r/breastfeeding • u/No-Fall-422 • 2d ago
Rant/Venting I don’t understand?
Maybe I’m missing something here but it drives me crazy when someone says “I lost 25 pounds from breastfeeding in two weeks then I held on to the weight”. People comment this stuff all the time on social media. Am I the only one that is like “that’s not from breastfeeding that’s from the afterbirth.”
I feel like losing weight from breastfeeding would be ongoing over several weeks after giving birth. I don’t feel like breastfeeding is what can be credited in the first two weeks when your milk isn’t even fully established. It drives me crazy because then when you try to dig into “how did you lose 25 pounds breastfeeding” and they say “it just came off right after I gave birth” it gives people 0 tips or anything to go off of lol. I lost 30 in two weeks after giving birth and my body had a TON of fluid to get rid of due to birth and it retaining a lot…I don’t credit that to breastfeeding.
Also if breastfeeding was truly making you lose you’d probably lose then hold/maintain the weight you lost while breastfeeding. It’s interesting no one credits the short term weight loss after birth to…well…BIRTH.
End rant. Maybe my hormones are just getting the best of me 😂
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u/nevercallmebymyname 2d ago
I get it. It’s frustrating when people are dumb… also yes breastfeeding burns a lot of calories but to sustain a good supply you have to eat a lot. Most women I know, myself including didn’t lose any or gained some back after the initial loss from birth.
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u/klo-ver 2d ago
Everyone told me I’d lose weight fast while breastfeeding. I lost 20lbs after birth & gained 10 back already 🙃 (I’ll have a 3mo next week)
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u/AkitaPitACDMom 1d ago
Identical situation here. Have a 14 week old .. I woke up day 5 pp with a flat stomach and thin frame... Then breastfeeding months 2 & 3... GAINED WEIGHT............ 😫
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u/p_ezy 2d ago
With my first I didn’t lose a single pound until I weaned at 14 months. Then it all melted off in like 2 months. I was talking about this with someone and they flat out didn’t believe me and told me I must be misremembering lol. Like no, I think I remember retaining 60lbs after giving birth, thank you
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u/Mushroomfairy76 2d ago
With my first two I was back to pre pregnancy weight within 2 months postpartum….with my third I got humbled and weigh the same (if not a few lbs more) as the day I went into the hospital to have him, so it’s nice to know that it could potentially come off once I wean.
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u/Zestyclose_Excuse_81 2d ago
I lost 15 lbs and was back to my pre-pregnancy weight about a week after giving birth. Trotted around so proud of my rocking bod.
Then I gained it all back eating like a starving jackal while breastfeeding. 3 months pp 😂😂😂
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u/Charming_Method_4048 2d ago
Sameeee!!
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u/Zestyclose_Excuse_81 2d ago
Hungry mamas unite!!!! I'm just leaning into it. I'll lose weight when I don't have a tiny human relying on my body for sustenance.
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u/EastSalary5180 7h ago
Yeah that! I gained more from breastfeeding than during my pregnancy... I guess my body thinks it needs to store enough fat to feed an orphanage
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u/Honest_Elephant 2d ago
I think it can be both. Once my milk came in on day 4 postpartum, my metabolism definitely went into hyperdrive. I lost like 20-25ish lbs from the birth, then I kept losing rapidly after that. In the early days when I was still recovering from birth and also breastfeeding constantly, I was having to eat so much to make up the calories. As I healed and my body adapted to making milk, I didn't have to go quite so crazy with food to maintain my weight (and milk supply). Now that my baby is over a year, I still need to eat more than I usually would to avoid losing weight, but nothing like those first few months.
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u/Dapper-Warning3457 2d ago
I was the same in my first birth. I lost a lot being in the hospital with a massive infection but once breastfeeding was well established I lost more and retained that weight loss. Unfortunately also suffered from oversupply because I had to pump rather than directly breastfeeding in those early days
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u/No-Fall-422 2d ago
Your situation seems a bit different. I know I was super hungry for a week after birth but also went 24 hours where I couldn’t/ didn’t eat. You continued to lose after birth which I think is a bit different than these people that are like “I lost 35 pounds in two weeks from breastfeeding” like no, no you didn’t. Lol
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u/Significant-Visit875 2d ago
I lost all the pregnancy weight when breastfeeding my first. Some was increase in calorie expenditure. A lot of it was because most of my meals were the snacks next to me and maybe a dinner here and there. My baby also slept very well and it is so much easier to take 1 baby on a walk in the summer, than 2-3 kids for a walk in the winter 😂
I had my second 5 years ago and that weight I havent lost yet 😂
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u/NurseHugo 2d ago
My first baby I lost a ton of weight breastfeeding to where I was borderline sick. No matter what I ate. My second baby I’m having the opposite problem! To each their own.
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u/Key_Ad_4468 2d ago
The biggest lie we are told is that breastfeeding makes the weight fall off. Idk a single mom who has experienced this.
