losing weight when breastfeeding

[woodward]

wanted to know any thoughts on how to lose weight while bf without reducing quality of milk?

[hercules1]

You'd have to be seriously malnourished for it to affect your milk.

[Romy7]

think weightwatchers have a programme for nursing mothers, but won't touch you whilst your pg...

[franch]

I found a low-GI diet very effective while BF. It's v healthy and fine for you to do

[Helgicita]

I recently bought a book by Eileen Behan :
Eat Well, Lose Weight While Breastfeeding: Complete Nutrition Book for Nursing Mothers, Including a Healthy Guide to Weight Loss Your Doctor Promised
It's good. It does recommend a very slow weight loss, but the general idea is that you are careful to make sure that you are having plenty of fruit and veg a day and several portions of carbs and proteins. I've started following it - and I'm eating quite alot less but i don't think I've lost any weight but I do feel better. I found with DC1 I started to lose weight once he was about 7 months onwards, when I wasn't bfing quite so much ie he was having more solids. I'm not one of those people who lose loads of weight just because they're bfing - unfortunately!

[VictorianSqualor]

Just stick to the basics on losing weight at any time and you'll be fine.

Drink plenty of water.

No bad snacks, only snack if you've quenched your thirst and waited 5 minutes (it really does help, plus if you drink water your mouth tastes neutral and the thought of adding anything sweet to it is quite off-putting).

All carbs, or as many as possible to be good crabs, not empty things like crisps and cake and white bread.

Three decent meals a day.

Plan your food, If I know I'm going to be eating cake at MiL's for example, I'd make sure everything else was good substantial food, if I am eating lasagne and jacket spud, I wouldn't try not to have any other carbs during the day etc.

Exercise, a small amount, just to get your metabolism kicking in, it can be chair exercises, doesn't have to be running or something, for me it's just getting one less bus a day and walking instead.

Dieting won't effect your milk, it may make you tired and hungry, but your milk will be fine.

[Bluebutterfly]

If you diet whilst breastfeeding your baby will be fine (as long as your diet is balanced). However, my experience of bfing was that it made me very hungry and very tired. I lost weight for the first 5 mths after pgy, but then my weight loss kind of plateaued until I stopped bfing and had more energy for exercise and was a little less famished all the time.

Can I suggest that rather than dieting you spend the time that you are bfing going on long walks in the fresh air with the buggy between feeds and just eat a varied diet with lots of vegetables and fruit - you may find that it helps you maintain a healthier lifestyle in the long run and losing weight will be a more organic thing...