EBF and weight stall

[Ltatarian]

Long Post!

I will first begin by saying, YES this post is in regards to postpartum weight loss...I know, I know...

I have done several Whole30's over the last 4 years and always had really good sucess. I've done some where I wasn't really into starchy carbs or Larabars other rounds where those were happening regularly. Either way, great experiences and results.

Fast forward to now, I am currently EBF my 5 month old daughter and really working toward maintaining a Whole30-ish lifestyle from here on out. It is also my desire to shed postpartum weight that I put on during pregnancy...about 30 pounds to go. I recently finished 1 round and lost about 9 pounds, which I was obviously really happy about. During that round I was eating potatoes pretty regularly and also having fruit a few times a a week. I didn't hold back on anything that was compliant. I decided to extend my Whole30 by 20 days and I am sad to report I weigh exactly the same. I understand it isn't about weight loss, but I'm 30 pounds to my pre-pregnancy weight which still isn't the healthiest weight for me so yes, I am frustrated.

I've heard of a lot of women who don't lose weight until they stop breastfeeding. Now, I did lose an initial 9 pounds so does the body just lose to a certain point when breastfeeding? I'm really just more frustrated with this new body that I am totally unfamiliar with. I want to know what's going on inside and I really want to feel my best. I don't feel my best being so heavy.

Here's a sample meal plan

Breakfast:

Coffee with at least 1/4c coconut milk

3 scrambled eggs

1 cup of a veggie (roasted brussel sprouts, sliced tomato, cauliflower...etc)

1 small sweet potato

Lunch

Big salad w/ 4 handfuls of lettuce

at least 1c assorted veggies(cucumber, tomatoes, onion, celery, roasted leftovers..etc)

1 can of tuna

1/2-1 avocado

olive oil & vinegar dressing or a homemade mayo based dressing

Dinner

Palm size portion of steak w/ maybe a tsp of ghee on top

1 1/2 - 2 cups of some kind of sauteed or roasted veggie cooked in ghee or coconut oil (zucchini, broccoli slaw, cauliflower...etc)

Sometimes I'll have a baked potato with ghee along with other veggies

2-3tbs Homemade mayo dip on the side

I don't find myself hungry between meals and if I do I will usually reach for veggies and a fat and make note to amp up my fat in take at the next meal. I also get decent sleep, usually 8 hours interrupted but we cosleep so we get rest and I do take naps sometimes too.

What gives?

[Brewer5]

I think your meals look really good, and I would NOT tell you to eat any less.  Someone may even come along and tell you to eat more.  

 

One thing I think is highly under-rated, so I just wanted to throw it out there -- is WALKING.  Getting out there for a walk, with or without baby...  It really does make a difference.  It will help with mood, it will help with fat loss.  So many benefits.  You haven't talked about whether you are active or not.  That does factor into the equation.  If you are also working out, I say you could use more food, for sure.

 

Our bodies are really very smart.  If it doesn't feel like it is getting everything it needs to do what it needs to do, then it is more likely to hold onto everything it gets.  Big job there, feeding baby, and give yourself a big pat on the back for doing it.  When my kids were little and I was nursing, there is no way I could really think about fat loss.  This time passes in the blink of an eye, and it will all be a blur before you know it.  Enjoy.

[Ltatarian]

I really haven't been to active other than day to day activities that keep me generally moving for most of the day. I'll look for ways to increase activity as much as I can, hope that might make a difference.

[MrsStick]

Another thing to think about - after extending your last Whole 30, did your body composition shift? Sometimes your weight can stay exactly the same but your clothes fit very differently. In that case, I'd argue that you probably did lose fat but you didn't lose pounds. Which is more important to you - looking good in your clothes or seeing a number on the scale?

[CharDoll]

Long Post!

I will first begin by saying, YES this post is in regards to postpartum weight loss...I know, I know...

I have done several Whole30's over the last 4 years and always had really good sucess. I've done some where I wasn't really into starchy carbs or Larabars other rounds where those were happening regularly. Either way, great experiences and results.

