch the really junky foods and overprocessed snacks and I have been able to lose five lbs just by doing that. So that makes me smile...Plus, I can't wait until it warms up and I can start taking the baby for walks outside and such.

I wonder why its so darn easy to gain weight and so hard to lose...it's quite unfair... :p

[dane]

Hey Janie,

I think that's a really good plan. And I'm soooooooo pleased to hear you got your milk back on! :clap:

I remember my 6 week postpartum visit, and how I couldn't believe how big I was still, but wasn't ready to "diet" yet. I promised myself I'd try when the baby started solids, at 6 months. Well, I started a little earlier, but I'm glad I waited. And thinking back now, boy the time has flown by! I'm glad I waited to start, and instead focused on the :baby: those first few months. Take care of yourself. Post whenever you get the urge, and when the time is right to start, I'm sure I'll still be hanging around here..... :)

[jende]

So many of us that can't lose, or even gain... there must be something to this. I even pigged out at Xmas while visiting family and thankfully didn't gain, but when I got back home and started eating normally again (which was probably about half the calories I had been eating over the holidays), I still didn't lose. My body just refuses to lose. I don't need to hold on to these fat stores for milk supply because I have enough fat on me to feed my baby for the next 5 years without ingesting any more food. It must be hormones. I have all the classic symptoms of hypothyroidism, but I'm not hypothyroid. I'm on a healing program and was reading through it again and I think I may be having problems with low serotonin and low cortisol. Treat yourselves well ladies and eat if you need to. If you are having cravings, maybe your body is telling you that it needs something, indulge it with a healthy choice. Breastfeeding really is a demanding time and maybe it takes a toll on our bodies, better to focus on health than weight loss.

I don't want to sound preachy, I feel very desparate to lose weight too, I just don't want to see anyone over do it and end up with my many "issues".

[82sara82]

Our bodies haven't evolved. They still think there could be a famine at any point and therefore hold fat so that we can still nurse our babies. That's my therory anyway...

[zoemom]

Hi All,

I'm bf-ing a 13 month old daughter and am hoping to keep at it til she's at least 2. I have put on way too much weight since having the baby and need to start doing something about it. I'm worried about ketosis and bf-ing, though. I did Atkins years back and lost 60 pounds, so I'm pretty hooked on it. Planning to try a few extra carbs to keep weight loss without heavy ketosis. Any thoughts on what has worked well for you and your babies?

I don't want to be selfish and risk harming her with my diet, but I think my weight is impacting my ability to keep up with her. I'm so confused!!!!

I'd love to hear what you've done.

Thanks and I'm so glad I found all of you :)

zoemom

[Meg_S]

Hello!! I am not breastfeeding yet but I will be in early October :)
I'm glad there is a thread for this because... well as much as I know that my primary concern after the birth will be breastfeeding (hopefully for a year+ ish) I know I will be about 30 lbs overweight (150 I am content, 145 ideal unless I'm carrying a lot of muscle).

I'm moving to Germany next month (Erlangen in case anyone is familiar with the area) and being pregnant it was easy to choose which clothes to pack heheh ALL of them since nothing fits. Anyway, it was really hard to look at all of the gorgeous/sexy jeans and clothes I have packed away that will never see my body until it is under 150 again. Since we're takinga drastic pay cut in order to move there a new wardrobe is not an option ;)

So..that's where I'm at. I'll probably mostly lurk until the time is nearer - although the other day I was lying in bed and DH was rubbing cream on my belly and breasts and we had just a little colostrum production. HE WAS SO EXCITED it was the cutest thing..I wish I could have gotten his face on camera. He thought it was amazing and was so happy that they "worked" and for the next week kept on spying and trying to get me to reveal myself in case it happened again :lol: From my point I was like "oh! well that's good, but I hope it doesn't happen during the day and show through my clothes."

[jaybird]

Hi, I'm April. Thought I'd join in here. I'm still nursing my 2 1/2 yr old, though since I'm almost 30 weeks pregnant now he is only getting colostrum not milk. He is still hooked on his "mama milk" though, for bed and nap times. It will be interesting to see what happens when the baby arrives and milk comes in again, how he will react to it.

