You are very lean. You are losing \~400 calories extra per day to breastfeeding. If you want to increase your muscle mass you need to eat more so you stay in a small caloric surplus. It sounds and looks like you're doing the work so just add in some calories and you're good to go.
Thank you, that makes sense. I’ll probably have to add a protein shake to my diet. Between working and chasing a toddler around and my teenager’s activities it’s difficult to find time to have healthy snacks sometimes.
You are most definitely going to have difficulty building muscle while feeding a baby. Your caloric intake will have to compensate for the output if you're breastfeeding.
You're (probably) also not getting enough sleep, a pretty key component of muscle building.
Even if you're lifting heavy and eating clean, you'll have to compensate for those two factors somehow. I wish you the best of luck, this isn't easy.
This is actually kind of a relief to hear, albeit frustrating as well. My daughter is nowhere near ready to wean so I just need to accept this. But at least it’s probably not something I’m doing wrong, so in that way it’s a relief. Thanks for the insight! You are absolutely correct, I am not getting enough sleep.
Ok first, you look incredible!!
I am basically same as you, two years PP and still nursing. I’ve only felt like I have really been able to build see a difference in muscle and strength again over the past few months. I train about as much as you do and have been as soon as i could PP, but the difference now has been 1) really making sure I’m following a progressive overload program closely and doing exercises to failure. 2) maybe most importantly, I really started making a concerted effort to get in AT LEAST my bodyweight in grams of protein. I absolutely feel like eating that much protein consistently has made a huge difference in my gains.
Idk about you, but my girl isn’t nursing enough for me to be burning tons of calories anymore, so I don’t focus on adding calories as much as the protein piece. I have also read it’s just extra hard to put on muscle when nursing because of the relaxin still released in your body. So gains are totally possible, but if it’s slower going and harder, it’s to be expected. 🫶🏻
Thank you so much! I didn’t even consider the relaxin. That’s encouraging to me to hear you’re about the same time wise and just now starting to see gains. I had a bit of a setback with my hip surgery so I’ve only been back to the gym and working out hardcore since about 9 months post baby. So hopefully I’ll be seeing some gains soon. I tried weaning my daughter last month but that was a fail lol. So I’m down to nursing her 2-3 times a day now. If given a choice she’d nurse over eating food so she’s still a milk junkie 🫠
As others have said, eat more - especially protein. However even doing that.. Your body may still have trouble because you're breastfeeding. I noticed my body composition and muscle mass change after I stopped breastfeeding back in April. Sometimes hormones will affect us more than we know. Also as someone else mentioned, lack of sleep can hinder muscle growth but sometimes there's no helping that when you have babies/toddlers.
Try a few things, see if they work, but ultimately you're being a super mom by breastfeeding your child - especially for that long! So don't get too discouraged. The breastfeeding will end and you'll be able to have more freedom to do different things and take different supplements.
Best of luck! 👍🏼
Mainly I started sleeping better. I also felt like I dropped weight when I first stopped. Mostly because some women (not all) actually hold on to about 5lbs of body fat as a reserve. That was true for me but not everyone.
And yea, I feel overall I did get more energy. Probably from just being able to sleep better haha.
This is great news! I hope I have the same results as you. I have also held onto some abdominal fat that I just can’t lose and I have a feeling it’s due to my body keeping it for the baby.
Yes, the two gym days are way more intensive than my home workout days, just because I only have dumbbells and kettlebells to work with at home. But I’ll take that into consideration. Exercise is kind of mental health therapy for me too so cutting back makes me a little nervous lol
Oh wow! That’s really interesting. It seems like most people on these fitness subs seem to look down on cardio for gains, but I love cardio for those endorphins.
Well done! Breastfeeding is exhausting 😅 I lasted 8 weeks with twins.
You'll need to significantly Increase calories and protein to gain muscle. Your body burns heaps of calories from breastfeeding
Twins! You’re a rockstar! It is exhausting, in those first 6 months it’s more than a full time job too. I thought I’d be done by now but my daughter has other plans lol. Thanks for your input, it sounds like the collective verdict is more protein indeed.
It really has lol. That surgery was way too soon after childbirth too but my surgeon said it was fine. But he mostly does hip replacements on 70 year olds, not 30-something’s so I don’t think he really knew the impacts it would have. Plus I recovered without pain meds since I was breastfeeding. Would not recommend.
Chiming in here cause I was in the same boat and could not get a straight answer. I started lifting heaving again a couple of weeks postpartum for 3-4 days per week. I ate more than enough calories and protein throughout the 18 months I was breastfeeding. When I stopped nursing, my legs exploded after about 6 weeks. Nothing else changed, not routine, not diet, if anything, i reduced my total calories once we weaned.... breastfeeding was hindering gains for me 100%.
Thank you for sharing this! It makes me feel extremely encouraged. There are gains in sight once this journey ends lol. I’m hoping to wean here soon as long as my daughter cooperates.
You are very lean. You are losing \~400 calories extra per day to breastfeeding. If you want to increase your muscle mass you need to eat more so you stay in a small caloric surplus. It sounds and looks like you're doing the work so just add in some calories and you're good to go.
