Hi ladies, I am looking for other breastfeeding mothers on this forum. I'm starting this thread for any mom who is nursing their baby. I would love to hear what low carb plan you are doing, how low carb you are going while breastfeeding, and if you find it easier or harder to lose wieght right now.

I'm finding it slightly harder to lose weight overall. I lost 8 lbs in August, and haven't lost any this month yet. Feel free to check out my journal and comment on anything you notice that could help me (Jaybird's Digest).

Well, my baby is sleeping on me in his sling right now. I'm going to attempt to put him down to finish his nap while I do pilates. Looking forward to hearing from more breastfeeding moms!

Hello,

I'm a nursing mother of a 9 month old. I started at 55-65 carbs and dropped gradually to 30-40 carbs in about a month. My daughter is taking a lot of solids plus some formula now as I wanted to slooowly wean her. I haven't noticed any milk reduction, but if I'm under 30 carbs she seems to get cranky and I tire more easily. I'm following Protein Power. The weight loss has been moderate. I've lost about 10-12 lbs in 5 weeks. I just figure even if it's slow, it's better than gaining or even staying where I am. Even 1 lb/week is 52 lbs in a year! I try not to get frustrated or hurried, but as you know with human nature, sometimes I do. Best of luck to you. Keep me posted.

Teresa

Jaybird,

I notice we have almost the same stats too.

Wow that's right, our stats are very similar.

I did pilates the other nite, and I need to do it again today because I didn't do it yesterday. It's really rough on my back if I'm not careful. I know it will get easier as I lose more weight.

I also noticed if I go too low carb Jakob seems cranky too. I've been staying between 50-75 grams of carbs. I think I need to stick closer to 50 to see my weight come off faster. I've also eliminated fruit for a while and am sticking to veggies for my carbs. I did finally see a pound come off this month..that was after eliminating diet rite and atkins bars. I need to try not to weigh myself every day...I guess that's the downfall of having your own scale. I think I would be less stressed if I weighed once a week instead.

Gosh, the baby is sleeping so I guess I need to peel myself from the chair and do some pilates again.

Jaybird,

I love how you spell Jakob. How old is your little one? I've been sticking mostly to veggies too. Occasionally a strawberry or two in my salad is a great treat (adds a lot of flavor). Our bodies need more calories anyway so we do have one advantage there. Just don't get too tired or run down. The weight will come off. Hey, I figure I didn't get fat overnight, so I won't get thin overnight either. Weighing once a week works well for me. I don't own a scale and I'm not going to buy one. I weigh at my Mom's on Tuesdays. I have a pilates tape too and it's ok, but I might try Windsor Pilates next. Rebekah doesn't like it if she's not the center of attention constantly, and she's not a good sleeper either.

Today was the first day that I had a blow out per say. I ate a sub sandwich, but I don't feel guilty because I've done so well sticking to the program this far. I'll get right back on in the morning with LC breakfast. I'm very careful not to stray becasue cravings will bombard me then. I'm so hungry now a couple hours later, because of the bread!! Yuck.

Teresa

That's cool how you spell Rebekah, I love that. Somehow I think the letter k makes the name so much stronger (for Jakob too).

I've decided I won't weigh myself until the end of this month. We'll see if I actually stick with the decision.

This weekend I treated myself to rum and coke (diet rite). Not very much of course since I'm still breastfeeding, it was just nice to have something "bad". A splash of coconut rum gave my diet drink a nice flavor. Usually I would treat myself to a glass of wine once in a while, but it's too carby for me right now.

I'm feeling better and better on this diet. My cravings for sweets are so much less than they used to be. My fruit of choice has been blueberries with a little bit of table cream (no sugar added). It's pretty good. Today I indulged a little and made a low carb dessert of chocolate mousse made with heavy whipping cream and instant cocoa mix sweetened with splenda. It was so easy to make and I loved it, and so did our guests..10 carbs for one serving, not bad. I try not to use too much splenda because it's still artificial, but it's nice to have some indulgences.

Jakob had two bottom teeth, and now FOUR teeth are coming in on top. Ouch, once in a while he bites me when I feed him, but I think what I'm doing is working. When he does it I pull him into me so he has to let go to breathe, and he's starting to learn pretty quickly.

