Who is planning on dieting AND breastfeeding to lose weight? Are there any risks?

[KamKol]

After baby is born, I really need to lose weight...a good 3 stones actually ...and I also would like to breastfeed.

I heard that breastfeeding can help lose weight because you burn 500 cals - but if I want to lose weight aswel, I'd have to watch what I eat too and increase my exercise.

Are there any risks for baby if I diet while breast feeding? Like, could my dieting effect the quality of the milk?

 

[Bee26]

Thanks for asking, I was wondering this - I think so long as you are getting enough calories then its ok (was was planning a fat controlled diet, rather than calorie controlled) xx

 

[Akira]

I'd be interested to know the answer as well, I'm HATING my weight at the moment, and can't wait to get my old body back. I've put on around 17kgs!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[broodylocket]

i asked my midwife and she said as long as u have a healthy balanced diet.
i told her i want to have 3 meals and cut of cakes, choco and high fattening stuff and she said thats fine. but dont restrict too much, keep it balanced.
hope that helps and makes sense lol

 

[LankyDoodle]

Our breastfeeding counsellor at NCT told us that your milk will be full of goodness so that baby gets everything they need, BEFORE you even begin to get what you need. It is a myth that diet affects milk supply, but it WILL affect you... you could become very very tired at a time when you are already struggling for energy. You may also get quite run down.

Work out what your individual basal metabolic rate is based on height and weight and age (weightloss resources have a free calculator), then account for the fact breastfeeding will use 500 calories (-500 cals a day = -1lb a week average).

I also need to lose a lot of weight, but I think a better way to do this when breastfeeding and raising a very small baby, would be to keep eating a healthy, controlled, balanced diet while you incorporate gradually more exercise - the odd swim if you can get some help with baby, or pop out for a walk/jog with baby in the pram. The exercise will burn calories but you will be getting plenty of nourishment from your food as well; so you will still have a calorie deficit but won't feel deprived and won't be lacking in vital nutrients for yourself.

 

[Lexi mummy]

ive never breast fed before but i know a few women who had to give up breast feeding as they were dieting like they normally would but their milk seemed to go watery and baby just didnt seem happy. i do think some of the women i know were going over board trying to lose weight, i remember commenting on how slim and lovely one of them looked 6 weeks after birth only to get my head bit off

i was going to join WW breast feeding plan but cant really afford it. im sure with my pregnancy cravings i am probably having around 2500-3000 calories a day which is way too many. so i was just going to stick to a 2000 calorie diet a day working on the basis that i will be walking my dogs for an hour every day (hopefully) and will burn 500 calories just from breast feeding.

im no expert though so it would be good to hear from other ladies who have breast fed and lost weight as i could be talking shite lol xx

 

[KamKol]

ive never breast fed before but i know a few women who had to give up breast feeding as they were dieting like they normally would but their milk seemed to go watery and baby just didnt seem happy. i do think some of the women i know were going over board trying to lose weight, i remember commenting on how slim and lovely one of them looked 6 weeks after birth only to get my head bit off

i was going to join WW breast feeding plan but cant really afford it. im sure with my pregnancy cravings i am probably having around 2500-3000 calories a day which is way too many. so i was just going to stick to a 2000 calorie diet a day working on the basis that i will be walking my dogs for an hour every day (hopefully) and will burn 500 calories just from breast feeding.

im no expert though so it would be good to hear from other ladies who have breast fed and lost weight as i could be talking shite lol xx

This is the sort of thing I'm worried about. If there is a chance that baby could be "harmed" I don't think I would be dieting...rather just staying off the junk or over indulging.

 

[winterdeep]

https://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/mom/mom-weightloss.html

Cheers!

 

[Lexi mummy]

ive never breast fed before but i know a few women who had to give up breast feeding as they were dieting like they normally would but their milk seemed to go watery and baby just didnt seem happy. i do think some of the women i know were going over board trying to lose weight, i remember commenting on how slim and lovely one of them looked 6 weeks after birth only to get my head bit off

i was going to join WW breast feeding plan but cant really afford it. im sure with my pregnancy cravings i am probably having around 2500-3000 calories a day which is way too many. so i was just going to stick to a 2000 calorie diet a day working on the basis that i will be walking my dogs for an hour every day (hopefully) and will burn 500 calories just from breast feeding.

im no expert though so it would be good to hear from other ladies who have breast fed and lost weight as i could be talking shite lol xx

This is the sort of thing I'm worried about. If there is a chance that baby could be "harmed" I don't think I would be dieting...rather just staying off the junk or over indulging.

i dont think it will harm baby but i think it will cause baby to feed more than if the milk was thicker iykwim. i know one of the girls who was dieting heavy said she had baby on her boobs for 2 hours straight and baby still wasnt happy so she switched to fomula. but this can happen even when women arent dieting so i have been told so i just dont know. i dont want to give wrong advice as i could be very wrong x

 

[LogansMama]

Lanky has it correct. Its fine to diet while breastfeeding, and baby will not be harmed in the least. The only problem is that if you cut calories drastically, then your milk supply may suffer - which would in turn, be harmful to baby... BUT that being said - if you are sensible - and eat healthy, while still cutting calories, baby will be FINE.

