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

Mears is absolutely right "dieting" is the wrong word if that means really restricting your diet with the aim of losing weight fast. The only thing that works long term is balanced, healthy eating. And that won't cause you any problems whilst breastfeeding - go right ahead and lose weight gradually and sensibly by eating a wide variety of foods.

I'll fess up here that I am one of the lucky ones who lost weight whilst breastfeeding, while eating LOTS - but I do think in part that is due to the kinds of things I eat. Lunch at work is usually an enormous jacket potato - and it's so filling I then don't need to snack through the afternoon. Similarly breakfast involves lots of banana, natural yogurt, bread and keeps me going for hours.

Whilst I think it's great that celebs are coming out in support of breastfeeding it's terribly irresponsible to suggest it involves being a porker to do it successfully (here am I 5'4'', under 50kg (ca 7stone 3/4) and merrily breastfeeding my hale and hearty 13 month old dd!)

Pidge I am very envious
Right I am not putting it off I will go tomorrow and see how I get on . I know what eating healthily is and I need a structured plan of eating to follow.The class is a half hour walk each way so that will help as well.
I think I am a bit wary of going - I have never been to one of these classes before.

Prufrock, what was the answer to the pump and dump question? I am a moderate drinker and a breastfeeding mother, and am so interested to get some feedback on alchol and b/feeding, ie how much does really go through, and how much is too much?

colette you have absolutely hit the nail on the head in saying going to a class will give you a structured plan.
We all know how to lose weight - eat less, move more, but it is still very hard to do. That's why the structured plan offered by reputable clubs seems to help so many people to tweak their diet towards healthy eating and gradual steady, maintainable weight loss.
Good luck to you.

Quimble, this should help you

alcohol and breastfeeding

When I gave birth to my dd, I had 3and1/2 stones to lose, so I ate a bowl of corn flakes every day (for calcium and they are fortified with extra vitamins and iron etc.) If I was hungry between meals, I would sleep on it, so I couldn't eat all the time.

I didn't buy cakes or biscuits or chocolate (if I was craving for the stuff I would have to drive out to the 24hour petrol station), usuallly I couldn't be bothered. It took 6 months to get 3 stones off and 1 year until my stomach didn't bulge, by then I had found out I was pregnant again!

There was a difference in my milk supply when I had been active all day as my milk was runny like skimmed milk. When I had slept a lot during the day, my milk was like full fat milk. What you could do is keep an eye on it, to see that your milk supply is ok and is not affecting it.

Good luck.

ps. I breastfeed for 1 year.

Honeybunny, I think your observations of the quality of your milk have misled you - activity does really not make any difference to the quality of mother's milk. The fat content (that's the ingredient that makes the milk denser in colour) of milk does vary, but not with the activity of the mother. It varies with the amount of milk in the breast. The fuller the breast, the less fat (proportionately) in the milk, and vice versa (a breast that is less full will have milk that has more fat in it). This doesn't have to be engineered by the mother - the baby sorts out his intake just fine, and there is no need even to be aware of it.

What you will have seen (I speculate) on the days when you were out and about, would be the effect of not feeding your baby quite as often, so milk was removed from your breasts less frequently.

Mothers can eat what they like, do what they like......and the milk quality overall remains the same.

There is a technical overview of all of this here

I went to the class this morning - it seems fine. They advised me not to stick to a set amount of calories ,but to eat healthily. They also said it can take up to a year to get back to pre-preg weight
I didn't do exercise class as it had been an uphill walk and I felt worn out getting there- although the class shouldn't be too demmanding as at 39 there were probably only 2 people younger than me there. I am now going to try and read all the stuff .
She also said a lot of people gain weght whilst b/f due to hunger(understandable)

Bobsmum - the book you suggested is a very interesting read and extremely helpful (and I'm only on chapter 3!)

Thanks

Its a question really. I'm still breastfeeding ds2 whose 13 mnoths, he's not having a lot of milk just morning and night. I still can't shift last of prepregnanccy weight. i qwas thinknig of the atkins diet. Has anyone tried it when breastfeeding, particularly when only donig abit of feeding?

Just to back up some of the things others have said:
I came across a very interesting academic study of breastfeeding women (I think in Bangladesh), and their milk supply. I hope I can remember it all correctly. The study was looking at BMI (Body Mass Index, or your weight divided by your height). These women started out post-natally with BMIs that were already veering on below what we in the West might think of as "normal" (I think around 19.5-20?). Anyway, the point is, they went on to breastfeed for longer than comparable westerners, in spite of BMIs often dropping to levels we in the west would think of as very much too low (was it around 18-19?). The thing is, these technically underweight women had more milk (on average) at 6 months post-partum than western women. There was a lot of discussion why, but obviously being underweight hadn't ruined their milk supply.

I couldn't find the original study online, but this is another study on same topic.

Lisa1 - i'm no expert but I'm not sure a diet where a whole food group is cut out is a good idea whilst bfing. Agreed that your little one also has food but I wouldn't be sure. sorry

Lisa
I wouoldn't try the atkin diet whilst bfeeding as in the first two weeks you will have to trick your body into thinking you are starving and so it will go in Ketosis, a word for saying it will turn to its own fat to burn. Your metabolism will be faster as a result and you will be loosing water and fat at a fast rate (up to 14 lbs in 2 weeks!) and of course whatever your body is expelling could go in your milk: there are no studies to show that this cannot happen and Dr Atkin himself advices not to use the first phase of the diet (induction) if your pg or nursing. However I wouldn't try any other phase of the diet as there are no studies and the well being of your baby is more important than fitting back in your clothes fast