Dieting and exercise while EBF

[angelandbump]

My LO is 12weeks today and I desperately need to loose weight for my kids and my self.
All the info from health professionals and online are conflicting.

I am a curvaceous size 20 and I need to loose 5stones to achieve a healthy BMI. I also suffer with PCOS and I carry most of my excess weight around my stomach and thighs.

I done slimming world and lost two stones in 3months before I was pregnant but then my weightless halted and I have since found out that it is one of the worst diets to do when you have PCOS.

I want to do a low carb diet but want to make sure that's save to do so and also wanted to know what exercise is safe to do?

Xx

 

[ickle pand]

Why is slimming world bad if you have PCOS? It's fairly low GI, which is what's recommended for PCOS. I'm not sure what diet is appropriate while breastfeeding but I'm watching with interest since I have PCOS, am a size 20 and have a 12 week old too

 

[angelandbump]

The gp I was speaking to said slimming world encourages you to eat loads of carbs what is best to avoid when you have PCOS. The gp actually also has PCOS and she does the dukan diet but she highly advised against doing that while bf.

The more I research about a low carb diet and PCOS, the more successful I think it will be for me but there is no info on a low carb diet and bf.

Ickle pand, have you lost weight bf or have you stayed the same since having LO? X

 

[Pielette]

I don't diet as such, but I eat paleo, or primal as it's sometimes called. It means eating clean and eating as cavemen would have. Meat, fish, veggies, fruits (although not too many as they're high in natural sugar), nuts, eggs and dairy. Some people don't eat dairy as cavemen wouldn't have eaten that but I do as my system is fine with it. No refined sugar, no wheat, no gluten, no potatoes either as they're not great for you.

Basically what you need is protein and good fats. A typical dinner for me - sausage casserole with veggies, chicken wrapped in bacon stuffed with cheese and veggies, salmon roasted in coconut milk (extremely good for you).

You need your good fats. Diet and so called low fat stuff is not good for you because they load it with sugar. Whole fat butter is much better than low fat spread.

I exercise 3 times a week, I do spinning and weight training.

I haven't noticed any impact on my supply. I'm also ebf.

Eating this way helps me as I have a gluten intolerance, plus I'm back to my pre pregnancy weight (the one before both my babies).

You don't have to cut down on your portion sizes eating this way, you can eat as much as you need. Plus what keeps you fuller for longer is protein.

I hope that might help a bit.

 

[ickle pand]

To be honest I haven't weighed myself. I'm struggling to get into a routine with housework etc and I didn't want to put any more pressure on myself but I'm still wearing maternity clothes as I was a size 16 when I got pregnant and nothing else fits. I lost a lot of weight last year (6.5 stones) so that I'd be eligible for fertility treatment and got down to a size 14 so that's what size the bulk of my clothes are. I lost that weight doing Lighter Life which is definitely not suitable for bfing.

Rather than looking at low carb, maybe low GI would be better. It does mean you eat less carbs but you're using ones that don't spike your blood sugar as much so things like whole meal bread rather than white, avoiding certain fruits that are high in sugar.

Eta - I found this link about dieting and bfing on Kellymom. There's some good tips there about how to avoid affecting your supply.

 

[SjandPeanut]

Perhaps rather than a 'diet' a closer look at your current eating habits would be better?

I don't know about diets when breast feeding but friends ( and my mum) have had great success with My Fitness Pal. Just by monitoring food intake you make better choices and realise where you are going wrong eg snacking and not eating proper meals.

I'm planning in starting the 30 day shred after New Years. I don't have much time to exercise with a young hungry baby, a toddler and two dogs.

X

 

[Ninagrrl]

Wanted to share that while I was pregnant I went on a grain free crash diet to jump start my GD care and found out I am gluten intolerant. I cut all wheat and gluten out of my diet and lost 15 lbs without changing anything else. I still ate other grains like rice and corn and of course ate more vegetable carbs to balance things out. Honestly, I have tried low fat, low carb and combinations of and nothing has ever worked as good as cutting refined sugar and going gluten free. It's worth a try for anyone where traditional dieting has halted after only a minimal loss. I also am bigger around the middle and lost 6lbs in 4 days alone from the gas build up caused by gluten which drastically reduced my belly size.

My daughter is 2.5 weeks and already I am 4lbs lighter then prepregnancy weight.