If you cut too many calories - YOU will suffer before baby does - TRUST ME! Mother Nature will make sure baby gets what they need before you do.

FYI - Weight Watchers has a plan designed just for breastfeeding moms.

When I breastfed though - I just cut back on the excess, drank LOTS of water (a MUST while BFing!), and that was it. I lost weight fast. If I had bothered to exercise - it would have been even faster!

 

[LogansMama]

PS - I don't know about anybody else - but for me - when my first baby was new, it was REALLY easy to just forget to eat! I was so busy with him... plus - I was CONSTANTLY nursing him. I remember putting a waffle in the toaster one morning, and then finding it later that night realizing I hadn't eaten all day!

I'm assuming I won't be able to forget as easily this time though - since I will have an older child that will still need to eat real food!

 

[Bee26]

I think its just about ating well and sensibly...Ive put on over 4 stone because Ive been a dick and eaten like a pig - I think by returning to a well balanced, healthy and wholesome diet, coupled with exercise, the weight will naturally come off. I hope so anyway xx

 

[bky]

I'm going to try sticking to a similar diet to what I have now (I'm around 2000 cal/day now of what I was eating before pregnancy but slightly more of it, fruit and water before I reach for the chocolate etc) as before pregnancy I was on a maintenance diet of around 1600/day, which should have had me losing weight, but didn't (I went down to 1400 and lost my period despite being overweight, meh!). I put on around 8kg/20lbs by week 20 and then stopped weighing myself as it was upsetting me as guides were telling me 15-20 for the whole pregnancy . I don't feel like I've gained much more since then, but I'll put some batteries in my scale and check once I get to 30 weeks or so. I don't need to know before then.
I'll see how that goes before adding in exercise, ie energy levels etc.

 

[katekatekate]

Im not sure if you'll need to. I've been BF 9 days and Im back to my pre pregnant state already. And no Ive never been thin and I dont do exercise and I dont have a good metabolism. Always borderlining 12/14.

 

[Las78]

I will be cutting out the junk and eating 3 healthy meals a day plus walking. The one thing I found when bf before is that you get extremely thirsty, I was drinking a whole big bottle of water each time I fed. I think so long as you have a balanced diet and excersize while bf the weight will come off, I just wouldn't go to the extreme, your body will need the energy and will burn it.

 

[newmummytobe]

i am so glad somone asked this, i was wondering the same thing. i am so unhappy with how much i have put on so far but it is my own fault as i have stupidly used pregnancy as a free pass to eat as much chocolate as possible. i am planning on breastfeeding for at least 6 weeks and my bf thinks that this combined with the fact that i will be doing more excercise than i have ever done in my life with the baby i.e. walking with pram, picking baby up, up and down stairs etc etc (which may sound silly but it all adds up!) that the weight will just drop off me but we will see. i am planning on joining ww as they have a breast feeding plan (i think you end up with 10 extra points). xxx

 

[madasa]

As long as you eat WELL, it's fine. Don't obsess about it, don't count calories and don't starve yourself. But there's no risk to just cutting out processed foods that are high in fat or sugar.

 

[KamKol]

As long as you eat WELL, it's fine. Don't obsess about it, don't count calories and don't starve yourself. But there's no risk to just cutting out processed foods that are high in fat or sugar.

Hmm yes, I will probably just cut out the junk food...I really have over indulged during the 2nd trimester and have put on way too much weight. Hoping that it proves true what a lot of you ladies are saying about the weight coming off naturally.

 

[EternalRose]

Thank you for this post, my midwife said I need to eat at least 1200-1500 cals a day for it not to affect the baby. I am so looking forward to losing weight now, I have 3 stone to lose as well. Gym here I come, yeah boi! I used too be a gym bunny and no I didnt like it it was boring, I just liked my toned calves. When we all move over to babyclub ill set up a thread in the health section for us all to keep each other motivated! I want a night out in my killer heels by August!!

 

[KamKol]

Thank you for this post, my midwife said I need to eat at least 1200-1500 cals a day for it not to affect the baby. I am so looking forward to losing weight now, I have 3 stone to lose as well. Gym here I come, yeah boi! I used too be a gym bunny and no I didnt like it it was boring, I just liked my toned calves. When we all move over to babyclub ill set up a thread in the health section for us all to keep each other motivated! I want a night out in my killer heels by August!!

Haha! Good idea for motivation!