Gaining weight after BF'ing?

katie0919

I nursed my son for a little over a year and gave up BF'ing a couple days before Christmas. I lost all my baby weight fairly quickly after birth, although I was very *soft* in the belly - but the BF'ing definitely helped me keep the weight off since I didn't have any time for exercise with all the pumping/nursing and a full time job.

Anywho, since I quit nursing, I am back in the gym 5 days a week, counting calories, eating healthy (very limited processed foods, if any at all) and I put on 8 pounds almost instantly. So now I'm 8 lbs above my pre-preg weight for seemingly no reason at all. Any thoughts? Should I have my hormone levels checked? I am doing everything "right" but the scale won't budge and while I can tell I'm gaining more muscle, my clothes aren't fitting any better and I'm hanging on to a lot of weight in the belly area which wasn't there when I was nursing, it was just soft.  

Angela814

I think that each woman's body reacts differently to the hormones from breastfeeding. With DD1, I got down to within 5 lbs of my pre-pg weight but couldn't lose anything else while bfing. (I had the same experience being on a hormonal BCP; my body held onto almost 5 lbs of weight in my belly.) Some women lose more weight while bfing, but gain some back with the hormonal shift after bfing.

ClandestineX

It may be hormones, but if you are now going to the gym, I would say it was you putting back on some muscle mass. Eat like you normally do for two weeks and keep at the gym see if you gain anymore back. If you aren't gaining more size and actually getting smaller in size, but increasing in weight, that is a sure sign you are gaining muscle instead of fat.

Muscle is more dense than fat. 

jglenn4

8 lbs "almost instantly" seems a bit much to attribute to a gain in muscle mass.  I could, however, be wrong.  I would see what happens over the next two to three weeks and then maybe discuss the issue with your doctor.  Being that I'm a soon to be FTM, I have no experience as to how BFing affects weight gain/loss.  I'd definitely consult a professional.

2-Step

This was me exactly with both my kids. I dropped weight easily BFing and literally put on about 5-8 pounds in a matter of a week or two without changing my habits. I think you are doing all the right things, but it is going to take time for your body to adjust to not breastfeeding and also to your new diet/exercise routine. Your body thinks it still needs a ton of calories and it might be going into lockdown mode on storing your fat. I've found that it usually takes me a consistent 2-3 weeks of exercise/dieting to see any budge on the scale and everytime I lose, I gain a couple pounds in the week before. So for instance I'll work hard for 2 weeks, week 3 the scale will go UP two pounds, week four it will go down 5. It's weird, but it must be the muscle/fat thing. It happens EVERY time I've tried to lose weight in my life, so now I just take the small gain as a sign that I am doing something right and keep going until I see the loss. GL! I know its frustrating!

IncogNeato

I gained 5 the first month after weaning. My eating stayed the same but I wasn't burning the calories...

JG362009

I've been at the lowest weights of my life about 8 months into breastfeeding both times.  I gain a bit when I wean, probably due to the fact that now I'm not burning an extra 500 ish calories a day.  I have to really watch what I eat after I wean, otherwise the pounds just pile on. 

Mrs.P-to-be

Oh my gosh, I could have written this post!  I have been dealing with the same thing since weaning my son in December.  I trained for a triathlon this summer and continued with a pretty intense workout once it was over - swimming, biking and running several times a week.  Within a week of completely weaning, I had put on 5lbs and my stomach is a lot mushier!  I am planning a cleanse soon to see if I can "re-set" things!  So frustrated!