I have gained 20lbs this pregnancy and I'm trying desperately to at least maintain the weight I am currently at. I'm at 234 and holding over the last two week. I'm sticking around 90-100 grams of carbs per day at this point and am really trying to make them healthy carbs, although as I get closer to my due date it does seem harder to resist the urge to indulge.

When Jakob was born I lost about 34 lbs within a month (17 came off just from the birth). I was down to 203 at that point, but alas I slowly but surely gained some back. I pretty much have wavered between 215-220 since about 5 or 6 months after he was born. I was 214 lb when I got pregnant this time. If I can maintain at 234 or even if I could managage to lose 4 lbs before the baby is born, theoretically I could be about 15 lbs or so lighter than I was when I got pregnant within a month of birth :thup: That sure would be nice. The trick is going to be keeping it off. My supply would almost disappear when I reduced carbs with Jakob. But I didn't really put much effort into finding a carb level that worked, I think I went pretty low and then just gave up. So this time I'm going to start out with the 90-100 grams I'm doing now, stick with whole foods, mainenance type plan. Then when I feel I'm ready I will slowly reduce and see what happens with the milk supply. Also, I need to keep the exercise in. That makes a huge difference for me. I have been exercising fairly consistently this pregnancy. If I can keep that in once the baby is born and do 4-5 days a week of exercise ... yoga, swimming, treadmill...I know that will help tremendously. I do some light free weights too, but not very often..I want to do more of that.

It will be great to have support from other breastfeeding moms :).

[_tigger_]

Hi everyone

I am a newie to this site. Today is my first day of doing the Atkins diet, although I am starting with the fourth phase not the first one as I am breast feeding my 3 month old son. I have 3 children all up, my newborn son and two girls, one will be 2 in 10 days and the other is 3. I am pretty busy as u can imagine. Am also studying at uni so that when I go back to work when the children are at school, I will be a qualified software engineer.

I was sitting and thinking last night about how much carbs I eat on a daily basis and I am sure that I am well into the 300grams if not more category. Probably why I am not losing weight. I get out and walk 4 times a week for an hour at a time, and these walks are very gruelling as they are up a mountain and back down. So I should be shedding the kilos but instead I find I am maintaining. So today I am cutting down to 100grams of carbs a day. I figure that since I do regular exercise and breast feed, that would probably be a safe level. I am however open to suggestions. What does everyone else do??

Look forward to getting to know you all :)

[dane]

Hello everyone!
My baby just turned one this past Thursday, and I am still breastfeeding. I am also still low carbing, and weight lifting. My weight loss continues to be very slow, and I have experimented with a variety of low carb/diet and exercise routines. I have had my carbs as low as 20g net, and as high as 300g (CKD carb-ups). Despite all my trials, the one thing that never changed was my milk supply........as long as I'm eating enough calories (which I am....usually took in 1600-2000), I have PLENTY of milk. My baby hasn't been sick, save for a rare cold or two my other son brought home from daycare.

My current routine seems to be the most successful to date.....sort of carb cycling. Calories are ~1800, P ~150g, netC vary from 50-100g, and a cheat day. I'm also weight training 4 tmes a week, and some cardio tossed in there. The fat is finally starting to shift, though I realize that until I wean my son, the lactation hormones will probably make this a long haul. Oh well!

[ttc#2]

Hello All-

I am breastfeeding my almost 7 month old son.
I am down to my prepreggo weight, but have another 15 pounds to lose to reach goal.

I am trying to keep carbs around 80 grams and calories below 2000. I am also trying to walk 5 times/week.

On good days my carbs come exclusively from vegetable and dairy. With a few whole grains thrown in.

On bad days I have been known to eat too much pizza. :)

[mama22boys]

Hey all-

I am still BFing my 20 month ds...going on 4 straight years of lactation. I know of moms who lactated for 12 straight years. UFF DA!!

I am still having fairly slow weight loss but I am okay with that. I am less than pre-prego weight and have actually flirted with the idea of lowering my goal weight, so overall I am happy with it all. This is such a WOL now and I have no plans of stopping.

Dane- I think we have a similar situation going on with our weight loss. I was wondering how often you 'carb-up'. I have been trying to do it for one day a week (usually Saturday) for the last month to see if that would move things any quicker. Not really sure, though, because I have lost 3-4 in the last few weeks, but I was due for a whoosh anyway. I usually have 2-4 pound whooshes every 3-4 weeks.

