New Breastfeeding and frustrated..plz help

[needsomehelp]

HI all, I am a mom to a wonderful 10 1/2month old baby boy. Very, very thankfull to have him, but I'm wondering if breastfeeding is hindering my weight loss? Any other mom's out there with any advice? I was 225 when I gave birth, now I am 182, up from 172 I had myself down to about 4 months ago and since have been gaining. I hit the gym, both weights and 60mins of cardio 3-5x's per week and on days at home do a tae bo tape, go for 60-80min walks with my son or 30min jogs with him in the stroller. It is super slow to lose and comes back with a vengance! I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and am taking 175mg of synthroid for that. I just don't understand. I was tracking everything I was eating and drinking like 4-6liters of water a day. I was eating about 1800cals based on what the calorie counter suggested for me, my height and activity level, whats the deal. I thought breastfeeding was supposed to help you lose weight? They say it burns 500-750cals each day and I am feeding him still 8-12x's per day, not just once or twice. Any ideas or advice, maybe some training or nutrition tips. I'm so depressed about it all and seriously searching for my silver bullet, anyone out there that may be able to help?? Hope to hear from someone soon, thanks for reading, sorry it's so long. M

[aseaborn]

Is he your first? If he is, just be patient with your weight loss. Enjoy the time that you have with him and nurse him with pride. I nursed both of my little people until about 10.5 months and it was not until well after weaning that I had significant changes. Stick to your plan, eat wisely and it will come, be patient.

Take care stay positive! ;)

[cshearer]

I'm so sorry that you are frustrated. I stopped bfing my daughter when she was 10 1/2 months old. Part of the reasoning was that I really wanted to be able to take supplements and get on a strict diet again! The other part was that she still had not slept through a night and the doctor told me to try switching to formula. She said that the "miracle" of breastmilk was not as significant after about 9 months. Actually, she told me that some formulas were even better than breastmilk at that point because they were fortified with all of the good stuff.

As for not losing weight, I'd say you have done really well! I was at 173 pre-pregnancy, at 205 when I had my daughter, and was only down to 187 at 10 1/2 months! Good for you!

I struggled with my weight even after stopping the breastfeeding. Honestly, the point when it finally started to come off was when I started eating REALLY clean (none of the flavor that I loved!) and started doing more intense cardio. Running intervals (fast/slow/fast/slow) was really what started to help me. I started all of this when she was 14 months old.

I'm sorry that I can't be more help to you. I really do know how you feel. Like I said, I was 173 before I ever got pregnant! Now, my daughter is 19 months old and I am down to 148 pounds. More than that, I am in a size 2 (smaller than I was in high school!) and I am doing a figure/bodybuilding competition in a month!

Anything is possible...just don't give up. As long as you are eating clean, doing cardio, and keeping your calories under control, you will lose weight eventually! Check out terracotta's webpage www.hotnfit.com. She has a calculator on there that will help you figure out calories. Another good webpage is www.fitday.com for tracking all of your food. Good luck!

[needsomehelp]

