Appetite balance?

[Madilyn68]

I'm 3 weeks postpartum and have been having a tough time with my appetite. Throughout pregnancy I had terrible nausea and food aversions, I gained about 10 pounds over the whole pregnancy. I weighed 2lbs less than I did when I got pregnant, right after giving birth. A week later, about 5lbs less, even though the moment the baby was out my appetite was huge. I'm assuming my constant hunger is due to breastfeeding and maybe my body trying to make up for those nine months of being low on nutrition. But now at 3 weeks I'm balanced out on weight, and I feel like I'm starting to put on fat. Which is obviously not something many of us are particularly happy about. I don't want to be one of those breastfeeding moms that has to claim breastfeeding didn't help with weight loss or rather did the opposite, but I seriously feel like I'm starving to death all day and want to eat everything.
Anyone want to share how they dealt with this or similar situation? I'm finding it really tough to get that happy medium, between not gaining weight and not letting my milk supply tank.

 

[DaisyDreamer]

I am always hungry and LO is 3 mo. It helps to keep up on unsaturated fats ie avocado, nuts, real butter, fish, olive or coconut oil. Lots of raw/dried fruit and raw veg for snacks. Drink plenty of fluids and walk 15 min a day.
Make sure you rest plenty too.
this has helped curb my appetite a lottle, but keeps me healthy despite how much I eat

HTH

 

[jessmke]

My appetite balanced out after about a month. Prior to that I would have to take snacks to be with me so I could eat at night when I would get up to nurse because I would be absolutely ravenous! I went through a lot of apples and almonds in the middle of the night. You need to make sure you eat enough to support breastfeeding, just make healthy, nutrient dense choices.

And just to clear things up, not everyone loses weight while breastfeeding. A lot of people do, but there are many women who's bodies hold onto fat during the time when they breastfeed, and then as soon as they stop breastfeeding they lose the weight quickly. My two sisters have 7 kids between the two of them and neither of them lost any significant amount of weight until they weaned, then dropped about 20 lbs in less than a month with no effort and were back to their pre-baby weight. This happened with all 7 babies. I am 5 1/2 months post partum and even though I am exclusively breastfeeding and working with a dietician while I train for a triathlon and ultra-marathon I have lost very little weight. The dietician said I will likely drop the remaining weight as soon as I wean. So it isn't something that women make up and "claim" that it happens as some sort of excuse to not lose the baby weight, it legitimately happens to a lot of women.

 

[happynewmom1]

Hmmm like the other ladies said, try to find healthy snacks to have around to grab and definitely rest when you can. I have never been one of those ladies who drop weight when nursing. I am trying to lose a little but totally stuck at one weight and although it's frustrating, I know when I wean her it will fall off like it did with our other two. Or it had better or I'm in trouble I just keep trying to eat better.. And not less and to stay active. In the long run, it's all worth it for baby to have at least the year with breast milk even if it means sacrificing how I look for awhile. Good luck and you are doing great!

 

[DaisyDreamer]

I should mention that I lots 32 lbs of water weight 2 days PP (i was so swollen it was ridiculous!) and then only 6 more at my 6 week PP. I don't feel or look like I've lost any more weight.

I think it's when your LO starts on solids or weans completely when you start losing the weight.

 

[noon_child]

I was ravenous for the first few months and had to eat in the middle of the night like pp said. Parenting is so stressful that I would never want anyone to go hungry on top of that as it just makes you more snappy and stressed out.

I lost loads (too much) weight while nursing, even when we were past the stage where I wasn't able to eat regular meals and I'd started to cook again. Slowly put it back on when she went down to 1 feed a day. So, as you can see from other replies, everyone is different. We are all so obsessed with weight (I include myself) when what we should be thinking about is health. Everyone commented on my weight loss and new skinny figure when I went to a size 6 as if it was automatically a good thing. No-one asked if I was OK, getting enough food, enough rest (No and No).

I'd say eat whatever and whenever you can, an if anyone in your household has the opportunity to cook a stew or chilli etc. make sure they have strict instructions to make as many portions as they can so you have some easy meals ready and waiting.

 

[mac1979]

Make sure you are staying well hydrated too, dehydration can make you feel hungry.

 

[freckleonear]

You sound very similar to me! I struggled to eat during pregnancy as I had morning sickness until 24 weeks and by the time it went away I couldn't eat much as baby was squishing my digestive system. I put on less than a stone during pregnancy and was back to my starting weight immediately after giving birth. I was absolutely ravenous for the first few weeks and would have to get up to eat in the middle of the night as the hunger pangs were so bad! My baby is now 6 weeks old and I've noticed that I no longer feel so hungry all the time. I would suggest eating whatever you like for a few more weeks and hopefully it will begin to settle down soon.

 

[lau86]

Agree with Jessmke on this one. My body hangs onto weight while breastfeeding. At first I just ate what I wanted- I didn't really like being bigger but I just had more important things to worry about. Now my baby is 6 months and I'm eating healthier. Hopefully the weight will come off, it has the other times. Its hard but I would just eat what you want for now, and drink lots of water as sometimes your body can think it's hungry when it's thirsty

 

[FeleciaPhelps]

You should know that weight gain differs between women, means how much you gain at the time of your pregnancy depends on numerous factors. So focus on eating a healthy diet of lots of fruits and vegetables, starchy carbohydrates, moderate amounts of milk, protein, and dairy foods, and only a limited in the usage of fats and sugars. To get more info you can check the site "Parents Need".