Mama in the City

A blog about raising my family in downtown Vancouver

Breastfeeding and Weight Loss: Diet Update

For some reason I felt compelled to tell Ben that I was on a diet. Which sparked a whole onslaught of questions about what a diet is, why I am on a diet, etc, etc, etc. I thought that talking about it with my 3 year old would hold me more accountable from swiping leftovers off his dinner plate. Silly mama! Instead, I got an earful from Ben about how he likes me in my current squishy form.

Things are going well on the weight loss front. My weekend weigh in had me at 186, which is 3.5 pounds down from my starting weight 2 weeks ago. Recently I read an interesting article about weight loss and breastfeeding and the risk of dropping the pounds too fast. The gist of the article was how toxins are stored in our fat and when we drop pounds our fat release these toxins. If I was to be extreme and lose a lot of weight rapidly, the sudden release of toxins would leave my body partially via my breastmilk. Interesting food for thought.


Post nursing session at the park. Working on burning those extra calories via breastfeeding!

From all of the different articles I've read on breastfeeding and weight loss I've picked up a few things. Postpartum mamas should wait at least two months to begin any type of weight loss diet, some articles even said 6 months. This is to ensure our milk supply is in full swing before we calorie decrease. We also should not be overly restrictive in calories as this can adversely damage our milk supply and ultimately effect our babies. Eating healthy foods is the best plan. Of course, we all know an actual banana is a better choice than say chocolate chip banana bread, I don't need an expert to tell me that one.

I'm eating breakfast every morning and am even eating combos of things I never did before. Like yesterdays scrambled eggs with a side of asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Hold up! Vegetables at breakfast? I'm snacking a lot but on healthy things like chopped up apples and handfuls of almonds. I'm packing along my own snacks instead of being tempted to pick up something while I am out. I have nixed the afternoon baked goods that I was grabbing but I am still reaching for that PM coffee.

I know how to lose weight, I lost 40+ pounds in the past. So, I'm using my past knowledge with my current situation and hoping that slowly these extra pounds will melt off of me. All while consciously fuelling my body for the amazing job it is doing of feeding my baby. I'm also totally milking the fact that breastfeeding burns about 500 calories a day.


The only time chubby legs and a rolly belly are a good thing.

8 comments:

D_Winter said...

Love that chubby baby! Good for you for being sensible with your weight loss and not rushing and doing it the wrong way. Soon sunny weather will be here and you can go for big power strolls with your chunky monkey.

April 25, 2012 at 10:12 PM  
Roanne said...

If only chubby thighs and a big belly just didn't stop being cute! LOL! 

April 25, 2012 at 10:48 PM  
Jill said...

Haha, that would be a perfect world!

April 26, 2012 at 7:28 AM  
Marisa said...

 "I'm also totally MILKING the fact that breastfeeding burns about 500 calories a day."   Love it! Great pun - lol!

Thanks for sharing your healthy weight loss achievements with us - you are a great role model.  :) 

 

April 26, 2012 at 3:08 PM  

Slower weight lost is the best way to go! I love chubby babies! (mine was extremely chubby heehee) One of my new favourite snacks is dried fruit. It's something I rarely ate before. But now I find myself reaching for a few pieces of that instead of wanting chips, cookies or all those other extremely sugary and unhelpful things. Good luck and keep at it! :)

April 26, 2012 at 9:34 PM  

Thanks! Right now my go to snack is almonds and dried apricots. It is funny how after you've stopped snacking on certain things, like chips and cookies, you do crave them a lot less. Once in awhile it sneaks up on me and I want to eat 10 cookies...but for the most part almonds and apricots it is! 

April 27, 2012 at 3:02 PM  

Awe, thanks Marisa. You are so sweet!

April 27, 2012 at 3:02 PM  
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