Breastfeeding provides your baby with complete nutrition and helps you recover from childbirth. Sometimes, it seems like breastfeeding interferes with your ability to drop your pregnancy pounds. Inconsistent sleep and feelings of being housebound can cause you to mindlessly eat. Some mothers fear exercise could affect milk supplies and that any attempt to reduce calories would endanger the quality of nutrition their baby receives. Eating nutritiously is critical while breastfeeding, but this does not mean you cannot make an effort to lose weight. Making healthy changes to your diet encourages gradual weight loss and will actually improve the quality of your milk.
Step 1
Do not wean your baby early in order to lose weight. Nurse your baby as long as you like because it does help you reduce the fat stores built up during pregnancy and shrinks the uterus. Burn an extra 200 to 500 calories per day in order to produce the milk.
Step 2
Plan on losing weight slowly. Accept that it will take at least nine months to lose your baby weight---it took that long to put it on. Avoid any restrictive diets in the first six weeks postpartum because it could diminish your milk supply. Create a deficit of 500 calories per day--through a mixture of eating less and moving more--to lose one pound per week.
Step 3
Focus on eating lean proteins, fresh vegetables and whole grains. Cook with vegetable oils like olive or sunflower, for as confirmed in a study published in a 2007 edition of the journal "Diabetes Care," replacing saturated fats with mono-unsaturated fats helps discourage the accumulation of body fat, particularly at the abdomen.
Step 4
Enjoy four to six mini-meals containing 300 to 400 calories each throughout the day to discourage dips in blood sugar and extreme hunger, both of which lead to irritability and energy lags---you need all the patience you can get with a newborn.
Step 5
Avoid the urge to turn to fast food and processed snacks. Turn to quick, healthy snacks like low fat cheese and yogurt, whole grain crackers, nuts and fruits. Keep your pantry stocked with staples that yield easy-to-prepare meals like whole wheat pasta and sauce, chicken breasts for grilling with baked sweet potatoes, or steam-in-the-bag frozen vegetables and salmon steaks that can thrown under the broiler. Cook multiple portions at once---for example, grill several servings of chicken---so you only have to do the work one time and have healthy options on nights that you are simply too wiped or overwhelmed by the new baby.
Step 6
Include moderate exercise at least five times per week. Investigate stroller-based fitness classes in your area or simply take a walk with your baby outdoors. Take friends and family up on babysitting offers and go to the gym, even if it is only for a half hour. Recognize that moderate aerobic exercise will not affect your milk and is one of the most effective ways to drop extra pounds as researchers at the University of Illinois reported in a 2009 issue of the "American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism."
Tips and Warnings
- Enlist the support of your partner or spouse during your weight loss efforts. Find another new mom with whom to walk. Do your best to get enough sleep, as tiredness can lead to feelings of hunger and weaken your ability to refuse treats.
- Avoid extreme calorie restriction (below about 1,500) during breastfeeding because this can affect nursing by releasing toxins from your blood stream into your milk. You also need the energy provided by adequate nutrition to deal with the stress of your new family member.
Things You'll Need
- Lean proteins
- Fresh vegetables
- Whole grains
- Fruits
- Nuts
- Low fat dairy (like yogurt and cheese sticks)
- Stroller
