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
Babies go through several growth spurts in the first six weeks and when you're breastfeeding this can mean they're latched on for what seems like forever, wanting to be fed constantly and
seeming like they're starving and not getting enough. It's tiring as heck for both of you, and it's also when a lot of women give up BF convinced their little ones aren't getting what they need, but in reality, baby is just letting your body know to up the milk supply to satisfy their growing needs.
As long as your baby is producing 4-6 wet nappies a day, a couple of dirty ones and is gaining weight after the first week when they lose it, your baby IS getting what they need from you so don't let yourself fall into the trap that you're failing at the whole breastfeeding business when more than likely it's just one of those growth spurt times that for a lot of breastfeeding women are extremely trying times to get through.
The BF board here on the forums is a great place to go for support and information, too!
ETA on watery milk and dieting, foremilk at the start of a feed is always waterier than the hind milk that comes in after a little while. While it's obvious that you should ensure healthy, balanced eating and exercise to attain weight loss, keep in mind that women in third world poverty conditions successfully breastfeed their infants for often extended periods of time and their milk production and quality is fine despite their own dietary shortcomings.
Our bodies are amazing at doing what they're meant to be doing in nourishing our babies through breastmilk. Trust your body and trust your baby.
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!!
anyway i think as long as you get all you need from every food group, plenty of fluids and if you want to lose more weight exercise walk everywhere that you can, i intend to go on long walks with the dog and make sure i get my 5 a day proteins good carbs, milk cheese, veg and make sure that i have some fatty foods as the fat is important. I will also be carrying on with my prenatal vitamins as they will help any i have missed xx
