Postpartum weight loss can be a bit tricky, especially when you are breastfeeding. While breastfeeding burns about 300-500 calories a day, this is not a time to limit your calories, as dropping below 1,500 calories a day has the potential to decrease a mother's milk supply. What this means is that a breastfeeding mother needs to net at least 1,500 calories a day, therefore she should aim to eat about 2,000 calories per day to keep a robust milk supply. Now, when a mother eats these calories, as well as the type of food she eats can make a difference in how those calories are used and burned throughout the day. My dear friend, Keegan Sheridan, is a naturopathic doctor and author of a fantastic blog at KeeganSheridan.com. Here is her most recent article about weight loss and eating breakfast for dinner.
How To Lose Weight While Breastfeeding Without Losing Your Milk Supply
Last week, Tracy Anderson made some pretty provocative comments about women using pregnancy as an ‘excuse’ to gain weight, to eat whatever they want, and keep on the weight after having a baby. Tracy, having given birth just 3 months ago, has already lost all of her pregnancy weight, yet remember ladies….. this is not a normal expectation for us regular moms out there. While most of us in the real world cannot spend hours a day, or thousands of dollars, working to lose weight and tone our bodies after our babies are born, her body and exercise program is what she is KNOWN for.
What I did appreciate was that Tracy mentioned that when you are losing weight while breastfeeding, you can’t forgo the nutritional aspect of the foods you eat and the calories you need to maintain your breastfeeding relationship. I’ve seen Tracy talk about her daily nutrition and this woman eats more than her fair share of nutrient dense foods, healthy fats, and protein, which are all going to keep up your milk supply while you exercise and gently shed those pounds after birth.
Now, here is the deal…. we ALL want to lose our pregnancy weight after we have our babies. Yet it is really important to make sure you are losing weight healthily so that your milk supply doesn’t end up slowly sinking away. Excessive dieting CAN reduce your milk supply. So here are a few tips to keep in mind.