I was just looking at your goal for Christmas, that's a good goal. My goal is 178, but I really need to step up the exercise if I'm gonna get there. The Windsor Pilates cd's I have a re great, but they are really hard! And I'm being way too inconsistent. I only did one 20 min workout all week. I have to be careful because it seems to be hard on my back. Some of the modified versions I can't even do..but I do what I can. I figure if I just keep doing what I can, eventually I'll be able to do more.

About your blow out, I did something similar. I had some kumiss (yogurt drink) that I wanted to finish so it wouldn't go bad. It had a little sugar in it. My carbs went a little over a hundred for the day from that..I had two cups of it. And I also got the hungry feeling soon after...and got a sore throat too, wierd huh? I'm becoming so more in tune with my body.

Rebekah likes to be the center of attention, I understand. Lately Jakob has been the same way..he just constantly wants me right there. So it is very hard to work out, especially when he is teething too. Well, I worked out once this week, so my goal next week is to work out twice.

Let's keep each other updated, this is kool (with a k , lol).

It doesn't seem to matter that I decide not to weigh myself...when I wake up in the morning and I see the scale, I just decide, "Hey, why not?" Next time I say I'm not gonna weigh myself until so and so time, just laugh, cause it seems likes it's just a joke, haha!

Well, this AM I am 205..down another pound. And even better than that.....my body fat percentage is down a whopping 2% from the beginning of this month. I suppose even the inconsistent exercise is better than none at all and I must be building some muscle.

Well, gotta go...gonna be at my mom's today babysitting my brother Luke (10), doing laundry, etc. I think I will take a swim at my mom's....

Jaybird,

Ooooh teeth ouch. Rebekah still doesn't have teeth yet. I know that some babies start as early as 4 months. She used to clamp down and "bite", but she doesn't seem to do that as often any more. We'll see when the teeth finally come in though.

The 183 goal is due to the Christmas challenge that I joined shortly after coming to this board. Checking in keeps me on track so much better. The thread starter challenged 25 lbs by Christmas. I had already lost 8 so I thought the 25 was a good goal. I too don't exercise with any regularity. It's so nice here today in WI that maybe my older kids and I will take a bike ride. I fixed my bike wheel the other day and so now I have no excuse. It has been a scorcher here in the midwest for the past 3 months and drought too. I have bad allergies and asthma so I'm hoping with the rain the past 2 days, some of the dust and pollen has settled.

I too don't like to use Splenda a whole lot. I'm trying to get away from artificial sweeteners for the most part. I won't touch aspartame and Splenda gives me a headache. I've been fortunate that sugar alcohols haven't bothered me. I ordered some stevia max 80 from Canada a week ago, but I haven't gotten it yet. It is suppose to have no aftertaste. I've been using regular white stevia in some things, but it is nasty with unsweetened chocolate. The bitterness of the two just doesn't mix well. I'll keep you posted on how the new stuff is. It wasn't too expensive either considering 1/32nd of a teaspoon (or 48 drops of liquid) is as sweet as a cup of sugar.

I've been doing a lot of recipe experimenting. In fact there are several people that would like me to do a LC carry out for lunches. I'm tossing the idea up and I guess if it's meant to be the doors will open. I was thinking that I could work 10-2 or something and only do carry out so I don't have the tables & serving to mess with.

I have made some outrageous Peanut butter silk. My husband and kids love it and I took it to a party and everyone liked it there too, and they weren't LCing. I seem to have a knack with the desserts. The bread products are still in progress. I have some "acceptable" recipes for rolls that I could do sandwiches on. I might just do Christmas goodies and sell them by the plate to see what response I get.

I'm really glad that we found each other for encouragement. It's fun to find someone with similar stats/situation/ and lifestyle choices.

Teresa

I will have to try the Stevia max, but I think first I will wait and see how you like it. I also have been experimenting with stevia because Splenda also gives me headaches and does things to my stomach as well. And I totally agree with it being a horrible mix with unsweetened chocolate...I tried making lc peanut butter cups with it...yuck.

