Losing Weight After Giving Birth: What Pace, and Without Harming Breastfeeding

Six weeks after the birth, your old jeans still will not close, and the scale still shows several kilos too many. People around you comment: "You've bounced back well" or, worse, "So when's the second one?" Wanting to focus on losing weight after giving birth is legitimate. But the body keeps its own calendar, and rushing it, especially while breastfeeding, does more harm than good.

Here is what the guidelines say, in France, Quebec and the UK, on a realistic pace, food, exercise and the way you look at yourself.

How many kilos go at the birth?

Part of the weight goes straight away: about 4 to 5 kg, according to Naître et grandir, which accounts for the baby, the placenta and the amniotic fluid. In the following weeks, other kilos leave without effort: the womb returns to its size, blood volume drops and swelling goes down, explains the Quebec guide Mieux vivre.

What remains after that is mostly the reserves the body built during pregnancy, partly for breastfeeding. The French health insurance service (Assurance Maladie) reminds us that not getting back to your previous weight straight away is normal. These reserves are used up gradually, over several months.

What pace for losing the pregnancy kilos?

The clearest benchmark comes from Quebec: Naître et grandir advises not losing more than 1 to 2 kg a month. Beyond that, you draw on your energy, and sometimes on your milk supply.

Over time, countries do not give quite the same horizon:

• in France, the CNGOF sets the goal of getting back to your pre-pregnancy weight within six months, and asks the doctor to weigh you at the postnatal check-up to help you do so;
• in Quebec, Naître et grandir notes that many women lose most of the extra kilos during the first year, without any particular effort.

The two do not contradict each other: six months is a goal, one year is often the reality. What counts is the trend over several weeks, not Monday's weigh-in.

Losing weight while breastfeeding: why no diet?

Health authorities are unanimous: no diet while breastfeeding. Assurance Maladie says so in black and white, and the Mieux vivre guide explains why: food too low in calories can reduce milk production and your energy. The US CDC for its part reminds us that a breastfeeding woman's needs are higher than before pregnancy, notably for iodine, vitamins and choline.

In practice, this means:

• do not skip meals, even when baby has "eaten" your lunch through feeds;
• do not cut out a food group (starches, fats, dairy);
• do not count calories or aim for a precise daily figure.

The UK's NHS adds a reassuring benchmark: if you are breastfeeding and overweight, a balanced diet and a brisk walk of about 30 minutes a day affect neither the quality nor the quantity of your milk.

If you are not breastfeeding, Assurance Maladie advises waiting until baby is 3 months old before starting a diet, and doing so reasonably, ideally with support.

What to eat to lose weight without exhaustion?

Varied food, without excess, with plenty of water, especially if you breastfeed. No need for "slimming" products: it is habits that make the difference.

• Vegetables and fruit at every meal: the NHS aims for at least five portions a day. Vegetable tagines, Moroccan salads, soups: the local cuisine lends itself well to this.
• Wholegrain starches rather than refined: wholemeal or barley bread, wholegrain semolina, pulses.
• Protein at every meal: eggs, fish, chicken, lentils, chickpeas, dairy.
• Water within reach during feeds, rather than juices or fizzy drinks.
• Sweet things for big occasions: sellou, chebakia, sbou3 pastries and very sweet tea are pleasures, not a daily menu.

The real trap is tiredness. When you are exhausted, you eat whatever is within reach. Prepare simple, nourishing snacks (fruit, almonds, yoghurts, wholemeal bread) and cook ahead when you can. During the holy month, the benchmarks change: see our article on Ramadan while breastfeeding. The myths about food during breastfeeding are sorted out in our article on what to eat when breastfeeding.

Walking, then exercise: when to move?

Here too, benchmarks vary by country, and it is instructive:

• the NHS allows walking, gentle stretches and pelvic floor exercises as soon as you feel able after an uncomplicated birth, and keeps running or aerobics for after the six-week check-up;
• Naître et grandir suggests waiting 2 to 3 weeks, then aiming for 15 to 30 minutes of moderate activity at least five times a week;
• Assurance Maladie speaks of resuming sport, with medical approval, generally 4 to 6 weeks after a vaginal birth and 8 to 10 weeks after a caesarean.

The common thread: start by walking, with the pushchair or baby in a baby carrier, then increase gently. High-impact sports (running, jumping, tennis) wait until the pelvic floor is strong: if you leak urine on effort, it is a sign you need to strengthen it first (see our article on pelvic floor rehabilitation). The full programme is in our guide to returning to exercise after baby, and the question of the belly and abdominals in the one on the belly after birth.

After a caesarean, Naître et grandir recommends avoiding running, cycling and aerobics for 6 weeks, and lifting nothing heavier than baby.

Sleep and mood matter too

Losing weight on broken nights is hard, and it is not a matter of willpower. Sleep when baby sleeps, at least once a day, and accept that someone minds baby during your nap. A daily walk in the open air helps your mood as much as your figure.

If sadness, irritability or anxiety set in, talk about it: our article on the baby blues and postpartum depression helps you take stock.

And if the body does not go back to "how it was"?

That is possible, and normal. The Mieux vivre guide says it simply: your figure may not return exactly to what it was before pregnancy. Slightly wider hips, a softer belly, stretch marks, a changed chest: this body carried and fed a child.

Give yourself time, and talk about how you feel with people you trust. Comments from those around you about your weight, even kindly meant, can hurt: you have the right to say the subject is closed. To find time and desires that do not revolve around the scale, read our article on becoming yourself again after baby.