The hidden reason why women DON’T lose weight by breastfeeding… and it could be what made Serena Williams struggle
The tennis ace and mum-of-one says she was on a strict vegan diet and working out but her weight didn't come down
TENNIS ace and mum-of-one Serena Williams has spoken out about how breastfeeding led her to GAIN weight.
While new mums are told breastfeeding burns calories and aids weight loss, the seven-time Wimbledon champ revealed she put on weight despite being on a strict vegan diet and working out.
At a press conference to mark her return to Wimbledon, the athlete revealed she dropped 10lbs immediately after she stopped breastfeeding six months after the birth of her daughter, last September.
"I was vegan. I didn't eat sugar. I literally have my chef total vegan.
"Not French fry-eating vegan. Totally eating completely healthy.
"I wasn't at the weight that I would have been had I not [been breastfeeding].
"For my body, it didn't work."
Serena said she stopped nursing Alexis Olympia when her team recommended she do so to help her get back in shape.
“It was interesting because all these articles, over pop culture, you hear when you breastfeed you lose weight, you’re so thin,” Williams said.
“That wasn’t happening to me."
Explaining what happened after she stopped nursing, Serena said: “I literally lost 10 pounds in a week, I just kept dropping.
“I wanted to say that so women out there know that’s not true (about losing weight). Everyone takes things different. I think it’s important for us to share that message.”
So is weight loss being an advantage of breastfeeding a myth?
Clare Byam-Cook, a former midwife turned infant feeding expert, said among her clients it's common to see women put on weight while they're breastfeeding.
"Some women find they put on weight because to sustain milk production they have to up the amount they eat and the calories they consume."
However, the expert, whose clients include former spice girl Geri Horner and Robbie Williams' wife Ayda Field, also told The Sun: "I would be amazed if Serena Williams' diet really was identical after she stopped breastfeeding and experienced sudden weight loss."
Sarah Hackett, infant feeding support midwife at Cambridge University Hospitals, which includes the Rosie Maternity Hospital, said: “The Word Health Organisation recommends exclusive breast feeding for the first six months of a baby’s life and that burns off approximately 500 calories a day.
"However, there are many factors that affect women’s weight while they are breast feeding, ranging from the amount they eat to how active they are.
"I always say to women expect to take nine months losing the weight that you gained during nine months of pregnancy.”
Dietician Dr Frankie Phillips agrees and adds there are other factors that come into play too - such as genetics.
"Some people find it easy to lose weight, for others it is much more difficult.
"I always recommend women talk to their mothers to get an idea of what their experience was because often their daughters will have a similar experience."
She adds that while it's difficult to argue with Serena Williams' account of her weight loss, it's "surprising" that the tennis player's weight wasn't going down if she had been working out and eating well.
She also describes weight loss of 10 pounds in a week as extreme and not an advisable aim for any new mum.
Dr Phillips told The Sun, the key to weight loss after birth is to be sensible.
"Eat well and be as active as possible - try to get out and walk with your baby, or go along to mum and baby exercise classes.
"Losing a couple of pounds of week is sensible and sustainable.
"Ten pounds is extreme."
Last month, we told you the NHS should no longer pressue new mums into breastfeeding, according to the Royal College of midwives.
The experts said choosing not to breastfeed is a woman's decision and it "must be respected".