Dieting whilst breastfeeding

[colette]

I intend to feed my ds (now 8 weeks ) for as long as possible,but am feeling depressed about my weight. I am 1.5 stone heavier than pre-pregnancy . I appreciate it will be a very slow process and I will have to ensure I eat as healthily as possible and fit in more exercise.
I am thinking of joining a Rosemary Conley class, but a friend who is also a Dr. said you need to maintain a reasonable intake of fat whilst b/f. I am confused as to what a reasonable amount is and my other concern re dieting and b/f is that I am not eating enough calcium . I have had sore joints and have wondered if there is a connection- thinking about it I drink very little milk and have cut right down on cheese .
Any advice on dieting whilst b/f and what I should be eating per day to ensure an adequate intake of calcium.
Thanks

Collette ... I do sympathise ... I put on a lot of weight in my first pregnancy and I seem to be going the same way now (18 weeks).
However, if I were you I would wait a bit longer ... until 6 months if you can (I read somewhere that b/fing mothers shouldn't diet until then) and then join Weight Watchers. They do an excellent breastfeeding weight loss program. I lost my pg weight with them very easily (although I was not breastfeeding by then) and am now a life time member so I am not that worried about the weight I am putting on this time although it is depressing ...
I have a good friend who has lost 18 kg through their breastfeeding program ... she has not had a problem with her supply either.
I would really recommend WW as their b/fing program is specially designed for you. Don't try to diet alone as you could harm your supply.
I drink very little milk and cheese (only do because I am pg ... normally I am dairy free) ... you can get extra calcium from other things ... green vegetables (brocoli) greed leafy vegetables (spinach) and oily fish (sardines and pilchards ... the tinned kind are excellent sources of calcium) ...
Also have you considered takeing nutritional supplements? I can recommend some excellent ones but you will have to e-mail me on contact another talker as I don't want to advertise and be told off.
HTH

Thanks Ghosty
I could try increasing the exercise- a lot . I just seem to run out of day. I really don't want to be this size for long .
Maybe you won't put on as much weight this time, one of my downfalls was eating cheese on toast most nights

Thanks Ghosty
I could try increasing the exercise- a lot . I just seem to run out of day. I really don't want to be this size for long .
Maybe you won't put on as much weight this time, one of my downfalls was eating cheese on toast most nights

You can diet and breastfeed. It won't affect your milk etc - that's a myth. Try Weightwatchers if you can get to a class, or any other respectable course. Lack of calcium won't cause painful joints but low fat products are as good for calcium as high fat ones and if you are worried take a supplement (Osteocare is a good one). 20lbs isn't bad - I was much worse (!) but losing the weight won't hurt your breastfeeding - after all, you only put on the weight to lose it afterwards via breastfeeding and activity anyway.

BTW, a normal diet will NOT harm your supply.

Sorry aloha ... that was what I have read and heard. Obviously my mistake.
Anyway Colette ... I think for some people dieting whilst breastfeeding is hard because breastfeeding makes you hungry (I know I was always starving when I was b'fing) which is why the weightwatchers b/fing program is good because they give you loads of extra points so that you don't get hungry but still lose weight.

I don't know anything scientifically however I do know that must of the mums in third world countries manage to breast feed their children during famines etc. Probably not a good analogy but like you Colete I'm feeling decidedly down because of the surpless fat that I've left with post pregnancy.

If you do contact weight watchers I would be interested to hear what they say.

I'm also utterly fed up with feeling like a beached whale, and want to try dieting. I was afraid to diet because I was so overwhelmingly ravenous at first, but now that my appetite is normal and dd is happy with solids, I'm going to have a stab at food-combining, because that worked well for me before I had children and it's also a very healthy way of eating.

Basically:

Don't eat animal protein with 'starches', eg, no potatos or root veg with your steak, but as much veg-that-grows-over-the-ground as you like; but you can pasta or potatoes with things like beans or lentils.

Fruit and drink must always be before or between meals, not with or after (they're supposed to move on out of the stomach faster than, say, meat).

Cut down on all fats except uncooked olive oil, so you can have as much proper salad dressing as you want.

And the real toughy is cut down on sugars - ie choc 'n' bickies (but then would have to do that with any diet!).

And I'm starting when we get back from holiday (the hotel chef is too good ).

Something that I have found very helpful is/was the 'rather less than 100 sit-ups a day club' thread. It seems to have faded away, so I'm going to try warming it up again. Going down a size on my tummy just from doing a few sit-ups was SO encouraging!

HTH

I think I will phone up before going to a class nd see hat impression I get - ie; are they just trying to drum up numbers or do they know their stuff?
Ghosty I thought I had heard of not dieting until baby is 6 mnths too. Don't understand the significance unless it has something to do with introducing solids.
Boyandgirl tell me about your tummy reduction - if I get rid of some of my tummy I would be so happy.

soory about sp trying to b/f at the same time

Weightwatchers will not accept a breastfeeding mother in a class until your baby is at least 6 months old. Even then there is a separate plan for breastfeeding mothers (more points )

So there must be something about getting baby to 6 months/solids. Since dd2 is only 2 weeks thats a long way to go. In the meantime I could literally eat all day long so I'm trying to fill the house with fruit, veg and low cal meals. On the basis that I can't stop quantity so will concentrate on lowering the desire to stuff my face with biscuits. I went shopping yesterday and bought my dd1 some dolly mixture cookies (a recent addition to Tesco's range) but when we got back to the car what did I eat... The bananas or the cookies? Hmm no points for guessing that it wasn't the bananas!

