Breast feeding hunger

Shell - posted on 01/24/2010

You shouldn't worry about trying to lose weight if you're breastfeeding. I have a big appetite (but my stature is small) and when my daughter was around 7 months I started losing a lot of weight, going below my prepregnancy weight. I ended up losing nearly 9kgs since having my daughter. Even though I ate healthy and sometimes more than I should have, I felt weak when I lost all the weight. Eat 3 healthy small portion meals a day plus drink plenty of water. You have plenty of time to lose the weight, I just wouldn't recommend it whilst you're still breastfeeding because when you feel weak from the weightloss, I found that when my baby was drinking, she was also draining all my energy.

Lise - posted on 01/24/2010

Eat healthy foods! :) Drink a lot of water. Exercise.

Samantha - posted on 01/24/2010

I am a big calorie counter. I've been on and off weight watchers, and I know that full-time breastfeeding moms are allowed to eat 500 calories more than an average woman. I eat about 1800 calories a day and I've lost 50lbs since my 8 month old was born. I'm below my pre-pregnancy weight. Breastfeeding plus counting calories has been the easiest weight loss for me ever. I'm scared that when I stop bfing, I'll gain all that weight back if I'm not careful:)

Katie - posted on 01/24/2010

You need to eat more than usual when you're breastfeeding. This is not the time to diet. The only "diet" you should be on is the healthy well balanced diet. If you don't eat enough then your body will just hold onto and store fat. You need to eat good fat to flush out the bad. Avocado, high fat yogurt, coconut oil...these are some examples of good fat. If you eat when you're hungry and you make sure your body is getting all the calories and fat that it needs then it will set off a trigger that lets your body know that it's OK to burn the fat. Also, if you're cutting back on food, your milk supply could suffer. Also, remember to drink lots of water all throughout the day and snacking throughout the day is great too.

Jessica - posted on 01/24/2010

I agree with all of these ladies! My little one it 13 months now and I am actually below preprego weight, due to eating healthy foods and breastfeeding! Lots of fruits, veggies, and loads of whole wheats/grains. I did find that when she was about 6-8 months old was when I was the most hungry, try a healthy snack every 2 hours, followed by lots of water all day (my goal was drinking enough water that I peed as much while breastfeeding as I did while pregnant!!) Good luck, it gets easier!

Deborah - posted on 01/24/2010

Some days I feel like I am starving if I don"t eat every 2 hours. My baby is almost 10 mo now. I am 5 lbs away from my prepregnancy weight. I say, as long as you are nursing try to eat sensibly but don't worry too much if you eat more than you might usually.

Nicole - posted on 01/24/2010

I eat like a teenage boy. My weight dropped a ton at first then stayed steady until I reached one year. Now pounds are coming off easily and I'm still eating like a hungry wolf. This is somewhat common. I never eat junk so that probably helps.

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 01/24/2010

When pregnant/breastfeeding the general rule is to eat when your hungry and drink when you're thirsty. Some women keep some extra weight while breastfeeding in order to ensure that they will have the energy stored to make more milk. Just make sure that what you're eating/snacking on is healthy and that you're drinking water when you're thirsty.