Wow, thanks so much ladies! And yes he is my first and trust me I am enjoying him =) I was told that I would not be able to have children on my own, and maybe not even with the help of a fertility clinic, odds were against me. I have pituitary problems too and have not even had a period since 2004! Yup sounds great, and it is in one sense, but makes getting pregnant really hard. But with a lot of praying and hard work on my husbands end ;), we did it ourselves and saved us $10,000! But it took us 4 years to get here and I thank God for him everyday. Problem being that I don't want to be that mom that my mom was with me. The one who shy's away from things because of her weight. The mom that never takes their kid swimming for fear of having to wear a bathing suit. The mom that doesn't run around with their kids cause they can't keep up or feels worried about what others think. I want to live a healthy and happy life and set the stage for my son to do the same. I want him to have a hot mama, instead of a fat one. Plus I had always hoped to try and dabble a bit in body building to someday hit the stage, at least once in my life. I was there once, right before I got married. I had got myself down to 120lbs with a lot of work. I was certified in many things involving fitness, worked 3 gyms, studied nutrition some, taught fitness classes and was training some people while finishing my personal training training and certification. Then all this pituitary stuff started and I ballooned out. I went from sticking around 118 my smallest to 214 before getting pregnant then managed to only gain 11pounds during pregnancy. But never in my life was I ever that heavy.
My heaviest through school was 180 and at that time I was only 5foot nothin, so it really stands out. One guy even said I looked like a penguin! Nice eh? Then puberty hit and my body stayed around 140-145 for many years. I started the gym back late 2003 at 140 and lost the 20lbs myself. I loved how I looked and felt at about 125. I actually had significant muscle and even had women come up to me in the gym saying that they hoped to look like me someday..bet they wouldn't say that now! So how do you go from there to here and get back again? I know many people have done it, but it's so frustrating. I want to feel sexy again for my husband too, instead of insisting on the lights being off during sex, or never changing infront of him. I don't want to live my life like this, not for me or my family.
Has anyone found any supplements to help them out? What about Hoodia? I actually tried atkins for about a week and gained 4lbs! Yup it goes on me really quickly and comes off at a snails pace. It was brutal what I had to put myself through years ago just to get to 120lbs. Tuna 5-6x's a day is not fun, and not a normal way to eat, but it worked then, doesn't now and honestly can't say I"m too upset about that. I want to lose this weight, but not go through the drastics again. Is there truly a way to get around it without eating tuna with mustard and brocolli 6 times a day? How long did it take you mom's to lose the rest of your baby weight? Did you have to go drastic? Thanks again, it's so nice to hear it from women who have been there and done that, instead of some women who never had to carry and bare a child in their life, but they're quick to give advice on it! Thanks and hope to hear from you all again soon. M

[aseaborn]

I want to live a healthy and happy life and set the stage for my son to do the same. I want him to have a hot mama, instead of a fat one. M

That is a wonderful goal! I am sure that you are a beautiful momma, with and without the extra pounds! Congratulations a thousand times!

I can only give you my opinion. I lost 65 lbs after my first and 45 after my second and still working with an extra 10 or so. Just some things to think on...

I wouldn't recommend taking any supplements just yet. Save that money for later or reward yourself with a non-food item. Your body is well enough equipped to take off most of the weight that you have, give it a chance. What you eat is crucial. There are alternatives to just eating tuna and broccolli. You can eat chicken, salads, steak and all the good stuff! It's mostly portion control.

Here is a calculator that may help you:

http://bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutcal.htm
It breaks down macros and is a good starting point.

Drink lots of water. Stay hydrated! I was *always* thirsty while nursing. It made me feel hungry when I was getting dehydrated. Keep a good variety in your workouts, change it up every month or so. So you don't get bored and your muscled don't get settled into a routine. Keep faith in yourself you and your family have already achieved some diffucult feats, this one is no different. "Due to hard work", you said it yourself :) When you want to vere off the path just remember why you want to do this. It will move from habit to lifestyle and you'll wake up doing it without a second thought. Patience and you'll get there.

Best of luck!!

-Ali

[lulusmom]

I was at 126 pre-pregnancy and ballooned up to 208. I started working out around six months after my daughter was born and now she's almost 15 months and I'm within ten pounds of my "before" weight and we're still breastfeeding a few times per day and a couple times at night. The World Health Organization recognizes formula as fourth best compared to breastmilk (behind breastmilk directly from mom, expressed milk from mom, and expressed milk from another nursing mom) and recommends breastfeeding for a minimum of two years. Nursing does use up calories, and you can do a moderately low carb diet as long as you make sure you are getting enough good fats in to keep your milk nice and fatty. It sounds like you may be doing too much cardio and not enough resistance training. Cardio, especially steady-state cardio, will not boost your metabolism for very long compared to putting on muscle from weight training. When I started easing back into exercise I started running and didn't notice any changes on the scale or in my pants sizes. I started doing weights 5x a week and started noticing changes, and just the last two months I have really seen some great results. I attribute it partially to the gain in muscle boosting metabolism and partially to the fact that I cut cardio way down to 2 or 3 times per week of 15-20 minutes per session of medium-intensity interval training. My calories are around 2000-2200 on most days and I'm still losing. The pregnancy weight isn't some special fat that is harder to get rid of. It's the same stubborn stuff as everyone else's. I honestly don't believe the myth that people who breastfeed hold onto weight after birth more than people who formula-feed.