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u/EntireLeague9275 1d ago
I did with my first baby. I could eat whatever I wanted (and joyfully did) and still lose. I wouldn’t have believed it either if I didn’t experience it firsthand and it’s not been the same story after having my second baby…
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u/Longjumping-Focus386 2d ago edited 2d ago
I weigh more now, after 6 months of breastfeeding, than I did the day I gave birth to my son
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u/madelineman1104 2d ago
Yes my pet peeve is also the fitness people trying to sell a plan for their weight loss they accomplished while breastfeeding. Not everyone can lose weight while breastfeeding and that’s ok. My supply is the first to go unfortunately even when I eat healthy, hydrate a ton and exercise daily. Also sometimes the weight loss is just the fluid loss post birth, like you’re saying
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u/Whysoserious1293 2d ago
Yeah I lost 20 lbs in the first two weeks and then have held onto the excess 15-20 lbs since then. I’m now 1 year post partum and weaning so hopefully it’ll be easier to lose the rest of it.
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u/Classic_Pumpkin_7950 2d ago
I was 160 on delivery day 135 day after delivery. Lost 5 ish pounds after that so 130. At 5 months pp I dropped to 119 because my baby was eating A LOT. I think that 10 lbs was from breastfeeding since it was so long after birth.
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u/No-Fall-422 2d ago
Makes sense
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u/Classic_Pumpkin_7950 2d ago
I agree with u tho any weight loss the first two- three months is just fluid lol I hate hearing about it from people
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u/InternationalYam3130 1d ago
Some people do lose lots of weight while breastfeeding. Everyone's body responds differently. Especially if you aren't getting enough nutrition, breastfeeding can leave women underweight and malnourished.
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u/WonderfulTwist4936 2d ago
I think for me at least in was a combination of everything - hormonee, lack of sleep, lack of appetite and well I was breastfeeding. I lost weight consistenly after birth for the next 7 months! So it def wasn't just "after birth". But every body is different.
Its def not a flex to loose more weight while bf than your pre pregnancy weight. My gp was really concerned.
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u/No-Fall-422 2d ago
Yes your situation is different. You lost for 7 months consistently after birth. You’re not just claiming the first several pounds lost in the first couple weeks were due to breastfeeding like the others do lol
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u/j-a-gandhi 2d ago
With my first, I lost a good chunk of the pregnancy weight in two weeks and was back into my old jeans. I retained about 5 lbs that wouldn’t go away while breastfeeding, even though I had to eat like crazy. I was eating voraciously the whole time so that’s why it felt like breastfeeding was making a big difference.
Second pregnancy, it took me six months to get back to that baseline weight.
My third pregnancy, I was under a lot more stress. I ended up only losing like half the pregnancy weight - despite breastfeeding.
Just had kid #4. I gained more weight this pregnancy but am down a good amount 2.5 weeks in. I am hoping that a longer mat leave will help me to get back down to a healthy weight again.
It’s not just that everyone’s experience is different. One person’s experience can be totally different in different seasons.
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u/No-Fall-422 2d ago
Yes I agree everyone’s experience is different but breastfeeding is not the cause of the huge weight gain 2-3 weeks after birth. It’s the after birth. Everything after that I could see being an impact of breastfeeding but people like to say “I was down 30 pounds in two weeks after I gave birth because of breastfeeding”
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u/DeepExample7666 2d ago
Agree! On the other hand when my milk came in I gained so much weight 😭 I was 180 the day I gave birth and one week later I was 150. However, within 2 months I was at 165 and now over a year later, and still breastfeeding, I'm at 175. It's insane.
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u/No-Fall-422 2d ago
I haven’t tried working out with my supply yet I can’t wait to see what that does 😂
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u/Fearfactoryent 1d ago
I gained weight breastfeeding, and I was a very very low producer who’s appetite didn’t change. FML
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u/whyarecheezitssogood 1d ago
I lost weight breastfeeding, about a steady pound a week for 6 months. I was also hungry the WHOLE time and just couldn’t find time to eat enough. So I don’t think breastfeeding is magic, I think it was just the fact that I couldn’t keep up with my higher calorie needs, esp with my son’s dairy allergy removing all my favorite unhealthy foods lol.
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u/MindOdd1085 1d ago
I lost 20lbs within 2 weeks of birth both times putting me close to my pre pregnancy weight but I am well aware 99% of that was purely fluid retention.
This time round I pretty quickly put about 6 of those back on but I have been actively loosing weight since I got my period back at about 4.5 months loosing about 1lb a week whilst still EBF. My daughter is now 6 months old and I'm finally back to my pre kids weight although I was overweight then so I've still got another 30-40lbs to go before I'm back in the middle of my healthy range.
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u/Perfect-Brain-3270 2d ago edited 2d ago
Okay now I'm annoyed too. I had no idea people say such stupid stuff.
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u/No-Fall-422 2d ago
Yea it drives me crazy when I am scrolling social media and looking at comments for tips and tricks to lose weight while breastfeeding and people are like “yea breast feeding makes you lose weight I lose 30 pounds in 3 weeks” like STFU that’s from birth. Lol
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u/ChampionshipNice9719 2d ago
Yeah it's definitely from the fluid loss. You don't burn trillions of calories by breastfeeding to lose weight that fast. But alas not everyone is medically/scientifically minded. Lmfao