Dieting while breast feeding

So I am now a mother of 3, and 4 weeks post baby at the age of 40. I have been doing a lot of research on post pregnancy dieting while breast feeding. I have studied nutrition and physical fitness for the past 15 year and am dialed in on how to loose weight and gain muscle. With this in mind I have never been well versed in dieting and the needs of a nursing mother. This has given me a chance to learn and expand my knowledge in a new area of fitness. In relation to pregnancy I have never been the cute 25-30 lb gainer. My bodys Viking roots love making babies! With each pregnancy I had gained anywhere from 60-80lbs
(1st baby 80lbs in 1997; 2nd baby 60lbs in 1999 and 3rd baby 70 lbs in 2015.) With this said the weight with my first two came off pretty easy with little diet modification. With my 3rd child I have a need to loose the baby weight a little faster because of the physical demand of my day job as a firefighter..(.which is a whole other topic when it comes to nursing.) My goal is to loose 50lbs in about 6 months while nursing. I feel this is a realistic goal for me, but am not afraid to modify this plan if I see a diminished supply in my milk.

To other dieting/ nursing moms out there, I would like to share a article I thought was written well in the concerns of dieting vs nursing. My hope is that this article will help other nursing mothers that are planning to diet while tring to suport the nutrition needs of there new baby in the first yr of life.

http://www.thebump.com/a/lose-weight-breastfeeding

Enjoy and make it a great day:)
Jenny

Replies

  • newfutures
    newfutures Posts: 113 Member
    I am nursing twins. as long as I keep up my protein, fluids, healthy fats and vitamin supplements my milk has not suffered
  • antennachick
    antennachick Posts: 464 Member
    850 calories? Everywhere else I read says 200-500 so I believe thats overestimated. However every baby eats different amounts. This is where listening to your body comes in...if you are hungry eat! Just make healthy choices.
    Random but when doing my fitness pal should you consider the fact you are breastfeeding and allow extra food?
  • saraskeeters
    saraskeeters Posts: 7 Member
    850 calories? Everywhere else I read says 200-500 so I believe thats overestimated. However every baby eats different amounts. This is where listening to your body comes in...if you are hungry eat! Just make healthy choices.
    Random but when doing my fitness pal should you consider the fact you are breastfeeding and allow extra food?
    It depends on how many ounces your baby eats daily. My 3 month old eats about 30 oz sometimes more. Each ounce is 20 calories burned- so I add in 600 calories extra daily. When I add solids into his diet I'll cut that back. But I agree with you. If your hungry eat, your body knows when you need more energy to produce the milk.