Why Am I Gaining Weight While Breastfeeding And Exercising?

Why Am I Gaining Weight While Breastfeeding And Exercising?

Here are the top reasons you may be gaining weight while breastfeeding:

1. Your Hormone Levels Are Too High

It is no secret that you will suffer from hormonal changes after giving birth. Prolactin amount increases by up to 20 times during pregnancy, and it takes a while for the levels to get back to normal after birth.

This hormone also stimulates your body to produce milk for breastfeeding.

However, high levels of prolactin also enhance your appetite and cause you to feel hungry often.

Frequent meals can cause you to gain more calories than you burn. So your weight may be increasing due to this hormone.

Another hormone that increases to a high level during pregnancy is estrogen. The levels of this hormone drop as you start breastfeeding your baby.

However, if they do not, the high level of estrogen can slow down weight loss because of more fat storage.

2. Your Stress Levels Are High

Managing your duties as a new mother can be difficult because of the various lifestyle changes.

You may not be sleeping enough due to the baby’s changing schedule. It may also be hard to have proper meals due to lack of time.

All these things stimulate cortisol production in your body, which is the stress hormone.

The main feature of this hormone is that it increases your appetite in different ways:

• Increases the level of ghrelin in your body, which is the hormone that stimulates your appetite center
• Enhances cravings for food
• Increases obesity risk

You may also have a habit of eating junk food when your stress levels are high.

Remember, this is one of the top causes of obesity and will prevent you from losing weight even if you are breastfeeding and exercising.

3. You Are Not Maintaining A Calorie Deficit

A calorie deficit means that you are burning more calories than you eat. One of the top ways to maintain it is by increasing your physical activity and eating fewer calories.

You may be overestimating the calories you burn daily, which is why you may not be losing weight.

Remember eating less does not always mean that your calorie intake is low. This depends on the food you are having.

Nutritious meals with fewer calories should be your top option over carbs or fat-rich food. This will allow you to lose weight more easily.

Mothers have to wait six weeks after giving birth before they can start to exercise.

So enhancing your physical activity may be difficult in the first month.

The best way to achieve some weight loss during these weeks is by eating healthy meals and avoiding junk items.

4. Eating Less But Enjoying Cravings More

Many new mothers are able to limit their calorie intake by eating less. However, they assume that it is okay to give in to their cravings when they have less food.

This is because you may think you are maintaining a deficit.

That is the worst thing you can do if you want to lose weight while breastfeeding. Indulging in cravings means you will be eating more food with high carbs and fats.

You may also be eating items that you crave more frequently.

All these things will lead to an increase in weight if you don’t manage your cravings. An excellent way to do this is by getting a healthy alternative meal.

For example, you may invest in a nutritious milk powder that can help you enjoy a sweet but protein-rich drink.

Such healthy alternatives will keep your cravings at bay while ensuring you maintain your calorie deficit.

It will also help you produce nutrients that the baby needs in the breast milk.

5. Water Intake Is Inadequate

You may be taking care of your food intake after giving birth but may be neglecting your water intake.

Remember maintaining a fluid balance is as necessary as your diet. This is because not drinking enough water will cause you to become dehydrated.

The top effects of dehydration include:

• Low energy
• More hunger

If you eat more because of dehydration, it will be difficult to burn more calories than you intake.

You may also suffer from other health consequences, such as dizziness. An effective solution to this problem is drinking more water or having an electrolyte supplement.

The latter will provide you with enough nutrients and make sure you are less dehydrated.

It will also be good for boosting your energy levels so that you do not feel lethargic.

Tips To Lose Weight While Breastfeeding And Exercising

Here are some easy ways that will help you with weight loss when breastfeeding and exercising:

1. Use Boosters For Lactation

If you’re having trouble producing enough milk for your baby, you may believe that you are not eating properly.

Some people may also tell you to eat and drink different items more. However, your diet may not be the problem always.

There is also no strong evidence that overeating will help you enhance milk production.

This is because it depends on the levels of prolactin in your body. Instead of eating more, you should consider getting a booster for lactation.

Herbal boosters, lactation bars, and protein-rich powders can help you enhance your milk supply without exceeding your daily calorie intake.

Losing weight will be easier if you don’t eat more than necessary.

2. Avoid Meals With Refined Sugar And Carbs

Many food items that you buy at the grocery store contain refined sugar and carbs. This is especially true if you consume more processed foods.

Avoid crackers, granola bars, and chips in your diet.

The main drawback of having food with high refined content is that it will reduce your insulin level and increase the amount of estrogen.

This is also one of the reasons why some new mothers don’t see a significant drop in this hormone when breastfeeding.

Avoiding these foods will help you reduce estrogen levels and avoid glucose spikes in your body.

So you can maintain satiety more efficiently, and it will help you avoid eating frequently.

Final Words

These are the top reasons why you may be gaining weight while breastfeeding and exercising.

Breastfeeding will help you lose 300 to 400 calories, but that may not make much difference if your food intake is significantly high.

You will also lose weight slowly if you’re not maintaining a regular calorie deficit. Regulating your diet and physical activity will help you with losing pregnancy weight and get back to your original body figure.