Breastfeeding and Lost Weight

My mom bugged me to stop breastfeeding as soon as my daughter was 6 months old. She bugged me until I stopped breastfeeding at around 13 months. I kept losing weight too so I just ate more to maintain my weight.

Breastfeeding is so healthy for your toddler, so before thinking of stopping nursing, please look at what you are eating, and not just how much.

Please make sure you are eating lots of healthy high-calorie foods - nuts, yogurt made with whole milk, avacados, cheeses, etc.

Also, I don't know when exactly you started to be treated for your stomach problem, but please give your system lots of time to recover before you do anything drastic. It can take a while for your system to get back on track. You might also want to try taking a probiotic like Culturelle. This can help your digestive system recover from the illness more quickly.

Hi A.,

This is actually a tricky question. Breastfeeding is SO good for your baby. It's the only way to build a healthy immune response. People who aren't breastfed as babies get sick much more often than those who are, and when they get sick, they get much sicker.

So, before you stop breastfeeding, please consult with your doctor. Find out if you're truly underweight or malnourished from a medical perspective. If you are, the doctor can recommend some supplements (something like Ensure) to help you keep the weight on. Otherwise, the doctor may just tell you you're fine.

In general, I also believe the standards for women's bodies are too narrow. It's normal for some people to be taller or shorter than others, right? Well, it's also normal for some of us to be a little chunky and others to be quite slim. That doesn't mean the extremes (obesity, starvation) are healthy, but there's a bigger RANGE that's healthy than people usually allow.

So, find out if you really have a problem, medically, before you make any changes. And good luck!

Up the quality of your calories rather then just the amount, like add nuts and other high calorie but nutritiously rich foods to your diet. Also, talk with your doctor about your breastfeeding concerns and see what they say, a medical professional can help you weight the benefits and risks better then family members may be able to.

Definitely talk to a doctor who has experience with your condition and also supports breastfeeding. I say find someone who supports breastfeeding because the "easy" answer is just to stop. I know that breastfeeding was very important to me, and it sounds like it is important to you as well. If it is dangerous for you, you may have to stop, but I would imagine there are lots of things to try before you take that drastic measure.

And my favorite nutrient and calorie dense snack when I was pregnant was whole milk plain greek yogurt with maple syrup and walnuts.

I hope you feel better and stop the weight loss soon!

During breastfeeding, I continued to lose weight while eating a lot of healthy food. I quickly lost the pregnancy weight and then some, I also felt pretty exhausted all the time in addition to being really hungry. My doctor checked my thyroid and I was borderline hyperthyroid, which I think led to the weight loss. A few months later,I was no longer nursing and my thyroid levels returned to normal...maybe have your doctor check your thyroid TSH level.

I can only maintain a healthy weight when breastfeeding by eating lots of junk. I'm my vegetarian, so I eat a lot of heathy proteins and fruits and veggies. While breastfeeding, I have chips with lunch, cookies and candy after lunch, and then I bake a lot...cookies, muffins, cakes, pies. The kids love it!

As soon as a stop breastfeeding, the weight will pack on since I wont want to give up the junk!

So yes, if you stop nursing it should help with the weight.

I think you have done a wonderful job nursing if your child is a toddler and you're still doing it. Personally, if I was ill and could not keep weight on, I would stop nursing because it does take a tremendous amount of calories and energy. But talk to a doctor for sure.