Nelly Furtado on breastfeeding and weight loss

It seems that there are two types of breastfeeding moms: those who lose all of the weight (plus some, perhaps) in a few short months, and those (like me) who lose the normal amount just from having the baby, but for whom breastfeeding has no beneficial; weight loss effect.

I don't think Nelly really meant to call anyone a liar in particular. Haven't you ever said, "whoever said that to you lied," to anyone? It's just a sarcastic way of saying "that's not true." And wouldn't you resort to sarcasm over something this frustrating? I do! Anyway, it wasn't true for her. If someone told her, point blank, breastfeeding WILL make you lose weight, then they did lie.

I do think that the medical community is so obsessed with promoting breastfeeding that they place too much of an emphasis on the (potential) weight-loss benefit. Everyone in the medical field who talked with me, trying to ensure that I breastfed, spoke of the benefit. They could have been more upfront with the reality that breastfeeding could help, but might not, depending on my metabolism.

I breastfed for 12 months. The first few weeks I lost 20 pounds. The other 25 I put on during pregnancy have stubbornly stuck with me, even now, and my little one is 20 months old. I guess if your metabolism isn't up to par, it doesn't matter how many calories you let your little one suck out of you, or for how long. You're still gonna be heavier than you want to be.

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I breastfed 3 out of 5. I didn't lose any weight nursing as my appetite was more voracious while nursing. I enjoyed the total of 54 months I nursed my 3 youngest because I COULD! They aren't on the chest to sell beer...this is the most natural way to feed a child, who cares what you LOOK like? Thanks to this MTV generation looks are more important than the health of your baby. A sad commentary to today's society. The ones who are against breastfeeding are just ignorant and uneducated. I'll take the extra padding and the gratification that my 3 youngest were fed the natural way and never stepped foot in a daycare. It's different for everyone. Nelly's not knocking breastfeeding, she's just saying she didn't lose weight while doing so. But she sure as hell can afford a personal trainer. I'm glad she stuck with it and I'll keep her song on my iPod because she's more pro-nursing than against.

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I've lost some but not nearly enough. It also depends too if there is supplementation from formula, if the milk is pumped, etc. Mine is EBF and I haven't seen the pounds coming off but then again I don't have the greatest genes either sadly.

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Nursed my oldest daughter almost a year, didn't help me lose weight.

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I lost all of my pregnancy weight in 6 weeks after my child's birth, but then did put some weight back on when I was breast feeding--I think it was because I was so contented and calm. I do, however, think weight loss has more to do with the individual's metabolism than with breast feeding or not.

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My body just didn't produce enough milk. This does sometimes happen. I had 4 children, bottle fed them all and lost my pregnancy weight within 3-5 months after each was born. However, I believe weight loss is tied to your metabolism and your age. The younger you are, the easier to lose weight.

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I have had three children. I believe that breastfeeding is wonderful for the child and has a wonderful and natural effect on the mothers body. I did loose all my weight from all three children durring the corse of breastfeeding them.

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I had an extra 10 pounds of pregnancy weight that would NOT budge after the rest dropped. I breastfed my daughter for 22 months, and like magic, after she weaned, I lost that 10 pounds and MORE! I am skinnier now, that I have ever been, and my diet has not changed....

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YES!!!! Breastfeeding helped me lose weight.

I lost weight from breastfeeding with both of my children. and with both, I gained weight after weaning them. The breastfeeding increased my metabolism and burned calories.

on a related note, I also weighed less after having my son (2nd baby) then when I got pregnant. I called him my "human liposuction" because while preggo everything went to him and my arms/legs/face etc. all got thinner. He's still a big boy (now 2) and big eater. For about the 1st 3 months after giving birth, due to the after birth hormones and breastfeeding, I got down to about 138- my thinnest in maybe 7-8 years (older DD was age 7 then). After weaning him at age 1, it came back. Now he is age 2 and I weigh 160 but hope to get back to 138 again using diet/exercise.

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And the comment about having dumb kids if you don't breastfeed is way off base. I happen to have 3 very healthy, happy, smart children thanks to a little thing called genetics.

