How to Diet While Breastfeeding

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After 9 long months of pregnancy and weight gain, many new moms quickly begin thinking about dieting in hopes of losing some of that extra weight. Nursing mothers often consider dieting long before their baby is ready to stop breastfeeding. While going on a “diet” is not recommended while nursing, there are several safe and healthy ways for nursing mothers to change their diet without compromising the quality and quantity of breast milk available for their babies. Losing weight while you’re nursing is not as difficult as you may think. In fact, by breastfeeding, you are burning approximately 200-500 calories per day, which puts you at an advantage over mothers who formula feed their babies.

Steps

Set Realistic Goals In order to avoid frustration when attempting to lose weight, understand that satisfactory results will not happen over night. The production of sufficient nutritional breast milk requires tremendous work on the body’s part. Work with your body’s efforts rather than against them and don’t rush it.

1. Take it slow. Decrease your caloric intake gradually so as not to interfere with the production of a good milk supply. Realize that it may take up to a year to return to your pre-pregnancy weight.
2. Expect to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week or 6 pounds per month total. Losing weight too rapidly can diminish your milk supply and fail to produce enough nutrients for your baby. Aim for slow and steady weight loss.

Know What to Avoid There are several things that you should avoid while aiming to reach your weight goal to keep your baby safe and healthy.

1. Do not attempt to change your diet in the first 2 months after your baby’s birth. Your body needs a chance to establish a healthy milk supply. Cutting calories at this stage can affect your energy level and diminish your milk supply.
2. Refrain from rapid weight loss, which can release toxins into your milk and pose a danger to your baby.
   • A large percentage of the toxins that we acquire through chemicals in the environment, the foods we eat and the air we breathe are stored in our fat cells. When we diet, we flush fat and toxins out of our fat cells. Some of those toxins get into the blood and end up circulating into the breast milk, and are then passed along to the baby. Your baby will have enough of a challenge avoiding and fighting off toxins in the environment; the last thing you want to do is expose him to more toxins.
3. Hold off on alcohol consumption. High empty calorie content is associated with alcoholic beverages and though an occasional light alcoholic drink probably will not harm your baby, it does enter the breast milk and can affect your baby by causing drowsiness and irritable sleep. Additionally, the large number of calories can affect weight loss efforts.
4. Limit your consumption of caffeine to allow for healthy fluid intake.
   • Experts recommend consuming no more than 300 mg of caffeine per day when breast feeding to avoid passing it on to your baby. Caffeine can cause irritability in breastfed babies, as well as interfere with baby’s normal sleeping patterns. Some breastfed babies become fussy or develop gassiness if their mom consumes excess caffeine.
   • Keep in mind that aside from coffee and tea, caffeine is also in chocolate, soft drinks, energy drinks, and some foods. Always check food labels to determine the caffeine content.
5. Don’t count calories. Nursing women generally require 1500 to 2700 calories per day to effectively produce a sufficient milk supply. Listen to your body and follow its clues. Allow your hunger to determine when you should eat.
6. Pass up those quick weight loss solutions. Do not attempt to lose weight with the use of weight loss medication, liquid diets or fad diets. Remember you want to continue to offer your baby a healthy and nutritious supply of breast milk.
7. Refrain from filling up on empty calories that are found in junk foods. Make the calories you take in count by choosing healthy foods.
   • Steer clear of packaged and processed foods that often have little to no nutritional value.
   • As often as possible, try to stick with a diet that contains mostly whole foods in their natural state. Fill up on fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, eggs, beans, legumes and low-fat dairy products.

Aim for Success There are some simple ways for you to ensure a better diet outcome. A little effort on your part can produce some very rewarding results.

1. Eat small meals and eat them more frequently. This can be satisfactory for hunger and will prevent your body from going into starvation mode.
   • Instead of eating 3 large meals per day, opt for 3 small meals and 2 to 3 small snacks per day for a total of 5 to 7 overall meals per day. Eating this way will help keep your metabolism revving all day, which will help you burn more fat and calories while at rest.
2. Eat a variety of nutritious healthy foods. By mixing up your food selections you help ensure that your body is getting food from all of the food groups. Work at limiting your intake of the same foods repeatedly and trying to expand your palette.
3. Balance your diet by incorporating a good balance of carbohydrates, healthy fat and proteins into your diet. The feeling of fullness that you obtain from these healthy nutrients will last longer. Additionally, these foods will provide proper nutrition to your body.
4. Add fish to your diet. Some fish contain large amounts of omega 3 fatty acids, which are important in the development of your baby’s eyes and brain. Salmon, lake trout, tilapia, catfish, crab and shrimp are all excellent choices. Up to 12 oz. of fish per week is the usual recommendation for pregnant or nursing women.
5. Add healthy fats to your diet. Look for polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Stay clear of saturated fats and trans-fats which can sabotage your diet efforts and are bad for your health. Studies have shown that the ingestion of unhealthy fats can change the quality of breast milk. Always check the labels on food items prior to purchasing.
6. Drink plenty of water to flush your body and prevent dehydration. Water is also a good way to ward off hunger for a little while longer.
7. Get at least 16 cups of fluids per day when breastfeeding. This includes the fluids you take in from food sources such as fruits and vegetables. Staying hydrated while breastfeeding is important both for maintaining an adequate milk supply and boosting your weight loss efforts.
8. Eat fresh, whole foods. Incorporate plenty of fruits and vegetables into your diet. Fresh produce is chock full of fiber, not to mention an abundance of healthy vitamins and minerals. Fiber-rich foods will help you stay fuller for longer, which means less snacking and less overall calorie intake.
9. Keep your protein intake up to prevent loss of muscle. The recommended protein intake is 62 - 65 grams per day for pregnant or nursing women.
10. Exercise moderately to burn more fat and pump up muscle mass. The more muscle mass that you have, the more calories those muscles will burn. In addition, there is some belief that exercise can help stave off cravings for sweets.