Does anyone notice that weight loss seems slower when DC is nursing more often (growth spurt, sick, etc.)?

[dane]

Hi Mama!
My eating plan right now calls for either 2 free meals a week, or 1 free meal and a carbup.

The free meals are just "normal" dinners with dessert, if I want (of course I want, ;) ), any combination of protein/carb/fat, and no calorie counting.

The carbup is carefully planned ahead, and calories, P/C/F all counted out. I keep fats low, sugar low, carbs high, protein adequate. And....it's just a 5-7 hour carbup, with a min and max amt of calories/carbs.

The reason I do it this way is I am, in addition to bf'ing, doing heavy weight training 4 days a week, and my focus is not so much a whoosh, per say (altho they'd be nice, heh), so much as it is replenishing muscle glycogen and attempting to retore leptin and other hormone levels.

I am steadily losing ~1# a week, maybe a little more.......water fluctuations and the recent resumption of TOM tend to mask the fat loss sometimes.

I used to do a 2 day carbup, back in my CKD days in Feb/March, but it was just too much, I think. I kept losing and regaining the same 2 lbs!

Does anyone notice that weight loss seems slower when DC is nursing more often (growth spurt, sick, etc.)?I haven't noticed.......DS is still pretty steadily nursing throughout the day. :)

[PUSH]

Hi I'm Shannon! I have 4 kids, one almost 12 year old, one almost 10 year old, 1 almost 3 year old and a 4.5 month old baby who is nursing exclusively.
I'm LC'ing again (lost 30 lbs when my toddler was a baby but gained it back in pgcy - sigh!)... My milk supply is fine, but I'm noticing I'm losing slowly, so that might be bf'ing related? Who knows.

Looking forward to getting to know you all!
Shannon

[_tigger_]

Morning Girls

Well my first month of Atkins is over. I am now down to between 16 - 30 grams of carbs a day. The 30 grams is usually on a splurge day. The norm is about 20grams for me. I am maintaining my calories at 1600 - 2000 a day too. I have lost 13 pounds in that month and my milk supply is still as it was.

Although I still have another 22 pounds until I am at my goal weight, it is really encouraging the weight that i have lost so far since I started trying when my DS (now 17wks) was 4 wks old. All my summer clothes are now loose on me - just in time for summer :)

Tara

[PUSH]

YAY Tara! I was just saying to DH that I was sad that my favourite capris were stained (barn work - probably wasn't a good idea in white pants, but ah well.. ;))... but then I said, "oh, it won't matter, by next summer I'll be THIN and need new clothes anyhow! LOL!

I WILL get there!!!
Blessings!
Shannon

[athensmom]

Hello ladies,

I found this website through a yahoo search for breastfeeding and low carbing. How nice to see other women in the same boat! :wave:

I've read a few of the threads here, and am wondering who is still out there? It'd be nice to get a little group together here. I found another website with a nursing mother group, but after lurking there awhile, I decided they're not for me. This board seems much friendlier! :agree:

I have posted in the introduction forum, but wanted to say hello here, too. I have 2 sons,(Dominick, age 6, Zsolti age 5months) both caesarian, both breastfed, and plan to have another (though hopefully a little girl next time ;) ) next year.

Look forward to meeting you!

Lisa

Good luck with the girl! My third boy will be 5 months tomorrow . . .

[Creamet]

Hello,

How wonderful to have women in the same situation as yourself.

I used LC to lose the weight I gained with my first daughter and worked beautifully and I kept it off..... Until I got pregnant with my second one and now I am trying to lose that while breastfeeding her.

She is 9 months now and I am keeping my calories around 1500 and so far so good. Lost 4lbs the first week! Could not believe it.

Hope to get to know you better.

[ttc#2]

Hi Creamet-

Welcome to the forum.
My son just turned 9 months.
If you want more support from around here, you should start a journal.

[LawDawg]

I am LCing and barely breastfeeding anymore. My son just turned two and won't give up nursing. He only nurses at night now to comfort himself to sleep. He is my last (after two beautiful girls) so I am not in a real rush to make him stop.

As long as I keep my water intake up my milk is unaffected -- although as I said I barely nurse him anyway.

[dane]

Welcome Creamet!