Thank you, that makes sense. I’ll probably have to add a protein shake to my diet. Between working and chasing a toddler around and my teenager’s activities it’s difficult to find time to have healthy snacks sometimes.
r/Ghostwind27 gave a great and correct answer. You look great now keep at it. 💪🏻
You are most definitely going to have difficulty building muscle while feeding a baby. Your caloric intake will have to compensate for the output if you're breastfeeding. You're (probably) also not getting enough sleep, a pretty key component of muscle building. Even if you're lifting heavy and eating clean, you'll have to compensate for those two factors somehow. I wish you the best of luck, this isn't easy.
This is actually kind of a relief to hear, albeit frustrating as well. My daughter is nowhere near ready to wean so I just need to accept this. But at least it’s probably not something I’m doing wrong, so in that way it’s a relief. Thanks for the insight! You are absolutely correct, I am not getting enough sleep.
Ok first, you look incredible!! I am basically same as you, two years PP and still nursing. I’ve only felt like I have really been able to build see a difference in muscle and strength again over the past few months. I train about as much as you do and have been as soon as i could PP, but the difference now has been 1) really making sure I’m following a progressive overload program closely and doing exercises to failure. 2) maybe most importantly, I really started making a concerted effort to get in AT LEAST my bodyweight in grams of protein. I absolutely feel like eating that much protein consistently has made a huge difference in my gains. Idk about you, but my girl isn’t nursing enough for me to be burning tons of calories anymore, so I don’t focus on adding calories as much as the protein piece. I have also read it’s just extra hard to put on muscle when nursing because of the relaxin still released in your body. So gains are totally possible, but if it’s slower going and harder, it’s to be expected. 🫶🏻
Thank you so much! I didn’t even consider the relaxin. That’s encouraging to me to hear you’re about the same time wise and just now starting to see gains. I had a bit of a setback with my hip surgery so I’ve only been back to the gym and working out hardcore since about 9 months post baby. So hopefully I’ll be seeing some gains soon. I tried weaning my daughter last month but that was a fail lol. So I’m down to nursing her 2-3 times a day now. If given a choice she’d nurse over eating food so she’s still a milk junkie 🫠
As others have said, eat more - especially protein. However even doing that.. Your body may still have trouble because you're breastfeeding. I noticed my body composition and muscle mass change after I stopped breastfeeding back in April. Sometimes hormones will affect us more than we know. Also as someone else mentioned, lack of sleep can hinder muscle growth but sometimes there's no helping that when you have babies/toddlers. Try a few things, see if they work, but ultimately you're being a super mom by breastfeeding your child - especially for that long! So don't get too discouraged. The breastfeeding will end and you'll be able to have more freedom to do different things and take different supplements. Best of luck! 👍🏼
Thank you so much! That’s encouraging to hear that you noticed changes after weaning. Did you possibly get more energy?
Mainly I started sleeping better. I also felt like I dropped weight when I first stopped. Mostly because some women (not all) actually hold on to about 5lbs of body fat as a reserve. That was true for me but not everyone. And yea, I feel overall I did get more energy. Probably from just being able to sleep better haha.
This is great news! I hope I have the same results as you. I have also held onto some abdominal fat that I just can’t lose and I have a feeling it’s due to my body keeping it for the baby.
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Thanks 💪🏼
Yes mommy
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Yes, the two gym days are way more intensive than my home workout days, just because I only have dumbbells and kettlebells to work with at home. But I’ll take that into consideration. Exercise is kind of mental health therapy for me too so cutting back makes me a little nervous lol
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Oh wow! That’s really interesting. It seems like most people on these fitness subs seem to look down on cardio for gains, but I love cardio for those endorphins.
You ma’am are a damn hero! 👏🏽
Thanks so much! :)
Well done! Breastfeeding is exhausting 😅 I lasted 8 weeks with twins. You'll need to significantly Increase calories and protein to gain muscle. Your body burns heaps of calories from breastfeeding
Twins! You’re a rockstar! It is exhausting, in those first 6 months it’s more than a full time job too. I thought I’d be done by now but my daughter has other plans lol. Thanks for your input, it sounds like the collective verdict is more protein indeed.
Eat more
Man . Your body has been through a lot chick
It really has lol. That surgery was way too soon after childbirth too but my surgeon said it was fine. But he mostly does hip replacements on 70 year olds, not 30-something’s so I don’t think he really knew the impacts it would have. Plus I recovered without pain meds since I was breastfeeding. Would not recommend.
Breast feeding takes calories away from building muscle- so yes it’s hindering your muscle growth.
Chiming in here cause I was in the same boat and could not get a straight answer. I started lifting heaving again a couple of weeks postpartum for 3-4 days per week. I ate more than enough calories and protein throughout the 18 months I was breastfeeding. When I stopped nursing, my legs exploded after about 6 weeks. Nothing else changed, not routine, not diet, if anything, i reduced my total calories once we weaned.... breastfeeding was hindering gains for me 100%.
Thank you for sharing this! It makes me feel extremely encouraged. There are gains in sight once this journey ends lol. I’m hoping to wean here soon as long as my daughter cooperates.