Yes, breastfeeding is best for babies, but remember! There are those women who try and try and just can not do it for a variety of reasons. Myself for example; I followed my doctor, the pediatrician, and the nursing coach's advice and still could not produce more than 2 ozs of milk in a single feeding. And that was out of both breasts. My baby was starving. She lost 2lbs in a month. So, I chose to bottlefeed my daughter. She gained weight, started sleeping better, and was a lot happier.

Will I feel guilty for not breastfeeding? No. As I stated before, my children are all healthy and smart. I was not breastfed, neither were my brother and sisters. However, we are all intelligent people. Amazing.

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I gained wt when I was breast feeding my son. I was always tired and hungry. I lost 20 lbs after I stopped it.

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I disagree with Nelly. I lost all of my pregnancy weight in about two and a half months. I am still breastfeeding. I recommend it to every pregnant woman that I see. It is so much better for the woman's body and it is better for the child. I don't understand why more women don't do it.
Now that my daughter is beginning teethingm, I am thinking about weening her because she assults my nipples, but other than that I would continue to breastfeed.

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I think everyone is different. I lost all my pregnancy weight in a week and gained it all back and some while breastfeeding. I was constantly hungry while I nursed. Even though I would snack on healthy food, too much of a good thing still translated into weight gain. Though come to think of it, maybe it wasn't nursing, maybe it was fatigue.

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Breastfeeding has always made me hungrier than ever (don't they say you need 500 addtl calories a day if you're nursing?) My son is 5 months old and I still look 3 months pregnant! I am usually a thin person but with this appetite, I have a hard time controlling what and how much I eat. I'm on my 3rd child and the other 2 times, I could never lose all the baby weight until I was done nursing. I think when breastfeeding advocates tell you "Oh, if you nurse the baby, you'll lost the weight quicker," they are full of it. It's just to get women to breastfeed!

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I think breastfeeding is the best thing a mother can do for her baby regardless of weigh loss or gain. What's more important than a healthy baby? Losing weight can come in time, but you only have 1 time in your babies life to breastfeed him/her. I'm glad Nelly Furtado breastfed her daughter, if you are able to nurse your baby, by all means do it. She's so thin anyway what does it matter that it took her a long time to lose the weight.

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I dont care what she said about losing weight. She breastfed for 2 years way longer than the average. I say way to go!!

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I breastfed and dropped all of my weight within 2 months (I gained 28 pounds). I'm also convinced it has helped my metabolism long-term: before I had my daughter (who will be 2 next month), I was about 135 normally, despite working out regularly, and a decent diet. Now, my normal weight is 115-120, I DO still workout, and I eat pretty much the same diet.

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I gained 25 lbs. during my pregnancy and lost 35 lbs. after nursing my 1st baby. I lost the weight after 3-4 months but nursed him for a year and a half. I lost the same with my second baby and then an additional 10 lbs. with my third. Also,I fed my babies nothing but breastmilk until they were 7-8 months old. They not only thrived, they were built solid instead of overweight. Also, I pumped the milk and froze it so I could work on occasion(I am a courtroom artist and trials lasted a few weeks or months at a time)as well as go out when I wanted.

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I GAINED weight when I was breastfeeding our son! Most of the weight came off after he was weaned. Breastfeeding made me hungry and thirsty. His birth announcements were made out of chocolate bars, and we had a few extra so I ate them. That might be why I gained weight while breastfeeding. :-)

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If you think you'll lose weight by breastfeeding, you might be fooling yourself. If you're 20 years old, and have a high energy metabolism it might be more likely. But many women are having babies later in life when metabolism tends to slow down.
Also, if you take advantage of the very IDEA that you'll lose weight, you may overeat, or eat foods in higher quantity thinking that the baby will also be getting some of that. Guess what? You'll be fooling yourself. And cholesterol? It might skyrocket the minute you stop breastfeeding, especially if high cholesterol runs in your family.
So don't just buy into the idea that you'll lose weight. And NOBODY should look at breastfeeding as anything else but nurturing your child. That's the best, and only, reason to breastfeed. While it may not be possible for some women, it should at least be attempted. You'll get a much healthier, and even smarter, baby.

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