I'm still nursing mine off and on through the day; he's 16 months old now.

Val-----Kellen's 9 months ALREADY?? My, how time flies! :lol:

[Creamet]

Thank you Valerie and Dane.

Last time I was here, I did a journal, but I am not sure I have the time now. Probably will give it a try and see if I can keep it up.

No more changes for me in the last few days. I remember being stuck at this weight for a while last time. Hope history doesnt repeat itself.

[_tigger_]

Hi all

I am now 14 weeks into my lc WOL. I have lost a fair bit, as u can see from my ticker. This WOL hasnt affected my milk whatsoever. Have definitely slowed down of late though, but i havent been as strict with my intake as i was for the first 8 weeks. Am trying to be good and have strictly under 20grams atm, am day 2 of doing that, i doubt it will last though.

Hope u are all going well, must dash the kids are trying to kill each other lol :)

[Berrybums5]

:wave: I am soooooo glad I found this place. I have tried so many diets and they just aren't working for me. Low Cal or Low Fat, just does not work, I eat toooooooo much for that. Its seems ( as it stated in the atkins book) that the more carbs I eat the more I want. I was to the point that I went out to eat at Carls and finished eathing and still wanted more....I wanted to eat again and I had just finished. Most of my family has had great success on LC, and I have in the past, but never followed through. I woke up this morning just tired of looking the way I look.

Here is a little about me...

My name is Paige, I am 23, I live is so cal with my husband and my three children. Jacob is 4, Allison is 2 and Emma is 8 months old. All my life I was slender but muscular from 9 years of softball....then I went to High School and started to run cross country. I slimmed down way after that. Well after HS I got married and pregnant. I gained 32 lbs during that pregnancy, lost it all and then was naive (sp?) and gained it all back and then some. Well 2 more children later I am now 200 lbs and would love to get back to 125. I am still nursing my 8 month old, but with all my research I have still decided that LC is the way to go.

Today was my first day LC in a while and I feel very hungery, but yet satisfied. I know I am hungery because I am used to eating sooooo much more then I did today. But I still fill good. I also feel warmer, My hubby says it is because my metabolism up, because I was eating good carbs and protien.

Anyway, Now that I have written a book. I just wanted to say Hi, and that I am sooooo glad there is a place we can talk about things that most people say are a "no no"

Talk to you all later!
Paige

[dane]

Welcome Paige!

You will probably find that you'll need to watch calories later on in your LC journey, but for the first week or two, while your body is making the transition from using carbs to using fat for fuel, you should just eat as needed. Keep it LC, but don't let yourself feel hungry. It's also really important the first week to get enough protein, so be sure to eat plenty of it! Add in lots of water, and life should be good. :)

[jaybird]

Well last time I posted here I was 30 weeks pregnant. My daughter Piper is 5 weeks old now and things are going well. I've lost 13 lbs so far...although lately I've been retaining water despite being really good about not eating carbs...especially steering away from grains and sugars. So I've upped my water intake, and I'm also trying to get over a cold and a UTI so that's probably all effecting things as well.

I've been losing nicely, about 2 to 3 lbs per week until this week. And my milk supply has been fine. For the most part my carb levels have been around 50 to 75 per day.

[Hilary M]

Welcome, Paige! I remember being miserably hungry for the first two or three days when I started low-carb, so just eat meat until you're full! Then the energy kicked in and my appetite went way, way down. Don't worry about calories until you find you've stopped losing weight for a long period of time (like 6-8 weeks). You'll experience some stalls along the way, where you won't lose weight for a month or more, but this is totally normal. Keep plugging away, working out and drinking water, and the loss will pick back up again.

Do you know how many carbs you're eating per day? Some women find their milk supply suffers if they dip below, say, 50, 75, or 100. So find out what works for you and the baby. Good luck, and welcome to the boards!

[_tigger_]

I must admit, I have been stalling lately. But the reason for that is my inability to stick to this wol atm. Having said that though, I am still having no more than 100grams a day, probably on average 50 grams a day. I found i lost best when i was about 20grams, milk stayed the same too.

Feeling really awful today as I had about 200grams yesterday. I feel like I have a monster hangover crossed with the flu.

