post partum exercise and milk supply

BuffaloChixSalad

Hello. I'm Athena and I gave birth 5 weeks ago. I'd like to return to my Jillian Michaels DVD's but I have heard that high impactw workouts can affect the milk supply. Please share your experiences. Was your milk supply affected by your exercise?

brekober

It made mine drop a lot so I decided to wait until it dropped naturally to add exercise back into the mix. It ended up being 8ish months.

BuffaloChixSalad

Thank you! I was thinking that I could bounce back quickly but I am worried about my son not getting enough milk and having to supplement more often

BuffaloChixSalad

brekober wrote: »

It made mine drop a lot so I decided to wait until it dropped naturally to add exercise back into the mix. It ended up being 8ish months.

brekober

BuffaloChixSalad wrote: »

Thank you! I was thinking that I could bounce back quickly but I am worried about my son not getting enough milk and having to supplement more often

You could always try it and if it seems like your supply drops than cut back a little on the exercise. Find what works best for you.

BuffaloChixSalad

Sounds good. Now I just need to find time to do the exercises. Lol. My baby gets fussy when I am not near

gradchica27

Congratulations!

5 weeks? Make sure your body is fully healed before anything high impact. That 6 week check is there for a reason--I noticed pain in my lower abdomen/pelvis after going back to running after my last pregnancy. I started at maybe 8 weeks and I just couldn't do it. It took a few months for that area to strengthen back up this time. Anyway, use this time for some pelvic floor exercises--seriously. Also check how your abs feel--see if you have any separation (this may mean you need to modify exercises/avoid some/add others to reduce/eliminate it).

As for milk supply, calories count. Drop your deficit too low and supply will drop. Most fully nursing women need about 1800 minimum. Less once you introduce solids. For me, as long as I ate enough (1800-2000), my supply wasn't affected by running 15-25 miles a week.

BuffaloChixSalad

Ok. Thank you. I healed nicely. I had a very quick delivery w/o the epidural. I will keep all of this in mind and up my cals. I am at 1500 net right now

janjunie

I started exercising fairly intensely when baby was 5 months old. My milk supply didn't suffer, but I was eating 2300 calories a day and losing at about .5 lb/ week.

BuffaloChixSalad

Are any of you logging the breastfeeding?

BuffaloChixSalad

janjunie wrote: »

I started exercising fairly intensely when baby was 5 months old. My milk supply didn't suffer, but I was eating 2300 calories a day and losing at about .5 lb/ week.

Thank you! Looking for about the same weight loss. I upped my cals a bit

Asher_Ethan

5 week PP for me, I was already running (I got the okay from my doctor) the only thing that hurt my milk supply was a calorie deficit. I tried over and over again to eat less to lose weight, but I would lose milk. I decided to wait until I was done nursing before I really started to eat less.

BuffaloChixSalad

My baby's name is Asher! I used to run and did so half the way through my pregnancy. Looking to get back in to it and wanting to do my Jillian Michaels DVDs

Asher_Ethan wrote: »

5 week PP for me, I was already running (I got the okay from my doctor) the only thing that hurt my milk supply was a calorie deficit. I tried over and over again to eat less to lose weight, but I would lose milk. I decided to wait until I was done nursing before I really started to eat less.

am_change

Come and join us in this post partum group where we can motivate and encourage each other and do a weekly weigh in.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/113945-fit-fabulous-postpartum