Wait, breastfeeding can actually make you gain weight!?!?
, among reduced risk of breast cancer and diabetes, there was always, always a bullet point about weight loss.Turns out, I wasn't some outlier: breastfeeding actually doesn't help you lose weight.At a family gathering, I voiced my frustrations, which included lamenting over a week in which I worked hard to lose five pounds but simultaneously eradicated my milk supply. My brother, a postdoctoral researcher in metabolism, overheard my complaints and chimed in with a shocking revelation.
But then why do so many women seem to effortlessly lose weight while successfully breastfeeding? It's likely a lot of factors unrelated to nursing. Your prepregnancy fitness plays a key role as does the amount of weight you gain during pregnancy . The revelation that my brother clued me into — that my weight gain was likely because of, not despite, breastfeeding — wouldn't have changed my decision to nurse. Plus, he's assured me that it's entirely normal, and even my doctor confirms that once I stop breastfeeding, my ravenous hunger should subside, I'll have more time for sleep and exercise, and the pounds will start coming off.
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