breastfeeding moms trying to maintain weight?

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ellaconrad2
ellaconrad2 Posts: 5
edited December 2014 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Any breastfeeding moms out there having trouble maintaining weight? I'm the worst at eating enough. Especially because I have a lot of dietary restrictions.

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  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
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    how old is your baby? and what are your dietary restrictions?

    I'm vegan, and nursing a 2 and a half year old. I know the pains. lol
  • ellaconrad2
    ellaconrad2 Posts: 5
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    No dairy, eggs or nuts. I miss peanut butter so much. Lol.
    boy or girl? :-)
  • sheepotato
    sheepotato Posts: 600 Member
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    There's a breastfeeding group over here: community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/197-breastfeeding-support
  • ellaconrad2
    ellaconrad2 Posts: 5
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    sheepotato wrote: »
    There's a breastfeeding group over here: community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/197-breastfeeding-support

    Thanks!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I am certainly not now, but I couldn't maintain my weight as my kids got older and I was nursing. Lost all my pregnancy weight by 6 months. Maintained for a few, and dropped 15 pounds by the time they were 3 (I'm very tall, so that's not that big a deal for me - just a few pounds less than I am now). Especially since I carried them everywhere so that burned calories too. Of course then it eventually came back :).

    Brewers yeast shakes really helped me maintain my fluids, calories, and milk supplies. Nuts, bread and milk have lots of calories. Good luck.
  • ellaconrad2
    ellaconrad2 Posts: 5
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    I can't have nuts bread or milk :-(
    thanks lol.
  • misskris78
    misskris78 Posts: 136 Member
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    Ah yes, the elimination diet. I wish you well, girlfriend. With my second, I was eating white rice, carrots and some chicken due to my son's ulcerative colitis. I lost all my baby weight and then some in 5 weeks and started getting light headed because I wasn't getting enough to eat. I couldn't sustain it, and ended up having to give him neocate. I clearly do not have the answers. If you can do it, try hummus, avocado, coconut based products. I was off wheat as well, but if you can do wheat, that's a great way to get some calories in. Before I was taken off wheat, I would eat a lot of toast with coconut oil and apple butter (which consists of apples. period). Good luck!
  • carriecarrio
    carriecarrio Posts: 70 Member
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    i am not having that issue this time, breastfeeding a 3 months old. I eat a lot of caloric dense foods (nuts or seed butters, dried fruits, avocados, varied homemade snacks made with coconut oil, dates, nuts/seeds, etc), and I am vegan and exercise quite a bit. You can add me if you want and check my diary.
    How old is your baby?
  • carriecarrio
    carriecarrio Posts: 70 Member
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    ellaconrad2 wrote: »
    No dairy, eggs or nuts. I miss peanut butter so much. Lol.
    boy or girl? :-)

    Have you tried sunflower seed butter? I love that stuff!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    edited December 2014
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    What I always recommend for bring calories up are beans, rice, potatoes, bread, butter (or other fats). Basically anything they base a cuisine on has a lot of calories. Figs, dates, bananas.

    When my dad couldn't keep on weight we put apple sauce, cream cheese or butter/margarine/oil in everything he ate.
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,521 Member
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    I couldn't eat nuts/eggs while bfing due to my daughter's allergies. You can add oils, like coconut, olive, flax oil to foods. She isn't allergic to seeds like sunflowers or pistachios. You could try spreads like that if you aren't restricted on those.
  • mykaylis
    mykaylis Posts: 320 Member
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    is Boost an option for you? it is designed so that you can survive on just boost for months if you need to. if you find yourself with insufficient time to eat a real meal, a boost can really help.
  • Original_Beauty
    Original_Beauty Posts: 180 Member
    edited December 2014
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    ellaconrad2 wrote: »
    No dairy, eggs or nuts. I miss peanut butter so much. Lol.
    boy or girl? :-)

    Try other spreads, tahini is yummy. Try foods high in protein, dairy free smoothies, there is a lot out there. I had these problems with my youngest too :( Also try dairy free smoothies between meals to keep your calories up, easy to prepare with one hand too!!!

  • meryl135
    meryl135 Posts: 321 Member
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    A fruit smoothie with a scoop of pea or rice protein would give you some calories and be hypoallergenic. They're not as tasty as regular whey protein, but you can mask the flavour with fruit and honey. Try a cup of frozen fruit (berries, mangoes, peaches - whatever appeals to you most) with 1 scoop of vegan protein powder and 1 cup of almond milk - that should give you around 300 calories, easily enough and you can add a bit of honey for more sweetness.

    Here's a link to a review of some vegan protein powders for perspective. Caveat - I personally find the pea proteins pretty gross, but rice protein powder is not that bad.

    http://www.nutritionstripped.com/guide-plant-based-protein-supplements/
  • mrsholly05
    mrsholly05 Posts: 1 Member
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    Good to hear other moms are breastfeeding after their babies turn 1. I was a first time breastfeeding mom and was shocked at all the negative feedback I received when my baby turned 1. I breastfeed her "in secret" until she was 2, I felt bad that I was treated this way. My husband and older daughter have severe asthma (my husband almost lost his life due to an asthma attack 3 days after my youngest was born), their asthma specialist stressed the importance of breastfeeding as long as possible to help her not get sick. I stopped breastfeeding when she was 2 because everyone made me feel it was "wrong" at her age:( Good news though that (so far) no asthma!
  • mykaylis
    mykaylis Posts: 320 Member
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    that's a shame, mrsholly05. normal weaning age is 2-7 years, anthropologically speaking. while it's unusual in north american culture, it's completely normal and healthy to breastfeed through toddlerhood. in fact the WHO recommends 2 years minimum.

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