Gluten free and low sugar diet for postpartum

princesspea234

I should be delivering my first baby any day now and I'm looking for a turn-key diet that works with breastfeeding, but will also allow me to lose weight. I want to know exactly what to eat and not have to think or plan beyond getting groceries. I'm going to have my hands full with other things. I will also be treating PCOS symptoms with my diet. It needs to be gluten free and low in sugar as that's what helps the symptoms the most from past experience. I'm currently 160 and 5'4". I anticipate losing the first 15 lbs pretty easily after pregnancy, but will have 30 lbs or so beyond that to drop slowly. Anyone have a suggestion of where to find a meal plan or menu?

Sued0nim

Are you gluten sensitive? If not then a big old no to that

Some (not all / not necessary) find low carb to be helpful for PCOS weight loss

There is nothing wrong with sugar

Having a baby throws those your hormones up in the air and where they land is anyone's guess...you may end up not having PCOS ...I did after my first

Plus

You may well lose weight / not lose weight for months with pregnancy hormones
Your primary focus should be on your baby, eating nutritionally sound spread of foods and decent number of calories to establish breastfeeding
Give yourself 6 weeks to 3 months before starting any caloric restriction

princesspea234

For sure my main focus is being nutritionally sound for baby and me, but having a plan helps me not get into a slump of eating junk and feeding the monster so to speak. In the past, eating sugar and gluten has made my mood swings/symptoms sky rocket and I'm just trying to avoid that happening. I'd like to try to control the symptoms without metformin or progesterone after birth. Losing weight would be an added bonus, but I'm not looking to lose it all at once. I'm not hopeful that my PCOS will resolve itself. We went through six years of infertility and over a year of fertility treatments to get pregnant with our baby and our reproductive endocrinologist has said fertility would never be in the cards for us without medication and medical intervention ever. It would be nice though! I've heard some stories where having a baby has hit the reset button. Basically, I'm looking for where to set my calories as a new mom/breastfeeding mom and for a meal plan that fits within those calories. I can adapt it to reduce sugar/gluten since most plans aren't that focused.

elphie754

princesspea234 wrote: »

I should be delivering my first baby any day now and I'm looking for a turn-key diet that works with breastfeeding, but will also allow me to lose weight. I want to know exactly what to eat and not have to think or plan beyond getting groceries. I'm going to have my hands full with other things. I will also be treating PCOS symptoms with my diet. It needs to be gluten free and low in sugar as that's what helps the symptoms the most from past experience. I'm currently 160 and 5'4". I anticipate losing the first 15 lbs pretty easily after pregnancy, but will have 30 lbs or so beyond that to drop slowly. Anyone have a suggestion of where to find a meal plan or menu?

The way to lose weight is by being in a calorie deficit, however there are tons of ways to get in a calorie deficit. Just going gluten free and and low sugar consumption will not help you lose weigh. You can easily be over weight on both of those.

princesspea234

Right. But I'm not quite sure what to set my calorie goal at while breastfeeding. I want to keep my supply up. I'm not going to worry about it for the first six weeks, but when I do reduce calories, I worry it will affect my supply. The gluten and sugar stuff has to do with medical stuff....not necessarily weight loss.

Goals in order:
1. Feeding my child and fueling my body to do so
2. Feeling healthy and battling PCOS symptoms via what I eat/exercise
3. Weight loss via counting calories
i believe I can do all three eventually, but I'm looking for some guidance.

princesspea234

Although I will say I'm ready to get back to my normal weight/fitness level. I'm so uncomfortable. I'm up on myfitnesspal because I can't sleep. 40 weeks and two days and no sign of baby yet! She'll come when she's ready, but this mama is so swollen, achy and exhausted.

Sued0nim

After 6 weeks...set your weight loss goal to 1lb a week then add 300-500 calories for breastfeeding

Monklady123

Why do some of you jump immediately onto her one sentence that says she's going gluten-free and low-sugar? That wasn't the point of her question at all, and on top of that she did say that that's what has helped her PCOS symptoms in the past. If it works for her then yes, she should go gluten-free and low-sugar.

Anyway, OP, if you are going to be breast-feeding the baby you need to be sure to eat enough. You'll need more calories -- I'm not sure of the number -- in order to do that and feel good at the same time. Make sure you get enough protein and calcium, lots of fruit and vegetables and fiber. I'm not sure if "gluten free" in your case also includes all hidden gluten (like what might be in soy sauce or other packaged things), or if it's just obvious gluten like bread, pasta, cake, etc. But just by giving up all the obvious ones you'll lose weight (unless to switch to eating Ben and Jerry's every day, or something like that, lol) -- as long as you don't substitute processed gluten-free things, which are often higher in sugar and fat than gluten versions.

