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Breastfeeding
MitoRachel
member
not losing weight EBF
MitoRachel
member
I am 7 weeks PP and have only lost 1 1/2 lbs. in the last 6 weeks of the 15 I need to lose. I am a little bit confused about why the weight isn't really coming off. I don't eat processed food (I have a very bad reaction to most artificial ingredients), I try to eat a good balance of carbs, fat, and protein and I am not naturally an emotional eater. I started tracking my calories and I am a wee bit low on how many calories I should be consuming if I want to lose 1 lb. a week (the tracker thinks I should be losing 1 1/2 lbs a week). I am also exercising, although I struggle with fatigue and so miss some days. Anyone have any advice and/or encouragement for me?
Married to E on June 5, 2010
Gave birth to baby boy, I, on March 25, 2012
Gave birth to baby girl, A, on May 20, 2013
Baby #3 due April 29, 2015
Recovering from mitochondrial dysfunction and Addison's/possibly very severe adrenal burn out using food, medicine, and a large amount of garden therapy.
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Re: not losing weight EBF
I'm right at 7 weeks PP also. Do NOT stress about losing weight at this point. If you are low on calories you will not lose weight either since your body is also hanging on to every bitty calorie just to produce milk for your baby and cutting calories is detrimental both to milk production but also to any weight loss attempts (especially if you are not consuming enough calories for your basic body needs).
Plusalso, give weight loss time. The weight didn't go on overnight and it will not come off overnight either.
You probably lost a lot in the first couple weeks and now your body is stabilizing, so the rest will come off slowly. If you can be patient with your body (it did just perform a miracle and continues to perform one every day while feeding your baby!) and kind to yourself when you look in the mirror, it will probably just take time. Your body is performing such an important task right now. If you wait another month, you'll be even more healed and can begin more serious exercise, but with a 7 week old, I know I couldn't have managed an exercise routine and maintained my sanity at the same time. You need to eat for strength & stamina.
Give yourself another month if you can. Gentle exercise in the meantime is great, but serious weight loss efforts can wait.
Some women don't lose the weight until they stop BF due to low estrogen.
7 weeks is super early though.
BMI is an absolutely terrible way to measure your health! You do need extra weight when you're breastfeeding. I was in the Obese category when I was breastfeeding my son and my body hung onto every pound until my son was 9 months old and getting a good amount of nutrition from other sources. Then I started losing nearly a pound a day for a few weeks. I would encourage you to focus on getting good food in you and getting a little bit of activity in and lots of water. The weight will come off when your body is ready for it. You're also probably lacking a great deal of sleep right now... and that can slow your metabolism... Just be patient.
Don't assume that overweight is bad. Instead, remember that you might be holding on to the weight for baby. I lost all the baby weight within 2 months, but have maintained about 10 lbs extra (over what I should weight for my weight/height) I am finally losing it, but only with dieting, exercising, and slowly self-weaning baby off nights. It's not easy. Give yourself time. You need to focus on baby, not the weight.