Low carb diet and breast feeding

[Hope83]

Hey Ladies,
I know there have been some threads about weight loss recently, so please bare with me

I would just like some experience, tips and feedback regarding going on a low carb diet and bf'ing.
What to eat/ not to eat/ how much calories/ effects on milk supply/ benefits/ risks etc.

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Dream.dream]

Just an FYI on low carb diets in general the are not only no sustainable thy are actually dangerous for your health . There is a 1/3 increase in premature death in people on low carb diets and it ups your risk of dying from heart disease . It's because your body needs glucose to keep your cells going and when you have not enough carbs it has to break down protien a which is much harder

Diets don't work. Best thing to do is to follow the food guide and get more exercise.

As for calories the minimum amount for a breastfeeding mom is 1800 calories to maintain milk supply

 

[Hope83]

Just an FYI on low carb diets in general the are not only no sustainable thy are actually dangerous for your health . There is a 1/3 increase in premature death in people on low carb diets and it ups your risk of dying from heart disease . It's because your body needs glucose to keep your cells going and when you have not enough carbs it has to break down protien a which is much harder

Diets don't work. Best thing to do is to follow the food guide and get more exercise.

As for calories the minimum amount for a breastfeeding mom is 1800 calories to maintain milk supply

Thank You for your concern

I've been reading this page:
https://authoritynutrition.com/low-carb-diet-meal-plan-and-menu/

And it talks about eating real (non processed) food with low carbohydrate content (fish, meat, eggs, veggies,...). The idea behind it seems to make sense to me

 

[TMonster]

I don't know much but when I spoke with the lactation consultant about increasing the fat content of my milk she told me that the traditional inuit diet which is practically no carb but very high fat shows that their breast milk contains more fat but that the babies there need more because they are generally larger and its obviously much colder there.

Sorry I can't offer more advice.

 

[JenX]

I eat pretty low carb. I have to be gluten-free for my health, and am dairy and soy free due to my LO reacting to the proteins in my breastmilk. I follow a pretty clean, unprocessed diet with everything cooked from scratch. Plenty of meat, veggies, nuts, and seeds and a little bit of fruit. My biggest advice is to make sure you get enough healthy fats. I follow the general guidelines of the Primal Blueprint and have never been healthier and I have a great milk supply. I don't count calories at all, just eat well.

 

[Hope83]

I eat pretty low carb. I have to be gluten-free for my health, and am dairy and soy free due to my LO reacting to the proteins in my breastmilk. I follow a pretty clean, unprocessed diet with everything cooked from scratch. Plenty of meat, veggies, nuts, and seeds and a little bit of fruit. My biggest advice is to make sure you get enough healthy fats. I follow the general guidelines of the Primal Blueprint and have never been healthier and I have a great milk supply. I don't count calories at all, just eat well.

Thank You JenX!
Those were the encouraging words I was hoping for
I'll check out the primal blueprint later today.
I have been low carb for 2 days now and I'm feeling great. I'm not hungry at all during day, which is a good feeling for a change!

 

[JenX]

Great! Glad I could help. There are some wonderful recipes out there using almond flour if you get the urge. I make crackers, cake, and some amazing scones with it. I highly recommend using coconut oil in your cooking wherever you can as it is super healthy and very satisfying.

In the early months of breastfeeding I had some strong sugar cravings, so at the time I upped my carbs a bit with fruit, quinoa, and potatoes. Eventually the cravings subsided. Apparently it is fairly common to get sugar cravings especially in the early days of bf, so listen to your body and go for healthy carbs if you need to add any.

Good luck!

 

[Hope83]

Great! Glad I could help. There are some wonderful recipes out there using almond flour if you get the urge. I make crackers, cake, and some amazing scones with it. I highly recommend using coconut oil in your cooking wherever you can as it is super healthy and very satisfying.

In the early months of breastfeeding I had some strong sugar cravings, so at the time I upped my carbs a bit with fruit, quinoa, and potatoes. Eventually the cravings subsided. Apparently it is fairly common to get sugar cravings especially in the early days of bf, so listen to your body and go for healthy carbs if you need to add any.

Good luck!

Thanks again
Is almond flour just a better option than regular white flour? Or does it contain less carbohydrates?

 

[JenX]

Great! Glad I could help. There are some wonderful recipes out there using almond flour if you get the urge. I make crackers, cake, and some amazing scones with it. I highly recommend using coconut oil in your cooking wherever you can as it is super healthy and very satisfying.

In the early months of breastfeeding I had some strong sugar cravings, so at the time I upped my carbs a bit with fruit, quinoa, and potatoes. Eventually the cravings subsided. Apparently it is fairly common to get sugar cravings especially in the early days of bf, so listen to your body and go for healthy carbs if you need to add any.

Good luck!

Thanks again
Is almond flour just a better option than regular white flour? Or does it contain less carbohydrates?

