It used to be recommended that women eat up to 500 calories more a day to support breastfeeding and milk production; however, recent studies have concluded that this is inaccurate and not at all necessary. Nursing moms don’t always need the extra calories but this will depend on your weight, height, and activity levels.
It is recommended that you do not decrease your calories below 1,500 – 1,800 calories because you could be putting your milk supply at risk. Remember, the function of breast feeding can burn from 200 – 500 calories per day depending on the frequency on top of the calories you burn through exercise and diet so calorie cutting is not necessary to lose weight.
Losing weight too quickly may also change your body negatively, by creating loose or saggy skin, and can negatively impact your life more than the weight itself. Always remember to go slow – you took 9 months to put the weight on, expect just the same amount of time to take it off. Going too fast may force your body to reduce milk production or eliminate it altogether as a non-essential bodily function.
Unfortunately, cosmetic problems are not the only issue at hand when looking to lose weight. As you burn calories, toxins which are stored in fat tissue are released and will pass into the breast milk. This doesn’t just have bad problems for you but your children as well. When weight comes off too fast, problems may arise with your milk supply due to the increased amount of toxins being passed into it.
The best plan of action for a nursing mother is to eat a well balanced diet containing fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean sources of protein, and heart healthy fats. By incorporating a variety of healthful foods every day, you can increase your health, lose weight slowly, and phase out all the bad food you may have been eating. Aim for slow weight loss, up to 2 pounds per week, as any more than that can severely affect your milk production.
Jimmy likes to write on numerous subjects and has been doing so for some years. His most recent website is squirrelbaffle.org which gives folks information on purchasing a squirrel baffle.
