How to eat enough for supply but not so much you gain weight?

[MargeryDaw]

DD is 6 weeks. I feel like I've lost as much weight as I will naturally post birth and am now struggling to strike the right balance between getting enough calories for breastfeeding but not so much (or of the wrong things like biscuits and cakes) that I gain more weight. If I have a day of eating like I did pre baby I feel like it has a definite adverse effect on supply.

I also want to start exercising again but worried about the calories it will burn.

Am I over thinking this? Does anyone have any tips?

And yes I am enjoying my baby and it's obviously not all about getting my figure back!

I think you are overthinking. I lost a lot of weight last time and have no problem with supply. Our body prioritise making milk anyway. If you dont eat enough you will lose weight before milk is affected. I doubt you would be eating nothing, right?

I weren't dieting I just couldn't eat enough, btw. I gained back after stopping.

I think it's an element of trial and error because no one can know your metabolism or exactly how much your baby is taking.
I'm a big believer in listening to your cravings but not being dominated by them. I found I craved sweet biscuits so I ley myself have a 1 or 2 with cups of tea throughout the day but didn't give in to the temptation to scoff a whole packet.
Not sure about exercise personally - I found pushing my pram daily to shops, doctors, baby groups was enough to help me feel active and get some tone back, but then I'm not a gym goer - just prefer being active to formal exercise so not sure how that impacts on appetite...
Good luck, it's nice when you can start seeing beyond the baby fog of first few weeks!

Oh forgot about the exercise. I like fitness classes so I started yoga at 6 weeks or so and then continue at home. Then I went to two post natal exercise classes a week. They allow you to take baby with you. One is a standard floor class and the other is toning with baby. The toning one uses the baby as weight so its a lot of fun!

Have you considered joining a slimming club? I was worried about screwing up my supply so joined weight watchers. You have to eat more than women who aren't breastfeeding. I've been going for 10 days now. My supply is fine and i'm losing weight. My only issue is a few different coloured nappys but that is down to all the fruit.

I started SW when my DS was five weeks old and lost 2 1/2 stone in just over 6 months while breastfeeding. DS went from the 50th to the 91st centile in that time, so it certainly didn't affect him negatively! You can eat as much as you want so you never have to be hungry, it's just about making healthier choices and limiting junk food.

I find just listening to my appetite and hunger works and stopping eating when I am sated.

Thanks for the tips. I might look into a slimming club. Do they advise on exercise too though? I don't think I have much to lose just want to get back in shape and want to make sure I do that sensibly without affecting the feeding

What you eat and your milk supply aren't actually linked.

Mugoo is right, you can diet and exercise as much as you want. I dieted straight after and was back to running and weights within 4 weeks. Your supply isn't linked to your calorie intake at all.

I'm confused...I thought the recommendation was an extra 500 calories when feeding? Why would that be if not for supply?

As others have said, you'd have to be starving yourself to affect your milk. I mean seriously starving. I was back running 8 weeks post cs. Food wise, I eat/ate when hungry, just like normal.

It's to maintain your weight, you use up around 500 cals by ebf

The added calories don't make the milk no. Your body uses 200-500 calories a day whilst making milk and you might find you need to eat that much more to feel full or maintain your weight. Generally, you will make the milk as a priority and eating too much or too little affects you, not your milk. It's the equivalent of a couple of healthy snacks.

Thank you - that makes sense. No excuse for the biscuits then!

Also, fwiw, I kept plateauing and then losing weight for at least 9 months after both boys were born without doing anything special (other than wasting money on a few pairs of jeans when I was "sure I'd lost all the weight I was going to lose" - I promptly dropped a dress size and had to charity shop/eBay the jeans). Even if you feel like you've lost all the weight you're going to lose naturally, 6 weeks is really early days.

Just see what works for you and don't have any expectations! Everyone will be different. I don't put on a lot of weight when pg but do when b/f. The thought of dieting in the early days is horrendous to me! And when I have tried to exercise in the first six months it's resulted in injury and exhaustion. So whilst most people on this thread have a better experience than me you don't want to set yourself expectations that you may not be able to meet.

Eat when you're hungry (which in my case was a lot while BFing). Don't eat when you're not. And try to have healthy snacks around - like almonds, avocado, oatcakes, yoghurt - so you don't reach for the cake too much.

Oh and watch out for when you start weaning (either onto formula or onto solids) as your DS will be taking less milk so you won't need as much food. That's what caused my weight gain - keeping up the same levels of eating after weaning - I was slim until DD was 6 months and then put a load on!