Nursing Moms-- What do you think about the "new" FlexPoint rule?

[KimberleyW]

I was just reading through the FlexPoint booklet and noticed at the bottom of page 10 that it said if baby is not solely relying on breastmilk that we should eat our regular points.

What do you think about that?

I know that when I joined WW in 2001, I was nursing my second child but he was eating solids. I only ate half of the extra 10 nursing points. I found that while I did lose weight at a good rate (1-2lbs per week), my milk supply started to drop off and within 2-3mths of joining WW, my supply was really down and my son weaned.

My baby is almost 10mths old but he still nurses 6-7 times a day (both sides). He's over 25lbs so he needs a lot of breastmilk to keep him hydrated and full.

I hesitate to drop my points TARGET by 5pts but I also know that I simply have not been losing any weight at all in the past few months. However, if I drop the points and my milk supply starts to go, it might not go back up easily and baby might take the opportunity to wean.

It's not worth baby weaning to drop the points to lose weight more quickly but it is worth dropping the points to lose some weight if it won't affect my supply. I'm thinking about it but would really appreciate everyone sharing their opinions and perspectives so we can help each other out here!! smile.gif

[anon236]

Kimberley-
Why not try to just drop it by 2 points for a week or two and just see what happens...maybe you can "trick" your body into not missing the 2 points and then in a few weeks drop another 2 points and so on...your milk supply should definitely come first, but maybe this will be what your body need to get it losing again(more quickly)! smile.gif

[itsjustme]

I was unsure about that too. My daughter is 16 months now and still nursing twice a day. She was 10 months old and still nursing 5 times a day when I started WW - and I continued to eat the 10 extra points until a month or so ago when we weaned eachother down to 2 sessions/day. I read that little blurb in the new book and wasn't sure what to do. I mean, I lost 40 pounds with the extra points before the new program - even though she was definitely not relying solely on breastmilk. I kept the 4 extra points that I was eating for the first day and then dropped down to 2 extra since she really hasn't been nursing all that well at night anymore.

I agree with anon - trying dropping it down by 2 points and see how you do. Don't forget that you CAN eat your Flexpoints as well!!!! This will help quite a bit. Don't be afraid to eat them - I am and am doing great!

~ Pam ~

[KimberleyW]

Thanks Stephanie and Pam! smile.gif

I'm actually eating 2pts under my FlexPoints target because I'm one pound away from being in the next points range. As soon as I drop that pound, I'm going to decrease my points by another two. I figure that if I do something like drop 2pts per month, I will no longer be eating any nursing points but it's been gradual enough that it shouldn't affect my supply or that I can increase it back if I find that it is. When I get to the point that I'm not eating any nursing points, I will start counting/using my AP's as I haven't been counting them or using them at all in the past six months. Besides, my WW leader said we are all new members starting last week and we're not to count/use any AP's until week three of the new program.

I'm four days into FlexPoints and have used 16 FlexPoints so far-- that includes having gone away for the weekend, eating out the entire time and even going to a buffet restaurant!! Yay me! graemlins/bcbsalute.gif

[loser]

Hi Kimberly,
My WW leader told me when I breastfeeding my son (before Flex, but would think same rules would apply) that I should continue to eat the 10 extra points while I was nursing 5 or more times a day. If you are still nursing 6 or 7 (a "good" 6 or 7, not just a 2 minute snack 6 or 7 times a day) times a day, then I would still eat the 10 points. If you start to replace a feeding with solids, then go down 2 points. It's important to eat enough because your body uses the extra fuel to make milk. Your body uses calories first to take care of your needs, second to make milk & the will store the rest as fat. You need to figure out how many points you need to continue making milk, but not gain weight. A bit like playing with points for lifetime maintenence.

Hope this helps.

[Kody 1976]

I've opted to stick with WW 1-2-3 Success Plan. It's the plan that I started with and it worked for me, and I don't want to change. My take on the whole thing is this: "I want to eat as much as my body will allow me to and still lose weight". I never want to eat too little and feel hungry. So, I always eat as many Points as the program allows. If I'm nursing my baby and the book says I get 10 extra Points, that's what I eat. Granted my losses have slowed to 2-3 pounds a month but it's worth it! I have lots of energy and never feel hungry. I guess I could drop my points if I was in a hurry to lose weight, but I'm not. smile.gif If my weight loss stalls then I might think about dropping some Points, or if Sarah would wean completely or nurse only once a day (doubtful!). That's just how I feel about it. I just believe we should keep our bodies fueled in the most efficient way possible. smile.gif

[KimberleyW]

loser- The new Getting Started booklet for FlexPoints says that WW changed the rules about nursing points. We're supposed to eat the full 10pts while baby is exclusively nursing but once baby starts on solids (and is still nursing), we're supposed to lose the 10pts. Personally, I don't agree with this change. I was supposed to eat the extra 10pts when the baby was 10-20lbs and nursing exclusively but not eat them when baby is now 25lbs, nursing but also eating two bowls of cereal a day?! :rolleyes:
So, I was just wondering what the other nursing moms were planning on doing with this new rule. I'm going to slowly decrease my points but if it starts to affect my milk supply, I'll increase them back. Baby is 10mths old tomorrow so I figure that if I drop 2pts per month for the next 5 months, I'll most likely be weaning him by 15mths anyway.

Kody- Losing 2-3lbs a month is right on target for nursing women so I think that you're right that things are working and there's no reason to change! I have some reservations about FlexPoints but I'm going to try it out for a few weeks and switch back to Winning Points if I don't like it. I have been stalled out for the past few months so maybe decreasing my points a bit and switching to the new program will help. I haven't lost any weight in over two months eating my nursing range with Winning Points (in fact, I'm currently up 3lbs from my lowest of two months ago). I figure I've got nothing to lose but weight to try the new program and see if it will get things started again! smile.gif