Will dieting affect milk supply?

[Supercherry]

I would like to start trying to lose a few pounds but I don't want to affect my milk supply. Currently breastfeeding my 13wk old DS2.

My usual way of losing weight is to really cut back for a week or so to shift the weight quickly (not the most sensible I realise but it has always worked for me).

Would quite extreme dieting affect supply?

Many thanks for any replies.

mjinhiding, do you mind if I ask what your experience was?

I'm breastfeeding and have lost about 4 kgs in a month, following the advice of a dietician.

My daily diet:

Breakfast:
1 small glass of orange juice
2 slices of bread with cheese spread (or very little nutella, twice a week)

Lunch:
meat/chicken/fish + 7 tablespoons of pasta/rice

• salad/vegetables + 1 fruit

Afternoon snack:
Coffee with sugar and three biscuits

Dinner:
Same as lunch (except no fruit)

Evening snack:
Yoghurt and three biscuits

It's actually a lot of food and I don't feel hungry at all. The trick is to avoid putting butter or other oil on rice, or, when you are eating pasta, choosing a low-calorie pasta sauce and putting little of it on. Also, only three tablespoons of olive oil per day - on salad or in cooked dishes.

Thanks Cotedazur. That seems a very sensible meal plan and I'm sure I would lose the weight gradually if I followed something similar. What I really want to know though is if quite extreme dieting affects supply?

No dieting will not affect breastfeeding at all. Tis a myth. Only severe starving/malnutrition will do this and I mean severe.

BUT, severely restricting your diet/calorie intake whilst feeding may make you feel crappy.

Just eat healthily and move more.

It's much healthier to lose weight slowly and sensibly. More than 2lbs a week and you're not losing fat anyway, you're compromising lean tissue.

What Showofhands said.

Thanks Showofhands, that's what I wanted to know.

That's interesting about the losing lean muscle rather than fat too. Bit pointless dieting too much then really. Why would the body burn off muscle before fat?

Dietician told me that she couldn't restrict my food intake dramatically, because it would affect my milk supply. I'm not sure if she meant quantity or quality.

I wouldn't go the way of "extreme dieting" while breastfeeding.

You're right CoteDazur, extreme dieting isn't sensible. For me though, it's tempting, as it's what I've always done to shift a few pounds fast (impatient emoticon). I wouldn't jeapordise my supply though. Hence, me asking the question.

losing weight while breast feeding wont upset your babies feeding,as long as you dont starve your self. i breast fed untill my little girl was 20month old she is now 21 month old, i lost the weight i joined weight watchers and they advise you if breast feeding.i lost 2 stone plus breast feeding helps to lose the weight also.

I lost 2 stone with WW too and no probs with feeding

I wouldn't recommend Lighter Life for anybody but it's not suitable for a bfing woman because of her health.

Your body does burn fat first but only around 2 lbs a week and after that it's muscle, lean tissue, water etc. It's more sensible to just adopt a manageable lifestyle that involves healthy eating and regular exercise.

Bfing does use calories too. It didn't help me lose weight though. Getting back into running did.

Dieting does not affect milk quantity or quality, nor does stress or the amount of water you drink or the size of your breasts.

It's about how responsively and effectively your baby feeds in the majority of cases.

Thank you for sharing your experience mjinhiding, that's pretty cool that you could eat all that food and still lose weight.

Thank you everyone for the advice. Might just try a week of cutting back and see how things go.

I have a party to go to next week and I will be seeing a lot of people I haven't seen for a while and I just wanted to look good- sad isn't it?