Healthy Body Fat

Healthy Body Fat & Breastfeeding

According to some literature, a lot of times, breastfeeding amenorrhea is connected to being underweight. The thought is, that is not so much that the breastfeeding mom is actually unhealthy, but that she is losing so much weight post pregnancy while breastfeeding that it tricks her body into thinking she is underweight and suppresses ovulation. Breastfeeding is said for some women to increase their metabolism, making it easier to lose weight. (The exception, of course, is if a breastfeeding mom does actually become underweight - below the normal and healthy range of weight for her size and height). 

The hormones that you need to ovulate are fat soluble, so if you do not have enough body fat, you will not ovulate (But having too little or too much body fat is said to hinder fertility). Additionally, prolactin works against those hormones, so you may actually need more body fat to ovulate while breastfeeding than you would when you are not breastfeeding. 

Why Some Breastfeeding Moms May Lose Weight

Some breastfeeding moms will have lower BMIs. A study showed that every six months a mom breastfeeds, she has a 1 percent drop in BMI (Shaw). Most women who breastfeed from 9-12 months are back at their pre-pregnancy weight. Some literature says it is unusual for a woman to lose too much weight while breastfeeding unless they are not consuming the calories they need while breastfeeding. If they eat too little, they will have significant weight loss which may affect the quantity of their breast milk, but eating too many calories means losing less weight. 

Why It Maybe Hard For Some Breastfeeding Women To Lose Weight

According to a Spark People article called 11 Tips To Lose Weight While Breastfeeding, the author writes breastfeeding women who are having trouble loosing weight aren't usually eating too much. It is probably due to insufficient calories. She states, "Cutting too many calories while breastfeeding prompts the body to hold on to stored fat—not burn it. Though it seems counterintuitive, eating more calories will actually facilitate weight loss while breastfeeding" (Jolliffe).

Some literature also says it's not uncommon for a breastfeeding mom's body to cling to some weight, and not let go of it until the mother weans. One interesting article, I read called Breastfeeding & Fat Loss: Is It Harder To Lose Fat While Breastfeeding, talks about factors that can impact a breastfeeding woman's metabolism, especially during a postpartum menstrual. So the rumor that breastfeeding burns 500 calories a day can be affected by any of the following:

• Lack of Sleep - Causes metabolism to slow down
• Stress - Releases cortisol and slows down the metabolism
• Less Activity, More Eating - You feel so hungry and maybe eating more than needed, but not very active
• Not Enough Eating - The body believes there is a famine and stores fat as an energy reserve

Besides this the article also notes, breastfeeding moms tend to lose more weight around the 4-month postpartum mark and, even more, weight after they wean from breastfeeding. The reason for this is our hormones. Breastfeeding mothers have a drop in testosterone and estrogen, which are fat burning and an increase in prolactin which is linked to fat storage. Prolactin seems to keep the nursing mother from mobilizing fat stores, a safety net for energy reserves in case there is famine. Sometimes around 4-6 months postpartum, a breastfeeding mother may experience a drop in prolactin. The author also notes, that a lot of the studies about fat and breastfeeding contradict each other leaving an unclear answer (Schober). It is suggested that that once you wean from breastfeeding, the body sheds the remaining pounds off within a month.

Final Thoughts

Final words of wisdom I have found on this topic, eat to your hunger [not cravings] and drink water to your thirst (The Truth about Breastfeeding & Fat Loss) is a good practice for getting the calories you need and staying hydrated while breastfeeding.

I also have another entry called, Boosting Your Metabolism under the section Have A Healthy Basal Body Temperature. Click on the links to go there for more information.

Sources

1. Jolliffe, Tanya. "How to Lose Weight While Breastfeeding." SparkPeople. Spark People, Inc, 21 May 2014. Web. 28 May 2017. <http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=2004#_a5y_p=1690776>.
2. Schober, Deanna. "Breastfeeding and Fat Loss: Is It Harder to Lose Fat While Breastfeeding?" Fit To Be Pregnant. Fit To Be Pregnant.com, 17 Dec. 2014. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://fittobepregnant.com/2014/12/17/breastfeeding-and-fat-loss/>.
3. Shaw, Betsy. "Breastfeeding Might Keep You Thinner for Life." Baby Center Blog. Baby Center.com, 13 July 2012. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. <http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/07132012breastfeeding-linked-to-lower-bmi-for-life/>.

4. "The Truth about Breastfeeding & Fat Loss - PTPA." Parent Tested Parent Approved. PTPA Media Inc, 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. http://bellybootcamp.ca/the-truth-about-breastfeeding-fat-loss/