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Healthy Weight Loss for Breastfeeding Moms
Slower Is Better for Both of Mom and Baby
By Sharon Waldrop
There's no doubt that healthy breast milk is the ultimate food for your baby. Even the formula companies admit this. If you have chosen to breastfeed your baby, you are giving your child a gift that only you can provide: milk fortified by Mom herself!
A breastfeeding mother needs more calories per day now than she did during pregnancy. Is it possible to shed excess pregnancy pounds while consuming an increased amount of calories per day? Yes, it is!
"First it should be understood that usually the majority of pregnancy weight gain is fluid, along with the baby, and not fat," says Diane Ferel, MS, RD/LD, a registered and licensed dietitian in Boynton Beach, Fla. "It takes a few weeks, even months for some, to shed the pregnancy fluid completely. When it comes to shedding pregnancy fat, the general recommendation is to consume an added 500 calories to the pre-pregnancy diet since breastfeeding has been reported to take an extra 400 to 800 calories a day."
Physical activity should be increased too, as permitted by a doctor. The fat reserves should slowly decrease over the period of a few months depending on the actual fat gained from pregnancy. Calorie restrictions are not recommended, as nutrients in Baby's milk may be sacrificed.
Ferel recommends nutrient-dense foods that contain multiple nutrients, fiber and phytochemicals -- which are disease-fighting constituents mainly found in fruits, vegetables and grains. "Protein is another necessary nutrient," says Ferel.
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