My goal is to get to 154 by my birthday but seeing that is only 16days away I am doubtful i will make it. Going to bust my butt trying though :)

It is really good to see these threads coming back to life. The other ones are good but it is better to have a breastfeeding one :)

Have a good day everyone.

[clavicula]

count me in! i am bfing since 3,5 months, no diet, lost some weight. now i start a healthy, low carb diet! and excercise...(walking-jogging-running)
hope it goes well!

[ndelacourt]

Another newbie....DD is 7 months....

Are you BF'ing mother's doing induction?? I am on the fence about how low to go....

Thanks!

[Meg_S]

eeeheee I love when my little guy is nursing and raises his eyebrows... soo cute!

[ndelacourt]

I am having 1 serving of nuts and 1 serving of berries ....and in moderate ketosis still....so....I don't know....so far so good....I am drinking 2 cups of mothers milk tea to keep my supply up.....

I am tracking fitday today so I can see exactly how many calories/carbs/fat I am eating.

[_tigger_]

Hello Fellow Breastfeeding LC'ers :)

How is everyone going with this WOL. Since my last post I am back on track. Have been Cheat Free for the past 29days and am now down to 157lbs :) from 163lbs at my last post. Guess my stall is over :) I am back to having about 20-30grams of carbs a day too.

Induction... I was told that u couldnt do induction because i am breastfeeding but to be quite honest what I did basically was induction even though i said it wasnt. But for the first 2 weeks i guess I was having about 100-80grams a day to see what affect it had on my milk. Nothing happened so i just jumped in the deep end and went down to 15-20grams a day. Still nothing happened to my milk and 5 months later it is still going well :) Wow a whole 5 months on Atkins :) i hadnt realised that. In that time I have lost 41lbs too!! U know when i first looked around for a diet or new WOL that would work I never imagined I would find one, especially find one that would be so successful too!!! So for all of u out there who are at the start of their new WOL. keep it up. It really works!!! Back in 2001 I was 242 lbs and my weight yoyo'd until just after i had, had my 3rd baby mid this year.

[ndelacourt]

DH has been doing a lot of research about ketones while nursing....and basically found that our bodies prefer to be running on ketones than glucose.....and then he asked me what do you think the eskimos do? They're traditional diet is fat and protein with no carbs.....and they still nurse they're babies......they are only getting fat and unhealthy now that they are adopting a more western diet.....

I was a bit bummed that I hadn't dropped anything in almost a week.....despite being in moderate ketosis eating about 60 grams of carb per day......but then I re-did my measurements!!!

2 inches off my chest (in 10 days)
3 inches off my waist (I did this measurement 4 times!! I still don't believe it!!)
and 1 inch off my hips!
And this is while pms'ing too and feeling bloated!

woohoo!!!

[camcyd]

I have read through the messages regarding LCing and breastfeeding. I am a little confused as to how to approach the LC diet. I did it before I was pregnant and lost 40 lbs. I need to lose this weight as I feel very uncomfortable. I have only lost about 12-15 lbs since delivery...October 27, 2005. I have about 25-30 more to go to be a pre-pregnancy weight. This is the only diet that I have seen results. I don't want to affect my breastmilk by reducing too much and I am not willing to give up breastfeeding just to lose weight.

Also I was wondering if anyone else has had a problem with water retention after delivery and while breastfeeding. I am having problems with swelling.

-Deborah

[82sara82]

hi,

I think I posted earlier in this thread when I was nursing my son. I now have a 3 week old daughter. (A 4 year old too:)) I am able to drop weight easily on Atkins, but if I go off even a little, weight flies back on. I finf the LC WOL hard, but nothing else works for me. She's so little DS was over a year w hen I LC'd last time. Is it safe with a VERY little one?

[BellaLinda]

Is it safe with a VERY little one?

The advice I was given way back when I asked this question--back in '04--was to not worry so much about being very LC while you're nursing. Good milk is more important than losing weight fast anyway, of course. I have successfully kept it around 50 - 100 g carb a day while nursing, but I'm paranoid about going too low while my littlest is exclusively nursing.

Just be sure you get your carbs from the healthiest sources you can. Fresh, nonstarchy veggies never hurt a soul. ;)

As for myself--when I first started posting here I had two daughters and was nursing them both. I have since added another daughter and weaned the first. So I'm nursing my 2-year-old and my 2-month old, but the almost-four-year-old is now on her own.

