Breastfeeding and dieting

Hey thanks for the tips everyone

Nikki - I had wondered about that idea as a lot of ladies I've meet have had to wean or comp with formula due to low milk supply and they have all lost their pregnancy weight really quickly! Me - I'm still hanging on to 7kg of it and have an abundance of milk! Interesting...

I've just gone back onto my old eating plan and even without exercise over the past week I've already lost weight and my son is sleeping better so it must be good for him too.

I have cut out caffiene, chocolate and sweets (their not good for us anyway). 

I eat protein and complex carbs at every meal (the combo of carbs + protein is easier for your body to break down, harder to be stored as fat and boosts your metabolism and energy levels).  I eat as much fruit and veges as I can (fills me up so I don't get hungry plus lots of fibre to help everything move through my body) and I try to eat 3 meals + 3 snacks everyday although often I'm too full to eat morning tea because I always have a decent breakfast.

The other thing which is really important is to drink heaps of water.  Firstly because that way you don't fill up on caffeine or sugar rich fluids but also because if the kidneys are water deprived then the liver needs to pick up their slack meaning it can't do one of it's main jobs which is to convert stored fat to energy.  I have 2 glasses of water as soon as I wake up every morning and try to drink 1-2 glasses every hour until about 4pm.

So I don't feel like I'm completely depriving myself I have a treat day every Sunday.  Today I had a coffee, a muffin and a scoop of low-fat icecream.

It definitely helps that I have a pre-schooler who I won't let eat junk so I'm preparing healthy food for her anyway and I want to set her a good example plus I have a picture in my mind of what I know I can look like and that's my goal.

Edited by MrsMojo

I don't fit with your MW's theory either Nikki - I have a massive milk supply, and the preg weight seems to have fallen off with v. little effort. Even my pre-preg clothes are a little big on me now. (Sorry.)

I have also had a voracious appetite, so just figured just DS was sucking everything out of me!

I do eat pretty healthily though (always have) and I don't think I put on too much weight during the pregnancy (I refuse to weigh myself as a general rule, so I don't really know how much I was / am)

I make sure I eat 'good BF food' each day:
- Start off with 1st breakfast: a bowl of Hubbards LSA porridge with a cut up banana + sml glass of spirulina
-Then 2nd breakfast: 2 pieces of wholegrain toast with marmalade or honey & a cup of coffee
-Lunch: usually a bowl of soup with either meat or fish in it + 2 more pieces of wholegrain bread, or a sandwich with ham / chicken and veges
-Afternoon tea: Nutty muesli bar + small pot of organic cyclops yoghurt + another cup of coffee + maybe a piece of fruit
-Dinner: always something different - but generally includes some kind of protein, carb + lots of veges
(I almost always have dessert at the moment too - either ice-cream or hot choccy or something...)

I know - it looks like heaps when you actually write it down aye!

I've always been quite a big eater though (normally eat more than DH - in fact I was known amongst his friends for a while as 'the remorseless eating machine.' They should see me go these days! Ha!)

I'm sure genetics plays a big part too.
Having said that, I do do a moderate amount of exercise as well - normally an hour's walk to the dog park and back whilst carrying DS, several times a week...

Babe - your family sounds like mine: Predominantly female and, sadly, riddled with eating disorders. My sister and I are the only ones who haven't been sucked into the faddish elimination diets and general neurosis that goes with them. I think we're both 'robust eaters' as a kind of backlash towards it!

I'm all for the 'everything in moderation' approach, and not beating myself up about food. Life is way too short.

make sure your eating 2L + of pure H20 a day. your body can often through in hunger signals even if your slightly dehydrated cos it knows that most foods have some water content. i reckon the writing down every single little thing you eat is a great idea. ive been doing it for years along with my training schedule. check out this link and see if there is a centre near you. they have a BFing / preggy eating options for foods and its not counting points or anything like weight watchers and you have to combine it with exercise. you do 3 daily visits a week to ensure your eating well AND exercising. personally i love it, but i get it free cos the gym i work for owns the centre down here. its hard with kids so i go at 7am every morning no matter what cos DH doesnt leave till 8. anyway feel free to have a look although the website isnt that great.

ETA: specialk dont forget fruit has a lot of sugar in it. so be careful not to eat more than a couple pieces a day. try home made pumpkin and kumara soup. mmmm yum. its so think its like eating a meal. lol

Edited by monikah