I ended up sitting in the pool with Jakob, not swimming. I forgot to bring his floaty that he can sit in and I was going to push him around while I swam. Instead I just sat on the steps with him...and the water was a little too chilly for him so we were only out there for five minutes. It was nice to get some sun and soak though.

Yes, the encouragement is great and we share much in common.

Hope you enjoy your walk today.

I am nursing an 8 month old, and occasionally a two year old - they both eat solid food and take bottles, so nursing is only for "comfort." They don't seem to mind it, but they aren't depending on it, either. When i started Atkins at about 25-30 carbs/day my milk dropped off almost immediately. I am also exercising, something I couldn't do as much when I was nursing more regularly. Most important, I really started to lose weight. It really does work, but it seems that at least for me, my milk lost too in the end.

I just wanted to say that it was a hard decision, but I had to do this for me! And I feel great now!

aidawedo

Jakob does eat some solids, but only a few tablespoons a day..and he nurses about every 2-3 hrs during the day, and every 4-5 hrs at nite. I'm really not pushing the solids too much as formula or breastmilk is really all they need for the first year, and I really enjoy my nursing relationship with him. If my carbs are too low my milk decreases also so for now I just don't go that low. Around 50-60 carbs a day is good for me and him. My weight loss may be a little slower, but I will be patient. And really my weight loss hasn't been that slow....10 pounds in six weeks is a nice steady wieght loss.

Hello again,

I didn't get my bike ride in yesterday like I thought I might. The day seemed to get away from me after all. That seems to happen so often. I do "dance" with Rebekah to her baby dance CD, so I guess I should count that as something. My clothes are starting to fit better. I weigh tomorrow and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I could step on the scale at the dr. too as she has a check up tomorrow, but I think I'll just stick to the scale I've been using. When Rebekah goes in for her 1 year check I'll jump on the dr.'s scale. It ALWAYS weighs more! I'm hoping to be 25 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight by then. My dr. is a GP so he's mine too. I hope he notices then. He has never said anything about my weight, but I would think that he would feel that it's healthier to lose some at this point. Silly to want my dr.'s approval??? It would be nice if my hubby noticed too. I suppose he will as more comes off. He's not one to say though. He has never complained whether I'm a size 9 or 18. He's great that way. I guess he truly loves me, not just what I look like. Well I better get something done as baby is napping.

Teresa

Hey, dancing is great exercise! That definitely counts for something. And if your clothes are fitting better that's definitely a good sign. I'm lucky to have a great hubbie who also loves me no matter what my size. He's doing Atkins as well, and that helps too (he gained weight with me while I was pregnant).
I got out for a nice walk this evening along with my friend and her twin boys who are almost two. We walked for about an hour. So, I feel good about my exercise for the day.
Although ultimately you really don't need approval from anyone, it sure is nice when someone notices something I know what you mean. That's cool you have a GP doc. I would really like to have a family doctor so we could all just go at the same time.
Well, Jakob is fast asleep and I'm heading to the kitchen to do dishes. Good night.

Jaybird,

Well I did get out for my bike ride tonight with my older daughterl. My son rode along with his skateboard. We had a really fun time. I'd rather get in my exercise that way then an aerobics tape or something. The pilates I have isn't too hard if I watch the beginner exercises. I just have a hard time sticking with the same thing over and over.

I just finished dishes too. My hubby usually does them, but he took the baby downstairs to watch TV. I don't know why, there's not much on these days anyway. I'm not into a lot of TV. I do like HGTV though. I love to watch "This Old House" and programs on older homes. I also like the landscaping programs. Soon here we won't be worrying about landscaping. We'll be shoveling instead in a couple months. Well maybe not. The past two years we only had a couple of snowfalls per year. That's probably why we're in a drought now.

Well I'm going to check out my other threads. I see you're still on. Have a great night!

Teresa

Well, I've been feeling awful with a cold today. Didn't do any exercise. Just moping around the house and comforting Jakob who is almost done cutting his top four teeth...just one left, and that should probably be through by morning. I'm exhausted, going to bed very soon after I write in my wieght loss journal.