Pay Attention to Contaminates Keep in mind that despite your dieting efforts, you are still trying to provide the best nutrition to your baby as you possibly can. Being exposed to chemicals can interfere with your hormones and stall your weight loss efforts. Most importantly, environmental chemicals could affect your baby's long-term health.

1. Avoid unnecessary exposure to pesticides and insecticides in the food you purchase for consumption. Pesticides can significantly interfere with normal hormone function, which can lead to added weight gain and difficulty losing excess weight. Choosing only organic foods will remove much of the threat of consuming pesticide-laden foods. Public demand has made it much easier to locate stores that carry organic products.
2. Buy local produce as often as possible. Foods that travel longer distances often have higher pesticide levels. When given the choice between organic, non-local foods and non-organic local foods, many health professionals agree that local foods are often the best option, even if they are not organic. Babies are especially susceptible to the hormone-altering effects of pesticides in food. These harmful chemicals are passed onto babies during breastfeeding.
3. Choose seasonal produce for your area. Chances are that if the food you are contemplating purchasing is out of season where you live, it has more than likely been shipped in from elsewhere. The further it has traveled, the more likely it is to have pesticides and the greater the amount of chemicals likely to be in the food.
4. Help remove the potential harmful effects of pesticides by washing foods well and peeling the skin off whenever possible. The majority of pesticides in fruits and vegetables are found in the skin, as pesticides tend to linger on the surface of the foods they touch.
5. Know which foods are considered the highest for pesticide levels and try to avoid them if they are not organic. If you simply have to have them, be certain to put some extra effort into cleaning them before consuming.
   • Potatoes, blueberries, strawberries, spinach, celery, apples, bell peppers and kale are some of the most chemically contaminated foods.
6. Look for lean meat options. Before cooking, remove as much the skin and as much of the fat as possible. Fat can store the harmful chemicals that you are trying to avoid.
7. Drink water that has been filtered in some form. Purchase bottles of water or invest in a filtration system. Tap water has been found to carry small amounts of chemicals that can disrupt hormones and interfere with weight loss. Additionally, those chemicals can be passed onto your baby via breast milk.

Add Supplements to Your Diet There are several ways to supplement your diet with healthy nutrients. Supplements can be incorporated into your diet, which will provide good, healthy nutrition for you and your baby.

1. Speak to your health care provider about possibly continuing on your prenatal vitamins. Many physicians recommend that nursing mothers continue taking their prenatal vitamins to ensure that they remain in good health while nursing.
   • Babies who are breastfed will obtain most, if not all, of the vitamins and minerals that they need from their mother’s breast milk. Nursing moms, however, often fall short on their nutritional needs if they are not eating a well-balanced diet. When cutting back on calories in an attempt to lose weight, a prenatal vitamin is often recommended.
2. Consider adding calcium supplements. The recommended calcium dose for nursing mothers is 1,000 milligrams per day. Adding more than that amount can lead to an increased risk of kidney stones and is therefore not recommended.
3. Consider adding Vitamin D supplements. Recommendations for nursing mothers are 200 IU daily, while during pregnancy this number shoots up to 10,000 IU per week. This will aid in the absorption of calcium and may reduce the risk of osteoporosis, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Consider Various Weight Loss Methods There are numerous weight loss aids available to the public. As a breastfeeding mother trying to lose weight, you may find it beneficial to incorporate some of these methods into your diet program.

1. Locate a weight loss center that specializes in healthy weight loss for nursing mothers, such as Weight Watchers, which has a program designed specifically for breast feeding women.
2. Research specific diet plans such as the South Beach or Atkins diet. While you will not be able to attempt these diets while breastfeeding, you may be able to add some of the specific foods that are recommended in these programs to your diet. This is an effective way to keep your calorie content low while eating a variety of healthy, nutritious foods.

Warnings

• Be sure to always check with your health care provider prior to starting any diet program or incorporating the use of nutritional supplements.

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