Dieting & BF suggestions?

laura3462 · August 2014

I am need of some advise regarding dieting while BF. I know from Kelly's Mom it says not to do a liquid & fad diet and that you need 200-500 extra calories to produce enough milk. I have returned to work & pumping successfully 16oz. I do not seem to be the lucky one to loose a ton weight after babies while bf. I am having difficulty fitting in workouts since I am back to work (excuses lack of motivation, exhausted, too many other tasks to do).I am need to loose a lot post baby weight. still have weight from baby #1 (3.5yrs) and #2 (3months). I BF my first till he was 18m. I want to do the same for #2 but starting to feel selfish in the need to loose weight to feel better about myself.

Is anyone doing purely protein shakes with veggies/salads? What is working for your weight loss while BF?

I have been trying to eat/plan (drink 12+ cups water):

BRK: protein bar (quest), banana, 1c coffee

snack: yogurt or hummus/veggies

Lunch: salad with protein or protein bar

snack: string cheese, yogurt, sometimes I have junk with the 3p carb cravings

dinner: typical items: pizza, salads, hamburgers (drive thru nights), spaghetti with squash instead of noodles, etc.

mshukh · August 2014

From personal experience, I don't trust those calorie calculators. For me losing weight has been a struggle as well. I make myself get up almost every morning to go to the gym or on a run with a dog and track almost everything I eat on My Fitness Pal daily. I did not start losing weight until after the 9 month mark where I knew I would be fine feeding till a year even if my supply dropped. Having gone through it now once, I think I would start dieting a lot sooner next time and not be so afraid of a supply drop.

My supply did not drop at all. Maybe there was a temporary dip when I first started but it soon got back up to where it needs to be (if there was a dip at all). I make certain to drink a lot of water and healthy proteins and fats (no non-fat / low-fat / sugar-free stuff here). Other than that, I stick to a 1200cals + any exercise I do per day. I don't even count breastfeeding calories any more. If I did, I would not lose any weight.

I think your diet looks great, minus the occasional pizzas / 3pm carb snacks

. Try to be more disciplined at night and you should start seeing the weight drop slowly. If you end up seeing a huge supply dip, you can always up your calories again. Btw, my kid is a toddler now so he likely consumes about 10+ ounces plus I pump about 8 a day...so the calories are less than with a younger infant.

I think you are doing just fine on carbs, just make sure they are healthy (not pizza / chips etc.) And watch your portions. That's the biggest struggle for me. Especially at night. But the weight is coming off. Very slowly.

Edited to say: I would not rely on protein shakes and salads alone. Make sure to eat real protein and complex unprocessed carbs. I drink a protein shake in the morning after resistance training workout to get some extra protein, but I wouldn't do it more than once a day.

BootsOrHearts · August 2014

I would stay away from the protein bars, they usually have a lot of calories and sugars and are very highly processed. Look for some high protein snacks like plain greek yogurt with fresh fruit or even beef jerky (though try to find one with lower sodium than the usual stuff). Hard boiled egg is another high protein option. Watch your portions at dinner too.