What to eat to lose weight when breastfeeding?

Sarah89DragonAgeSkyrim

Hi, what should I eat to lose weight, that won't stop my body from producing milk?

I've gained a lot of weight over the pregnancy and since I went on maternity leave, that needs to be gone before I return to work.

I'm currently exclusively breastfeeding my son, I don't have time for exercise (other than 4hrs of slow walking for the school run), I can't eat dairy and most carbs just make me more hungry, so I'd rather keep them to a minimum.

Any advice would be appreciated.

nanastaci2020

I successfully breast fed my 3 once upon a time, and also donated milk to a milk bank.

My number one bit of advice to keep your milk supply safe: stay hydrated.

Other than that, it is not so much about what you eat but how much. You do not want to cut your calories by too much. Put your stats into MyFitnessPal and instead of telling it you want to lose weight, set it to maintain. Eat at that level of calories, logging your food accurately & honestly. This way, your deficit will come from breastfeeding. Give that a try for 6-8 weeks. If all goes well, in that your supply continues as it should, then you can consider taking another 100-150 off your daily calories. If I were in your shoes, I would not try to reduce it more than that.

Eat lots of lean protein, some fruit, lots of veggies. Are there certain foods in the carb category that you want to avoid? If so there is nothing wrong with eating them in lesser quantities.

Jacq_qui

I think the above is excellent advice re eating at maintenance and let the bf do the deficit for you. Good luck!

VeryKatie

I'm addition to water, keep your iron and calcium levels up (vitamins or milk and red meat). Both support breastmilk production. When I was nursing my first child, my supply would dip from from a week before my period to when it was over so basically he struggled to get enough for half the month. Taking calcium (with vitamin d to help with absorption) every single day plus a cup of soy milk resolved that issue for me, and it was the only thing that worked. That may or may not be an issue for you. With my second child my supply was low after getting sick when she was 6 weeks old and I was on domperidone until she was 15 months old so I never got my period and it was a non-issue.

Also on a daily basis, the minimum consumption for a breastfeeding woman is 1800. Dont go lower than that unless it is for an occasional sick day.

My suggestion is start high and work your way down so you dont shock your production.

Start at 2400 a day for a week or 2
2300 a day for the next week or 2
2200 a day for the next week or 2

Until the scale shows a maximum 1 lb a week loss for you (the max recommended during breastfeeding). Breastfeeding calorie needs are such a guessing game. And then keep in mind when baby starts on solids, you may need to reduce calories again gradually as your body has less demand for milk and starts producing less.

For reference im 5'6" and I was around 150 lb after giving birth and I lost weight well eating 2300 calories a day for the first 6 months (less the first 8 weeks when I ate 2600-2800 to maintain while healing - my body needed a bunch it seems). By the time he was 9 or 10 months I was eating around 1900-2000 a day to lose weight. No additional exercise. However im also starting to think I do burn a little more through the day than most calculators say I should so your numbers will need to be tailored to you.