[tim's mum]

Dear all you mommies.

My son is just over 3 months old and I have been LCing since he was about 2 weeks old. It has not affected my milk supply and my carbs are as low as 15 per/day. I have lost quite a bit of weight. But here is the BIG question....!!! Is there any scientific evidence to prove that Lcing while nursing has consequences on the baby other than a reduced milk supply in some mommies?
Thanks a million!

[camcyd]

Since starting LC 2 weeks postpartum, how much weight have you lost? I too am nursing a lil' one (almost 10 weeks old) and I am keeping my carbs under 20. The only time I tell a difference is if I don't eat enough calories, not carbs.

[mama22boys]

How exciting to have so many mamas BFing their new little one. It can be a challenge at times, but so worth it for both mama and babe.

I don't think that there is much research on the other 'effects' of LCing on BFing such as ketosis. One thing that I was concerned about was the releasing on toxins stored in fat cells when you lose weight. Since much of the toxins you hold in your body are in you fat cells, you release toxins as your fat cells break down. This is just something I read once (sorry, can't remember the source) but if you are interested in learning more, I would start by looking at the La Leche League website.

To counter that, I would just make sure that I drink A LOT of water, make sure my LC choices are the healthiest, more nutrient dense (no processed meats, LC products, etc) and exercise.

[Iowagirl]

Hey ladies! I am 15 weeks pregnant and planning to breastfeed as I did with my daughters. Good to hear that lcing doesn't necessarily affect nursing. I had read that if you are in ketosis it can change the flavor of your milk and the baby might not like it. Sounds like you all are demonstrating that this ain't necessarily so.

[tim's mum]

Hi Camcyd

I have lost about 35lbs so far bringing me about half way to target.

Regards

[camcyd]

I have seen a drop in my milk supply. Have you noticed that? I am only pumping about 4 oz and he eats 5-6 oz of pumped milk out of a bottle at each feeding during the day when I am at work. I was able to pump about 8 oz befor I started losing weight.

[tigersue]

I'm nursing my question is how do you cut the cravings. I'm so hungry all the time I could eat the whole fridge in a day. I had the same problem with my last baby and nothing worked and I ended up gaining 20lbs! Then I got pregnant with this one and I dont' want to gain another 20 lbs!

[tigersue]

Keep drinking lots of water, I think that is the best thing to encourage milk supply. You may need to add more in with loosing weight.

[BellaLinda]

Gaining 20 pounds while pregnant really isn't a problem. Breastfeeding and exercising and eating well will help take it right off. I'm 9 weeks postpartum right now and 4lbs above my prepregnancy weight--and I gained more than 30lbs this last time.

Eat when you're hungry, but make the best choices you can. Salads get tiring after a while, but lettuce and spinach and that sort of thing are both low-carb and bulky. I've found, and YMMV of course, that eating very flavorful things means I reach satiety sooner. Might help you. And, of course, protein is the most filling nutrient, and fiber's filling as well, so try to make sure all your snacks have both protein & fiber. And make it a point to learn your body's hunger/full signals now, when you don't have to worry so much about weight, and you'll have a leg up when it comes time to lose the pregnancy weight.

[tigersue]

i tried all of that with my last pregnancy no go. I gain the weight after my babies not during the pregnancy. So that is the problem I face. so my weight gain is with nursing. I dont' think I made that very clear.
The problem is I very rarely feel full. I"m trying to drink lots of water, bu that is about it.
I'm 11 weeks postpartum, and I have gained about 10lbs.
YUCK
Tanya

[camcyd]

That sounds like me too. I am almost 11 weeks postpartum and it seems like I am gaining while nursing also. Are you LCing? Everyone keeps telling me that right now, nursing is more important, but I feel so disgusted with myself because of the extra weight.

[dane]

Tanya, I was the exact same way......gained some weight with my first pregnancy, but I really got big the year after, during nursing. With kid #1 I got to my highest weight of 220. This time around, my original focus was just not to gain......and losing would be nice. While my weight loss has been slow, at least it's been loss and not gain.

Watching the carbs, and exercise (including weight training) is what made the difference for me, because I definitely had a hard time keeping calories reasonable.

