High protien diet whilst breast feeding?

[vjv0224]

Am new to chat forums, so forgive any naivity. I am bf my 5 m.o. daughter (child no. 3) and I need to shift some weight. High protein method (not Atkins)has helped in the past but I haven't tried whilst bf. Does anyone know if it will affect my milk supply dramatically or not. This may not be the method of losing weight that everyone would choose but with three children under 5, I have enough to think about at the moment and the beauty of this method is that there is very little planning involved!!! Can anyone advise.

what you eat won't affect your milk supply as it remains pretty much the same till you start to approach starvation type food deprivation. what and how much you eat may affect how you feel when trying to look after 3 kids though. sorry have no experience with dieting.

vjv - I would advise against it only because from what I have read a high protein diet makes you feel like shit and it reduces your energy levels due to lack of carbs. Most people need a balanced diet to feel well and energetic and from what I have heard the Atkins diet doesn't do that, in fact it makes many people feel too lethargic.

If you read kellymom.com, she recommends not eating less than 1500 - 1800 calories a day to maintain your milk supply. If you intend on doing the Atkins thing any way, just keep the calorie level as suggested. Don't starve yourself ! Good luck !

ps - after 2.5 years of eating like a pig while still bf my toddler son ; ) I have finally decided to lose weight (I need to lose about 1.5 stone), but with a balanced diet through weightwatchers. WW and some others will tell you how much extra you need to eat while bf.