Fast forward to now, I am currently EBF my 5 month old daughter and really working toward maintaining a Whole30-ish lifestyle from here on out. It is also my desire to shed postpartum weight that I put on during pregnancy...about 30 pounds to go. I recently finished 1 round and lost about 9 pounds, which I was obviously really happy about. During that round I was eating potatoes pretty regularly and also having fruit a few times a a week. I didn't hold back on anything that was compliant. I decided to extend my Whole30 by 20 days and I am sad to report I weigh exactly the same. I understand it isn't about weight loss, but I'm 30 pounds to my pre-pregnancy weight which still isn't the healthiest weight for me so yes, I am frustrated.

I've heard of a lot of women who don't lose weight until they stop breastfeeding. Now, I did lose an initial 9 pounds so does the body just lose to a certain point when breastfeeding? I'm really just more frustrated with this new body that I am totally unfamiliar with. I want to know what's going on inside and I really want to feel my best. I don't feel my best being so heavy.

Here's a sample meal plan

Breakfast:

Coffee with at least 1/4c coconut milk

3 scrambled eggs

1 cup of a veggie (roasted brussel sprouts, sliced tomato, cauliflower...etc)

1 small sweet potato

Lunch

Big salad w/ 4 handfuls of lettuce

at least 1c assorted veggies(cucumber, tomatoes, onion, celery, roasted leftovers..etc)

1 can of tuna

1/2-1 avocado

olive oil & vinegar dressing or a homemade mayo based dressing

Dinner

Palm size portion of steak w/ maybe a tsp of ghee on top

1 1/2 - 2 cups of some kind of sauteed or roasted veggie cooked in ghee or coconut oil (zucchini, broccoli slaw, cauliflower...etc)

Sometimes I'll have a baked potato with ghee along with other veggies

2-3tbs Homemade mayo dip on the side

I don't find myself hungry between meals and if I do I will usually reach for veggies and a fat and make note to amp up my fat in take at the next meal. I also get decent sleep, usually 8 hours interrupted but we cosleep so we get rest and I do take naps sometimes too.

What gives?

I literally came on tonight to pretty much write this exact same post. Wow! My (3rd) son will be 5 months on Jan 8th and after being on and off paleo/w30 since my 3rd trimester (after having done it for 2 years, I started a W30 Dec 1st. Lost x lbs in 1 week (I know, no weighing....) and then stalled. I think, scratch that, I know, that my body probably won't lose while I'm still breastfeeding, even though I'm not ebf bc of low supply. I also attribute this to lack of sleep and lack of exercis, but of course I still feel like w30 should be enough! I do see a difference in my face and neck. Just still frustrated with pp belly.

I feel your pain and I'm trying to think positively. Hoping once baby hits 6 months he'll be able to sleep better and then I can sleep better and hopefully start working out again. Being back to work now, I also have that added stress which can affect cortisol levels and stall weight loss. It's like I know the answers, I just can't reach them yet. In the meantime I'm enjoying snuggling and nursing my babykins, and playing with my older 2 while running on little and interrupted sleep.

I don't know what I'm going for here, what point I'm trying to make. Maybe it's that you are not alone. And therefore I am not alone in this! I didn't lose weight after my other 2 until I stopped bf. Some of us have bodies who hold on to weight to make sure we have enough to nourish our tiny humans. And even with this knowledge and experience, it doesn't stop me from coming here looking for answers that I already have.

[AmyS]

I literally came on tonight to pretty much write this exact same post. Wow! My (3rd) son will be 5 months on Jan 8th and after being on and off paleo/w30 since my 3rd trimester (after having done it for 2 years, I started a W30 Dec 1st. Lost x lbs in 1 week (I know, no weighing....) and then stalled. I think, scratch that, I know, that my body probably won't lose while I'm still breastfeeding, even though I'm not ebf bc of low supply. I also attribute this to lack of sleep and lack of exercis, but of course I still feel like w30 should be enough! I do see a difference in my face and neck. Just still frustrated with pp belly.