[dane]

Breastfeeding and exercising and eating well will help take it right off.I wish! I think this is one of those myths out there......I suspect some women either are more sensitive to the effects of prolactin, or produce more of it for a longer time, or something! This time around I bought into that myth, and got really upset for awhile there that I was doing everything "right" and the weight still wasn't melting off. I realize now, through sharing experiences with others online, that it's not just me. <sigh>

And yet, I'm trying to conceive right now. I'm a glutton for punishment, eh? :lol:

[tim's mum]

Its such a battle for all of us to lose weight. Even though I've lost quite a bit, its been hell shedding it... Good luck to everyone.

[_tigger_]

I just wanted to say to u all, good luck with your weight loss journey. Keep at it, it will happen :) I am still bf my 8 month old son. Started LC when he was 3 months old. I must be lucky as it hasnt affected my supply and my weight loss has been good too. I dont get time to do much exercise though, this is an area i am trying to fix, but I find it so hard with a 3yr old, 2 yr old and 8 month old at home.

[Meg_S]

Hey! Just checking in. I have to admit I certainly have not lost weight since the initial first few weeks whoosh of water etc. buuuuuut I still don't know if it's my fault or hormone's fault, I think it's mine. My baby eats a LOT and I'm producing a lot of milk...but I am so so hungry, all the time. No matter how much I eat I am never satiated and despite the best of intentions I tend to graze all day long in between eating very large portions for meals. The last 3 days Björn (he sleeps with me) has been letting me have a (comparatively) reasonable amount of sleep and I think that will be a big help in regulating my eating. I have a history of tiredness (among other things) as a trigger for overeating and bingeing. Am feeling awesome this morning...hoping this sleep thing is a trend! The 3 hour a night thing was getting old.
Does anyone who bfeeds eat peanut butter? I've ben avoiding it but don't want to.

[dane]

Meg, I eat PB, and am still nursing. However, I make my own, and I don't eat alot of it on a regular basis.....but only because I could take it or leave it. Now as far as the kids go, I don't let them eat peanuts until age 3, as per the "potential allergy" guidelines.

[tunkany]

Hi Lisa (dane)!

I'm also a breastfeeding lowcarber Mom. I live near Washington D.C. but I'm from a city near Budapest!!!! I married an American... :-) I have a 2-year-old girl and a 6-month old girl.
Just wanted to say hi, I'm gonna try to follow this thread a little bit.... will be back soon!

Edina

[tunkany]

Ok, here's my experience.
After having my first baby, I lost all the pregnancy weight in 6 months. I was down to 107. I'm only 5'2'' though. I was eating normal, had my occasional desserts, so I don't know why I lost it all so quickly without diet and exercise (except for walks). During my secong pregnancy I gained about 25 pounds and I thought I will lose it in no time again. Boy I was wrong. Every pregnany and child is different. I was gaining more on top of that during my first few weeks. Of course the doughnut binges didn't help either... Anyway. I started the LC diet about 3 weeks ago. Not because I wanted to lsoe weight but because I just wanted to be healthy. I've done a lot of research and I am now convinced that LC is the way. I'm also hoping to get rid of my eczema which I think is food intolerance-related. Anyway. the forst week I did it all wrong. I lost way too much weight and was starving the whole time and my milk supply diminished. My poor baby was so frustrated for not getting enough milk. I cut out all sugar and most carbs. i thought some cereals were Ok and some milk or nut milks. Wrong. I ate too many vegetables and not much meat and not enough fat. I felt horrible, headaches, leg pains and fatigue. I learned that I need fat! I started using coconut oil, a lot of butter and lard and fat meat. I cut out all grains. Too much protein is not good either, so eating only chicken breast is not a good choice. I take fish oil supplements on top of the prenatal vitamins. I feel so much better, I'm not hungry all the time. I haven't gained any weight back. I don't have time to exercise... I just take the kids for a walk when it's nice outside.
My milk supply is back to normal. I was also concerned about the toxins going into the milk... I'm still not sure about this issue but as someone previously mentioned, if I eat the right stuff and the right kind of fat (butter, animal fats, coconut oil avocados), the baby should be healthy as an ox.
Somebody made a reference to Eskimos. Yepp, it seems like fatty meat is a good choice....I'm sure underneath those heavy fur buntings they had slim bodies. Maybe.
So how is everybody doing?

