Hey New Moms, Magical Breastfeeding Weight Loss Is A Total Sham

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I must selfishly admit something here and feel free to judge me. One of the biggest reasons I was so committed to breastfeeding was because of the supposed weight lost benefits. Sorry, not sorry.

I really do care about the health of my kids and was elated to hear about all the benefits breastfeeding provided. But I would say that in a very close second place, maybe number 1.5 on the list, was the potential to magically lose all of my baby weight without even trying.

Like, oh my God, this was the supernatural weight loss drug I had always dreamed of! Not only was it legal and encouraged, but supposedly, you could lose weight while lying around and watching Netflix and eating more calories than normal and bonding with your baby. SIGN ME UP. And if this weight loss pot of gold turned out to be true, then maybe I would have eight or nine kids, just so that I could eat whatever I wanted and watch Netflix in peace as part of my exercise program.

Well, new moms, gather round because I have something unpleasant to tell you. This fantastical breastfeeding weight loss benefit is a total sham. Don’t believe it for one second. I am telling you this based off of my own personal experience and all of the very scientific Internet forums that I have scoured in an attempt to figure out why I couldn’t lose the last 10 pounds.

I don’t know if I’ll be accused of humble bragging, but I am a slim person. In real, non-pregnant life, I like to work out and maintain my figure. Needless to say, I didn’t love the fact that I was going to gain 30 pounds or more in pregnancy (37 to be exact) because it made me feel totally out of control. I was looking forward to the moment when I would meet my new baby and breast feed him and watch all of the fat melt away.

WRONG. I breastfed for a total of nine months with my first kid and seven months with my second. I’m sure breastfeeding was beneficial to all of us, but I had to work hard to count calories and eat right to shake those pounds. My body wouldn’t let go of the last 10 pounds until after I quit completely, not to mention the fact that I was prone to low blood sugar and lightheadedness whenever I attempted to eat less while breastfeeding.

I’ve read online that a number of bitches women breastfed and woke up beautiful and thin the very next day. But the more I googled, I also discovered that a large number of women felt that breastfeeding caused them to retain weight to hold fat on their body in order to feed the baby. I fell into the latter category. The breastfeeding diet didn’t work for me.

(Image: leolintang/Shutterstock)

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