[cshearer]

Lulusmom,
Wow! Isn't it interesting that what worked for you and what worked for me are totally opposite!?!?! That is crazy! They say that everyone is different and that you have to try a little of everything to see what works for you, but here is a perfect example. I finally lost because of cardio and you finally lost because you cut down on cardio! Congrats on your little one! 15 months is fun...is she walking/talking/climbing yet? I think it was about 16 or 17 months when I heard my daughter calling me (I was brushing my teeth) and I ran out to find her standing on the table with her juice! Talk about a heart attack! Most of the chairs get laid on their sides when not in use now!

Keep smiling!

[needsomehelp]

Wow, thanks ladies! Again there for me in my time in need and very much appreciated. =) Congrats to you all on your bundles of joy, they're so precious and worth every minute of sleep lost. This is exactly what I mean by not knowing what route to take that may work for me, where a perfect example right here, everyone is different. I just am so affraid to put the extra weight back on, I don't ever want to see 200lbs again! I can't make it to the gym everyday, but I have been thinking about getting some weights for at home, or even a bowflex, any ideas on them? ARe they worth the money? There's a good website www.babyfit.com and they have a bunch of info there, but they suggest a lot of calories for me, even being considered a partial breastfeeding mom where my son eats some solids now. They recommended I eat anywhere from 2200-2550cals per day to lose weight!! I was shocked and wrote on there I didn't figure it was for me, but their nutrionalists said that this is what they specialize in and that I needed to trust them. So I tried upping my cals and put on weight this week..ugh I"m so frustrated. I eat fewer and don't lose any weight, add cals in and gain it, go to low and gain it, where is it that I can lose it? i actually have a naturalpathic doctor's appointment this up coming week. I am actually going to him about seeing about getting some natural healthy ways to get pregnant, instead of all the crazy hormones, and while I"m there, I am going to get him to put me on a diet specifically for me with my problems. This man specializes in all of this too, and has helped a lady I know lose 50lbs in just 6months, working with her body and what she needed, so if she did it , i know he must be good. I hope to lose some weight before putting more back on, again I don't want to get over 200lbs, it was so hard on me and my husband who had to hold my leg during labour..haha
I have thought about going to some of the weight loss clinics out there, one in particular that keeps being pushed on me and gauranteeing me success, but I honestly don't have the money to waste and that's usually what happens, I gain on all of these, I've tried a lot already, not since breastfeeding, but before, and I actually gained following them, they were blaming me for everything. Not long after I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, but still I shouldn't of gained the amount I did. It is stressful as it is going to get weighed and listen to someone who knows less about nutrition then I do, tell me what I may be doing wrong even though they have no clue. Then when I do give up , not only do I lose my money, but I lose myself and my selfesteem even more then before, which again leads me to rebound and gain even more weight, it's such a cycle for me, almost like clock work. If only I could just find something that gave me even small weightloss, it would give me some hope that this may actually work.
As for breastfeeding keeping weight on or off, for me I don't think it helps cause I'm pretty sure I"m not eating an extra 500-750cals on top of maintenance for me, tracking everything proves it, but I still gain weight, so it's not helping me burn. And for those people who state that as soon as they stopped breastfeeding the weight just fell off, that babyfit website says these are the moms not eating enough to breastfeed and their bodies are in starvation mode, so when they stop breastfeeding, they stop the starvation, hence the weight loss. I honestly don't know what to believe. I don't remember it being this hard before, weight loss that is, maybe it's just me making it more complicated who knows. I had a goal for myself about 4 months ago to lose 25 lbs by christmas, but since I've been gaining, that's not going to happen, that adds to my depression. I didn't figure it was to huge of a goal, but I guess it was. So instead of giving up, I'm starting a new one, to lose 55-60lbs by next august, our anniversary, so that's 10 1/2months, for sure I should make it by then, but I"ll make smaller goals along the way, although you'll likely see me post for motivation along the way I"m sure. Thanks again ladies. I think I just needed to vent and see if any other mom's shared any of my thoughts and problems. It's great to hear others opinions, whether we all agree on them or not. Take care and keep it coming if you have it. Bye for now, M