[dane]

Hi Edina!

Good post. :) I married a Hungarian, lol. LC'ing is pretty easy here.....fatty meat and lard, etc. are easy to come by, :lol:

[camcyd]

Give me an example of what you eat during the day. I am trying to find something that works for me also that does not decrease my milk supply.

[tunkany]

Oh, I miss those salamis.... (teliszalami!!!!)
I used to hate fat, fat or skin on chicken or bacon used to make me gag when I was younger. Now I love bacon!!! I still don't like fat too much, but i eat it because I know it's good for me.
Most Americans around here fear fats. Nobody in my family believes that carbs are bad and make you fat and sick. My father-in-law just told me I should not use coconut oil because it's too high in saturated fats. Just a side-note, he's about 375 pounds. I'm sorry for him becaue he tried every single diet on earth (except for low carb). He just doesn't believe that LC is healthy. They are all brain-washed by the USDA pyramids and Low-fat craze. And they ( in-laws) are all getting fatter and sicker(diabetes, heart diesease, arthritis) . Fortunately my husband is still healthy and he'll do LC whether he wants it or not as I'm the one who cooks. :lol:
I'm working on convincing them though... but it's hard because they must think : what does she know?
They have the Atkins book and have never opened it.

[tunkany]

For breakfast I eat eggs -sometimes hard boiled, soft boiled, omlette with avocados, or scrambled with or without onions, sometimes bacon. Sometimes I get sick of eggs, I mean bored, but I can't eat cereal! If I don't want any more eggs, I just have an avocado. You should have one every day, it's packed with nutrients. Vt. E bomb. And it's got half the sugar of an apple.

For lunch I make stir-fry shrimp or chicken with veggies, or you can even eat leftover meats, warm them up in hot butter instead of the microwave. Use a lot of butter on the veggies too.
If I'm hungry for a snack, I eat pine-nuts or almonds, any nuts are good except for peanuts(bad fat) pistachios and cashews (too moldy). A few pieces of berries with tons of whipped cream (not the ready-made one, but made from heavy cream that I whip myself).
For dinner I make a lot of meat (roast chicken with the skin on, or pork chops, steak, hamburger, beef stew with cauliflower, broccoli, celery instead of potatoes and carrots. Yesterday I made stuffed bell peppers. I didn't use rice, I just used ground beef, cheese cubes and home-made salsa. It's hard to be creative sometimes, this is why a cookbook is useful. Just leave out the bread, pasta, rice and substitute for something else. Eg. you can make lasagna with zuccini slices and meat and cheese and home-made sauce. Make a fajita only don't use tortillas. Use coconut flakes or crushed nuts in place of crumbs for breaded things. Coconut shrimp. MMM yummy. Don't buy the sweetened coconut flakes though.
If you are allowed some fruits, try an apple or banana pancake. Mash fruit, add 1-2 eggs, cinnamon or nutmeg, fry it up, flip it, done. Put honey or butter on it. I recommend coconut oil for frying or butter, olive oil for salads and cold preparations.
I drink a lot of water, you can have weak teas too. Peppermint, chamomile, yarrow, green tea.
Don't eat a lot of fiber- it's not as good as they make you believe.
Hope this helps. I'm in the middle of learning and experimenting, too.

[BellaLinda]

I think probably 60% of women lose weight while breastfeeding, and the rest don't. The idea it will happen is part of the calories in/calories out idea. Nursing burns calories so it should make you lose weight. You'll notice the advice to trim 500 calories a day ties in nicely with the guideline that breastfeeding consumes 500 calories a day. So in theory if you do nothing but breastfeed, you'll lose a pound a week.

But real life doesn't work that way. You cannot fool Mother Nature, as the saying goes. Our bodies want to have a good fat store while we're lactating to make sure there's enough of a calorie supply stored up to keep on lactating in times of little food.

For the luckiest, that means the last 10 pounds are hard to lose. For the unluckiest, it means you can gain weight while breastfeeding.

I'd be willing to bet that's why what Tunkany said works. It makes sense to me that if you give your body a steady supply of fat, it will go into feast mode and be willing to shed stored weight. If you can convince your body that what it needs is going to keep on coming, maybe it won't try to hold on to what it has as much.