Hello All -

I just found you while surfing through the web and wondering if any of you have any advise.

I am currently nursing my 8 1/2 mth old dd, planning to wean at about 12 months. Anyway, my question is does ANYTHING really work to get all of your weight off (and meet your final goal) while nursing? I have successfully lost some weight, but just can't seem to get down to my goal. Granted, I haven't done the best job of sticking to a diet religiously, but my body just doesn't seem to want to give up this extra layer of fat. I'm assuming it has to do with the nursing, and I'm wondering if I should just take a break for now and wait until she is weaned to give it another go.

Also, I have read that the South Beach Diet (I was very successful on this before getting pregnant with my last child) is not something I should do while nursing. Anyone know why, specifically - all I can find is general answers on milk supply. Thanks for your insight!

I don't have any personal proof, but I have been told by several people that they can never lose that last little bit of weight while they're nursing. Our bodies tend to want to hold on to a bit of extra fat to ensure milk supply. It's simple biology.

As far as South Beach--skip Phase One, go right to Phase Two. That way you get a good range of nutrients. Phase One can be a bit lacking in that area, especially if you go too low carb on it (ketosis is a no-no while nursing, not that SBD necessarily gets you to that stage). The only other possible problem you will run into on it is, if you follow the menu out of the book for the first phase, it is way too few calories to be eating while nursing.

And that is one other thing to be careful of. Eating too few calories, while putting your body under the stress of nursing, can cause a sort of panic reaction in your body, & cause it to hold onto everything it's got. My personal experience (and of course, it could be different for you) was that I could lose about a pound or so a week while nursing if I ate 1600 - 1800 calories a day.

And congratulations on nursing for 8 1/2 months!

You didn't really have to let me in on that little piece of information ya know. You could've kept it to yourself.

Thanks for the suggestions...Yeah, as evil as it seemed, I have always thought it made perfect sense that your body would fight you on those last few pounds while nursing - it is truely biology at it's finest. I guess I should just look forward to the fact that the weight should seem to come off a little easier when I do wean her.

Maybe I'll go for phase two...it does seem very healthy and we all could be healthier!

Thank for the kudos on breastfeeding. I am so proud of myself I can hardly stand it! I had a terrible delivery the first time around (not that the second one was much easier!), and after a month of trying, gave up and bottle fed her. This time was still difficult, but we figured it out together (with the help of a supportive and a bit pushy sister-in-law ) and I am glad we did. While I wouldn't call myself an extreme breastfeeder, I do enjoy it and I am so glad I was able to give my Bella this special gift.

Thanks again!

Oh, do not get me started on the lack of support for breastfeeding! I still remember sitting in the hospital bed with my first daughter trying to nurse her and both of us crying and all the heck the nurse could say was "Your breast is so big it's probably hurting her chin." Sometimes I really think it's a miracle anyone manages it. In my dream world, all maternity ward nurses would have to be trained in breastfeeding, not to mention all pediatricians, that way I wouldn't have to listen to stupid stuff like "You might as well wean her, breastmilk doesn't do anything for them after a year."

I had a bear of a time losing weight while nursing my first, who weaned when I got pregnant with my second. My second is only nursing twice a day now, and the weight is finally coming off. Of course it helps that I started eating less and exercising. WTG for breastfeeding this long! Mine is almost 1 1/2 now and I don't really nurse in public much any more (he's not interested) but when I do I get the strangest looks. It's sad how little awareness and support there is for nursing moms and the benefits of nursing.

Thanks for the support and opinions! Maybe someday this weight will come all the way off - just in time for the next baby, of course!

Another common rant of mine. Was at the NEX the other day...There are signs all over the place that say there's a nursing room in the downstairs restroom across from the elevators...The "nursing room" is a chair beside the stalls. The other night there was actually some poor lady who walked into the upstairs bathroom looking for it. I and another woman who was in there washing her hands told her it didn't exist, just go feed the baby out in the food court, it's perfectly legal and screw anyone who had a problem with it. My own little "lactivism".

I really wish they had better accomodations for women who are uncomfortable with NIP though. There should be a happy medium between the crowded food court & the bathroom.

Sabra, I hear ya'! Totally pisses me off when there's no nursing room! If my boobs weren't soo darn big, and I wasn't soo clumsy, I would NIP more often.

OMG! I have big ol boobies too!

When was the last time you got yourself a nice lunch and took it to the smelly bathroom to eat up? I haven't, thats for damn sure! Those people are idiots. Sorry!

I have a hard time NIP because the size of my boobs. That and my babies like to take a few drinks, pull off and rest, then take some more drinks....not the best for covered nursing.

Anyway....yes, I had a hard time losing those last ten pounds the last baby I nursed. About a month after I quit, it all came off so fast.

Good luck and good job with the nursing.

Rottenbaby, LBH, do either of you use a nursing bra/nursing tops? I had a nursing bra with my first but have just a regular softcup now (it's the Glamorise Magic Lift Plus Active Support Bra from JustMySize) & I've never found nursing tops in my size. It's not perfect, but just pulling my breast out the bottom of my bra & pushing my shirt up slightly lets me nurse pretty discreetly. Unless Linda's in one of her moods where she tries to pull up my shirt.

Of course, I don't think we're showing nearly as much skin as we tend to think. I've looked at myself in a mirror while nursing, and between my hand and the baby's head, everything tends to be covered. I'm lucky to have "longs", so I can just put the baby in my lap to nurse. If you're paranoid, I think it's worth practicing in front of a mirror. I used a blanket to cover up getting Bobbie latched on when she was first born, but of course no one wants to eat lunch under a blanket either!