I feel your pain and I'm trying to think positively. Hoping once baby hits 6 months he'll be able to sleep better and then I can sleep better and hopefully start working out again. Being back to work now, I also have that added stress which can affect cortisol levels and stall weight loss. It's like I know the answers, I just can't reach them yet. In the meantime I'm enjoying snuggling and nursing my babykins, and playing with my older 2 while running on little and interrupted sleep.

I don't know what I'm going for here, what point I'm trying to make. Maybe it's that you are not alone. And therefore I am not alone in this! I didn't lose weight after my other 2 until I stopped bf. Some of us have bodies who hold on to weight to make sure we have enough to nourish our tiny humans. And even with this knowledge and experience, it doesn't stop me from coming here looking for answers that I already have.

I'm just bolding the part of your post where you note that your body holds on to weight while you're nursing.

It's REALLY hard to do this on no sleep, but give yourself as much leeway as possible. You're doing really well, and you have about forty-seven-and-a-half full-time-jobs' worth of stuff to do, while you're still in the immediate post partum months. It's really OK if your body, in response, decides to keep some weight on, just in case of emergencies. You got this.

[doubled]

Try not to be so hard on yourself! I EBF twins and literally didn't lose a pound until they turned 12 months old. Around the 5-6 month mark I felt the same way you did.. and literally tried everything I could without jeopardizing milk supply. Then it dawned on me that clearly my body wanted/needed to hold onto the fat for a reason, and I quit worrying about it. The weight loss will come. Listen to your body, exercise regularly, and trust that you will get back to your old self! Good luck, and congratulations on your breastfeeding success

[Yogimamma]

I am in the same boat! I am on domperidone to help with milk supply and just starting day 1 today. I hope to lose some weight, but more importantly, wean off the dom if I can!

[AmyS]

I am in the same boat! I am on domperidone to help with milk supply and just starting day 1 today. I hope to lose some weight, but more importantly, wean off the dom if I can!

Yogimamma, you do NOT need to be giving even a millisecond of energy to weight loss. If you're working on milk supply, that's your job right now. That's what you are getting your body to do - make more milk. Really. Your body will find a balance of weight and energy in time - for now, seriously. No thinking about weight loss for you. Sending milk-making vibes your way.

[laurenmccracken]

I already posted elsewhere, but I could have written the EXACT same thing! I EBF my first daughter for 16 months and thought maybe my body must be hanging on to the fat for reserves. Then I needed to get on meds for post partum depression, which is known to hang on to weight. Then I got pregnant, and she self-weaned when I was 3 months pregnant. I don't think my body got the opportunity to lose the weight from round 1, before round two. I'm up 40 pounds from wedding-weight, which is 15 up from college weight. I would like to lose the 40... that would feel great! My LO is 5 months old, EBF and I feel I've lost some weight, as my NSV is my wedding ring fits again! another NSV is that I'm trying to make a priority to walk daily 2-3 miles with the kids in the stroller (weighs 75 lbs!) I feel better, so that's great! I just was hoping for a weight to FALL off! I am reminding myself that i am HEALTHIER than I was, so that's the most important thing... 

[teamsherwood]

I always hold onto weight while nursing. I'm nursing my 3rd baby (5 month old now)...I'll see if whole30 does anything for me on March8. As much as I would love to loose some weight, I also hope I can contain my sugar dragon. Whenever I'm Nursing, my sugar cravings are through the roof!

[robomom11]

I had amazing success with my first two Whole30s.  I lost 50 pounds.  Then I got pregnant, gained some back, had the baby, had a lot of ppd stress and gained more back until I'm almost back to where I started.  After another Whole30, I only lost like 4lbs.  I think it is because I'm breastfeeding.  The Non-scale Victory (which was what again?) is just not worth the added stress of having to chop and cook everything from scratch.  I know I need to stay on this style of eating.  But holy smokes! I feel so much guilt grabbing a bowl of grapenuts while the baby plays happily for a minutes because I know I have to eat something QUICK before I have to haul his little body around for the next five hours.  One would think I'd be burning calories like crazy.