Breastfeeding and dieting - are they incompatible?

[Emma7]

Oh my god I just weighed myself for the first time after having DD nearly 6 weeks ago and I've put on 2 stone
Normally I wouldn't give a toss for now but I am a bridesmaid for SIL in December and dress is bought so have to do something about it. My DD is obviously my top priority though and don't want to effect my milk supply - what do you advise?
I will cut out crisps, chocolate, cake and other junk. Should I go for low fat or low calorie foods? Should I cut down on bread/pasta/rice? I will start to take DD for a push round the block every day now that the weather is better but haven't got time to go to the gym.

[emkana]

I did Weight Watchers after having dd2 and lost 4 and a half stone. Worked very well, and was easy to stick to, I can only recommend it!

[emkana]

I did Weight Watchers after having dd2 and lost 4 and a half stone. Worked very well, and was easy to stick to, I can only recommend it!

[foundintranslation]

I wouldn't necessarily cut down on complex carbs, but try not to eat the refined kind (white bread, white rice etc.). Complex ones (wholemeal bread/pasta, brown rice...) leave you feeling fuller quicker too.
Maybe use a bit less oil etc. when cooking and less butter on your bread, and cutting out junk is always a good idea, but I wouldn't advise dieting as such - just making sure you are eating a lot of nutritious foods, fruit, veg. Then a nice brisk walk every day and you should start seeing some effects. December is a long way away :)

[foundintranslation]

[mini hijack] how are you today em?

[emkana]

Sorry went out then! I'm fine, enjoying the sunshine and feeling surprisingly energetic.

How are you? (If you come back to this that is!)

[coppertop]

You may find that the weight drops off anyway because of the breastfeeding. I'm trying to lose some weight too but by doing the kinds of things that foundintranslation suggests rather than an actual diet IYSWIM. I'm also bf'ing dd and probably losing about 2lbs a week (sometimes more, sometimes less).

[FrannyandZooey]

Losing 2 stone in 6 months sounds quite likely to happen naturally if you are breastfeeding, IMO. I've lost more than that since giving birth and I eat like a horse (albeit mostly healthy stuff).

I would eat as much as you want of lean protein, complex carbs such as brown bread, wholemeal pasta, brown rice, oats etc, fruit, veg, low fat milk, yogurt, cheese in moderation, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils etc, with things like malt loaf and fruit cake and wholemeal scones for when you are pecky and need energy.

Don't eat low calorie style foods such as yogurts and soft drinks because the artificial sweeteners will get through to your baby. Just give yourself some time to recover from the birth and establish feeding before even thinking about limiting your food beyond eating healthily. If in August or September you have lost no weight at all then you can think about cutting down on your food a bit.

[tallulah]

My friend went on quite a strict diet after she had her second and had to give up bf by the time he was about 4 months because he wasn't putting on enough weight (having had so much milk when he was born that she was donating it to SCBU)

[shazronnie]

6 weeks is no time at all to lose baby weight; just eat sensibly and the bf will help it drop off by December - just don't use the bf as an excuse to eat cream cakes for breakfast, chips for lunch and mars bars for tea!

[tiktok]

That's sad for your friend, tallulah. Almost certainly the baby's weight issue was zero to do with her strict diet. We know from research that women on anything more than a starvation diet, and without a long history of poor intake, can make milk just fine for as long as they want to.

Mother's intake of calories is simply not reflected in the calories the baby gets from the milk.....even if she was told different by people who should know better :(

[shazronnie]

good point tiktok - we need to remember women have bf their babies through famine and war rationing.

[suzi2]

I would say that some of the weight will drop off naturally but don't fall into the trap I did. I found that as things got more and more hectic I started eating on the go and grabbing chocolate bars and the likes for an 'emergency' breakfast. I thought that I needed to eat loads to keep my milk good. I lost the 2.5 stone baby weight and have since put almost a stone back on. I'm not finding that dieting isn't working so I'm going to wait until I've stopped feeding DS and tackle it then.

Good luck

[Emma7]

Thanks, feel a bit better about it now
I eat quite healthily usually anyway and we eat wholemeal bread. I have been eating lots of biscuits/take aways/crisps etc since the birth because we have been so busy but now things have settled a bit will try to sort it out.