Low Carb While Breastfeeding
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RebekahR84
Posts: 794 Member
I'm sure there must be a thread already started about this. Can anyone direct me to good information about the low-carb lifestyle while breastfeeding?
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When breastfeeding you need a minimum of 50g of carbs per day, and about 500 extra calories to support milk production.
Most low carb or LCHF plans are around 100g of carbs per day, so any plan like that would be fine, just be careful not overly restrict calories. You can let MFP calculate your calories at half a pound loss per week, then add another 500 calories - that will allow you to lose slowly, but also still give you plenty of room for good nutrition for you and the baby. Keto plans are not a good idea if you weren't keto prior to breastfeeding.
Iron, calcium, and omega-3 will be provided to the baby even at the expense of the mother, so try to make sure you are eating plenty of foods containing these or consider supplementation.5 -
In my experience when I tried to do low carb my milk supply decreased so went back to eating cabs until I finished breastfeeding, maybe differant for others.1
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In my experience when I tried to do low carb my milk supply decreased so went back to eating cabs until I finished breastfeeding, maybe differant for others.
Makes sense to me.
Low carb especially keto creates a lot of water loss. @RebekahR84 You absolutely MUST get enough sodium and water to be able to keep milk production up. So I agree that if you weren't already keto prior to now, then aim for a more moderate carb level to help you retain water and electrolytes easier. And still get more sodium and water then before breastfeeding. If you ever have a head rush feeling upon standing or cramps in your legs/feet, that's a sign of low sodium and possibly magnesium too. That would mean you aren't getting enough and you would also be risking your milk supply.
Hydration will be of utmost importance on any low carb level while breastfeeding and sodium helps you hold water.2 -
What everyone has said so-far makes a lot of sense.
In general, you need 20-25% more calories while breastfeeding than if not. Add in the fact you also need more carbohydrate (whether ingested or produced by the body) and you can likely find you'll want/need at-minimum 25-30% more ingested carbohydrate than before you were breastfeeding.
There's likely no reason to ever be under 50g dietary carbohydrate per day for a nursing mom.
The most important factors are to keep your calories and hydration up. There are, unfortunately, instances (though rare) of ketoacidosis occurring in mothers who were LCHF/Keto and extremely hypocaloric.2 -
Thank you all for these responses. I've had trouble finding any support for low carb while breastfeeding. I intend to drink a gallon of liquid per day, and that will include electrolyte water just in case. I did low-carb prior to getting pregnant with my now two year old, then again once he was born, but haven't done it since before I was pregnant with my now 8 month old. (I couldn't breastfeed my older son past one month.) Low carb seems to be the only thing that works for me, but I'm hesitant to get started again while breastfeeding. I'm meeting with a nurse practitioner on the 4th to discuss a plan. Many women report the weight just melting off of them while nursing; I'm the opposite.
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@RebekahR84 let us know how it goes; hope it goes well for you! I only nursed my twins for a month and even with two I didn't see the calories "melting off." During my twin pregnancy and nursing I was following nutrition guidelines specifically to multiple pregnancies (definitely not low carb, though it was fairly high protein) but the pp's responses make a lot of sense. If I were BFing I'd probably aim for 80-120 gm carbs/day, somewhere in there and see how it goes. I'd go on the lower end if it didn't seem to affect supply or how I felt in a negative way.1
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I was almost keto level and breastfed my youngest son for 21 months. Never had any supply problems. At 21 mo. he self-weaned.
All you need is proper hydration, good electrolyte levels, and enough calories. The body will make good milk as long as those conditions are met.macchiatto wrote: »@RebekahR84 let us know how it goes; hope it goes well for you! I only nursed my twins for a month and even with two I didn't see the calories "melting off." During my twin pregnancy and nursing I was following nutrition guidelines specifically to multiple pregnancies (definitely not low carb, though it was fairly high protein) but the pp's responses make a lot of sense. If I were BFing I'd probably aim for 80-120 gm carbs/day, somewhere in there and see how it goes. I'd go on the lower end if it didn't seem to affect supply or how I felt in a negative way.
I think that's a safe rec. I'm pretty sure I hung around 50 myself. I wasn't counting carbs, but based on the kind of foods I was eating, I'd say that's a good estimate. I drank enough, got enough salt and mag and felt great.
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Check out kellymom.com and search her articles on diet and breastfeeding.1
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macchiatto wrote: »@RebekahR84 let us know how it goes; hope it goes well for you! I only nursed my twins for a month and even with two I didn't see the calories "melting off." During my twin pregnancy and nursing I was following nutrition guidelines specifically to multiple pregnancies (definitely not low carb, though it was fairly high protein) but the pp's responses make a lot of sense. If I were BFing I'd probably aim for 80-120 gm carbs/day, somewhere in there and see how it goes. I'd go on the lower end if it didn't seem to affect supply or how I felt in a negative way.
Twins?! What a challenge! You're a superwoman.
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Update: the nurse practioner, who also happens to be a lactation consultant, approved my diet. She is okay with me starting the day out with a bulletproof coffee to ensure I get the good fats in early. She says, if I start to see a drop in supply, to add even more calories/fat.2