Another good tip is to try to have healthy options already cut up and ready for snacking, since once the baby comes you might not be able to sit down for a leisurely meal. So have cut up veggies, cheese sticks, yogurt, hummus, etc. Stuff you can grab and eat that won't derail a diet.

Get exercise when you can... If the weather cooperates take the baby out for a walk every day, even twice a day. Pushing that stroller up hills is a good workout.

Eventually the weight will come off, just take it slowly especially in the beginning. And don't forget to sleep when you can!

Congratulations on the baby, by the way.

Sued0nim

Because of the number of ignorant people who come on here and believe, erroneously, that gluten free is of any benefit to non celiacs, and restricting sugar to non-diabetics or other diagnosable medical conditions

Because of people taking their information from tabloid news, supposition, well-meaning friends, media-loving celebrities and the lies the dieting marketing industry keeps out there to over complicate the CICO message.

Because of the number of people who PM their thanks! or come on board to thank the MFP meanies who cut through the crap that's out there and simplify the core message

Also her symptoms were highlighted in subsequent posts and nobody jumped on them, did they?

Monklady123 wrote: »

Why do some of you jump immediately onto her one sentence that says she's going gluten-free and low-sugar? That wasn't the point of her question at all, and on top of that she did say that that's what has helped her PCOS symptoms in the past. If it works for her then yes, she should go gluten-free and low-sugar.

Anyway, OP, if you are going to be breast-feeding the baby you need to be sure to eat enough. You'll need more calories -- I'm not sure of the number -- in order to do that and feel good at the same time. Make sure you get enough protein and calcium, lots of fruit and vegetables and fiber. I'm not sure if "gluten free" in your case also includes all hidden gluten (like what might be in soy sauce or other packaged things), or if it's just obvious gluten like bread, pasta, cake, etc. But just by giving up all the obvious ones you'll lose weight (unless to switch to eating Ben and Jerry's every day, or something like that, lol) -- as long as you don't substitute processed gluten-free things, which are often higher in sugar and fat than gluten versions.

Another good tip is to try to have healthy options already cut up and ready for snacking, since once the baby comes you might not be able to sit down for a leisurely meal. So have cut up veggies, cheese sticks, yogurt, hummus, etc. Stuff you can grab and eat that won't derail a diet.

Get exercise when you can... If the weather cooperates take the baby out for a walk every day, even twice a day. Pushing that stroller up hills is a good workout.

Eventually the weight will come off, just take it slowly especially in the beginning. And don't forget to sleep when you can!

Congratulations on the baby, by the way.

RodaRose

Good luck w/ ur new baby. Remember to get sleep whenever and as often as possible.
Re GF: potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, quinoa.
You can find lots of ways to cook potatoes or rice with veggies and meat or eggs or fish.
Rice chex in the cereal aisle is GF and easily available, .
Get a crock pot if you do not already have one.

LKArgh

For weight loss, use MFP to figure out your maintenance calorie-wise. Do not try to eat less (obviously not more either) and breastfeeding will create the deficit you need to lose the weight at a reasonable pace. Just eating as you did prepregnancy will both provide enough nutrition and help lose the weight. As long as you are exclusively breastfeeding, on demand.

What you eat is up to you, it will not affect how you lose weight. Unless you have a very unbalanced diet or get to extremely low calories, your supply will not be affected either.

Before excluding food groups, first see what the baby's needs will be. Some babies are sensitive to things in your diet, especially as newborns. Cow dairy is the most common problem the first months, but different babies are sensitive to different things and it is hard to predict. So, eat as you normally would, figure out if anything needs eliminating for baby's sake (you should know by 2 months or so) and do nto make things more complicated at first.

As for gluten free, low sugar or whatever, are you excluding these things while pregnant? Because if you have celiacs or are diabetic or whatever other medical reason for a special diet, this would have been also needed during pregnancy.

randiewilliams72

Google Ketogenic or Paleo diets. Tons of stuff on the internet on those diets.

caffeinatedcami

Yeah as a celiac I can say that going gluten free is not a weight loss tool unless you are simply reducing carbs altogether. It won't hurt you I suppose but it is a lot of work to avoid gluten. And research shows that gluten/wheat is not harmful to people without an allergy or intolerance. I wouldn't rush into weight loss but it sounds like you have the right idea about focusing on health first.