Almond flour is super low carb. It is grain free- grains and sugar are where most of your carb intake comes from.

Here's some nutritional info I found on almond vs. white (wheat) flour:

Nutrition Info (100g)
Almond flour = 21.94 g protein, Wheat flour = 9.71g
Almond flour = 19.44 g carbs, Wheat flour = 76.22 g
Almond flour = 10.4 g fiber, Wheat flour = 2.4 g
Almond flour = 687 mg Potassium, Wheat flour = 149 mg
Almond flour = 275 mg Magnesium, Wheat flour = 25 mg
Almond flour = 216 mg Calcium, Wheat flour = 20 mg
Almond flour = 3.72 mg Iron, Wheat flour = 1.26 mg

On the glycemic index almond flour comes in under 1, while wheat flour comes in at 71. What a huge difference.

 

[Hope83]

Wow those are some impressive numbers. Will definitely add almond flour to my shopping list! I'm glad there is a way to have some bread and stuff after all

Will check out some recipes now. I'm very excited about this life style change.

 

[Dream.dream]

That actually isn't so bad some people I've know who have done low carb has almost none anywhere where as this says to stay away from processed and gluten

We do mostly gluten free for my lupus and just thought let you know thorough our trial and error almond flour doesn't work the same as all purpose flour in normal recipes but there's some super yummy baking you can do with almond flour

 

[JenX]

We do mostly gluten free for my lupus and just thought let you know thorough our trial and error almond flour doesn't work the same as all purpose flour in normal recipes but there's some super yummy baking you can do with almond flour

Yes, this is absolutely true. You can't just substitute it for regular flour, you need recipes designed for use with almond flour.

OP, I just looked at the link you posted, and this plan is almost exactly the same as the Primal Blueprint. Looks like a good plan. You may want to look at www.marksdailyapple.com for more guidance and recipes, etc.

 

[TMonster]

As someone who loves almond flour (I make almond tea cakes with them) you can make your own almond flour if you have a vitamix or blendtec blender. Just stick blanched almonds in the blender and in a few seconds it will be almond flour just make sure you dont let it go for more than a few seconds or it will turn into almond butter. A food processor works too but it will be more gritty. It's MUCH cheaper than buying it.

 

[Hope83]

Thank You for all the advice ladies!!
I'll go grocery shopping later today, lets hope I'll find almond flour in our local store!
I've looked up some recipes already. They sound delicious- lets hope they'll taste just as good cause I need to convince DH that the switch will benefit all of us. (I'm assuming he'll benefit the most since he has Type 1 Diabetes)

 

[Hope83]

I couldn't find any almond flour at our superstore
I could order some via amazon but -omg- They want $60 for 5 lbs?!?!

Thats crazy! Is there any other alternative?

 

[JenX]

I order from Honeyvillegrain.com. I get it in 25 lb boxes, but you can get a 5 lb bag for $40 from there. They send out coupon codes frequently if you're on their mailing list. My last order worked out to be $5.11 a pound shipped.

Eating healthily is not cheap. The way I look at it is you can pay now with better quality food, or later- with poor health and high medical expenses.

 

[Hope83]

I order from Honeyvillegrain.com. I get it in 25 lb boxes, but you can get a 5 lb bag for $40 from there. They send out coupon codes frequently if you're on their mailing list. My last order worked out to be $5.11 a pound shipped.

Eating healthily is not cheap. The way I look at it is you can pay now with better quality food, or later- with poor health and high medical expenses.

Yeah, I guess thats a good way of looking at it. I was just surprised by the costs

I'll check out our Bulk Barn today. Will see if they carry almond flour.

 

[Hope83]

One more thing- is it possible that changing my diet is effecting my babies poop already?
Her output is usually nice and yellow with some seeds, today it was darker (from me eating spinach every day?) and more seedy (because of me eating way more fat?)...

Does that sound normal and okay?
Is it possible that my milk is a bit more fatty now?

Edit: i found this website

https://www.drbriffa.com/2009/05/08...enefits-for-nursing-mothers-and-their-babies/

 

[JenX]

Honestly, I think the seediness is from dairy consumption. Mine use to have seedy poo, then once I cut out dairy due to her reflux I never saw seeds again. That's just my own observation, though. Poop varies widely in color/consistency and most are fine. I wouldn't worry.

 

[sandilion]

If you want a healthier flour spelt flour is brilliant. It can replace regular flour. I use wholemeal - it's lower in carbs than reg flour and high in protein! We follow a low carb diet also, mainly in the first half of the day, then work on eating healthy carbs from fruits and veggies from the afternoon onwards.

I also came across coconut flour when I had a read - apparently Almond flour can release harmful toxins into the body once heated? But apparently coconut flour doesn't. I read that on a page, so if this info is wrong please correct me! But worth a mention.

Once i have our second child (gotta start TTC first!) and back into BF I am also going to be on my trusty low carb diet. Its the only way I have been able to manage my weight since having DS.