You can join ww, they just ask you to get the OK from your dr first if you are breastfeeding a baby under six months. There is no reason not to diet sensibly while breastfeeding - there are quite a few studies on this which I posted on another recent thread on this subject. However you can't join ww until the baby is 6weeks and you've had your postnatal check. By six weeks you will probably begin to get an idea if you are losing weight anyway, which definitely happens to some people.

I got this book from Amazon:

"Eat Well, Lose Weight While Breastfeeding: The Complete Nutrition Book for Nursing Mothers, Including a Healthy Guide to the Weight Loss Your Doctor Promised"

by Eileen Behan

If I'd followed her plan I'm pretty sure it would have worked, but I didn't because I'm basically too lazy!

She's a dietician who takes great pleasure in explaining a lot of breastfeeding myths about what you can and can't eat.

There's a great chapter on caffeine which scared me a little, but otherwise she's very much an "eat as much as you want as long as it's the right stuff" kind of nutritionist.

I joined Slimming World when my baby was 9 weeks old. Although I was not given extra points or whatever - there is so much 'free food' - that I was able to eat loads and never felt hungry. I also went to the gym at 6 weeks too! I had 3 stone to loose so it was necessary. The only thing about Rosemary Conely is that it is extreamly low fat and there is an exercise class which may or may not be suitable for post-natal. Weight Watchers or Slimming World maybe better, but any sensible eating plan would be OK. I think far to many people use breastfeeding as an excuse to eat a load of fatty foods as they are always hungry, on Slimming World I could eat a jkt potato and beans freely if I was hungry, keeping a supply of jkt pots inthe fridge meant that I could have it within 10 mins, which helped those 'goota eat' times.

It's six weeks, not six months that WW (in the UK at least) ask you to wait before joining. You just have to tick a box saying you have had your 6 week check and your GP is happy for you to join .( does ANYONE actually ask their doctor?)
I joined while still fully breastfeeding my baby when he was three months old.In fact he used to come to the class with me until he was about 8 months and I often fed him in the class.
It took me four months to reach my goal and lose 22 pounds ( though I did go on to lose more)
I found it very helpful. I could have 28 points ( all food is allocated a points value based on calories and saturated fat) a day which was quite a lot - much easier than the 18 a day I am on now!

sorry aloha, just realised I repeated everything you said

I am a not sure if I should join the RC or not. I phoned up and the woman said it was fine if you're b/f - and that I would not be concentrating on calories as much as overall diet. I mentioned bringing ds and she said it is a very busy class and he wouldn't be covered for insurance purposes(against accidents!!) but it was ok to bring him.
Strangely enough this has put me off a bit.
I may try and find a w/w or s.world that I can go to in the day as dd is at school in the mornings. I am interested in any more tips

colette if it helps my baby was always made incredibly welcome at the ww meetings and there were always plenty of volunteers to hold him while I got weighed. Same goes for other women who used to bring their babies.

Thanks Jasper that is exactly the attitude I expected and maybe it would be like that. I will look at w/w classes. I am a bit wary as dr friend said I would need to eat a reasonable amount of fat whilst b/f and RC might not be suitable. I think I will try not to be impatient and find the right class which will be difficult as I need a class that is on in the day and I can walk to.

check www.slimming-world.co.uk to find the nearest class.

Collette - It's not a good idea to diet while you are b/fing a baby under 6 months. No it won't hurt your milk supply but it may harm you. You body use all the nutrition for milk production and you take what's left. If their is not enough then you go with out. Anaemia is common but you may suffer from other complaints although rare.
Think of the extra calories you are using by b/fing. the older ds gets, the more calories you'll use up. Running round after ds, lifting him etc. will increase your exercise and he'll be increasing you lifting weight too!!
Eat healthily and you'll lose a certain amount and then diet when ds is 6 months not long now. Look on the bright side you won't be on a diet at christmas!!

I read an interview with Elle Macphearson the other day where she said 6 months out of her life being fat and not dieting was a good price to pay for breastfeeding.

Good sentiment but her idea of fat isn't necessarily the same as us mortals. I still have around half a stone to go and my dd is 10 months old. I have lost 2 stone by eating normally and not dieting so take things slowly.

I have disagreed (politely ) with aloha on this before and personally wouldn't diet when breastfeeding.

Honestly, it won't hurt to diet. Lots of studies show this. Your milk is the same, and your baby grows just as fast as the baby of a non-dieting mother. In fact, you don't actually need extra calories IF you have extra fat on your body - the fat is on your body after pregnancy for the very purpose of being used up for breastfeeding. If you are overweight you have lots of 'fuel' for breastfeeding and won't need extra in your diet. Also the ww diet is very well balanced and you are probably far less likely to have a deficiency of any kind with it than by sitting about eating biscuits (yes, I was that biscuit woman). Anaemia and breastfeeding aren't linked. In fact, as breastfeeding suppresses periods it can actually help! I never lost a pound while breastfeeding, nor by running about after him - esp as he's as idle as I am by nature . Have lost weight with ww though. I know how depressing and soul destroying it is to feel trapped in a fat lady's body after having a baby. I have spent two miserable summers refusing to go in the pool because I loathe my body so much, and am determined this has to stop. I wish I'd started with ww earlier and had 28 points every day. That's tons of food!

Oliveoil, have you seen Elle Mcpherson recently???? She's a rake! If I was like you and had found it easy to lose two stone I would be thrilled beyond words. But I haven't and I didn't. Some of us find extra weight very resistant. It's simply not enough to go back to our previous eating habits. It's not healthy to be overweight. And you don't have to be fat to breastfeed so I don't understand this idea of fat being 'the price' you pay to breastfeed. There's no medical logic in it at all. In fact, I think it puts people off breastfeeding, because they think you can't diet at the same time, so people give up breastfeeding in order to try to lose weight (yes, I do know people who have done this) and I think that's a shame.