exersise and breastfeeding

[tomnabbysmum]

i have a question about a friend i am worried about her exessive exersising..
she has an 8 month old and has always been obsessive with weight loss but she is breastfeeding i dont think she should be doing this much..
i know her routine cos she tells me in the morning she goes on the treadmill for 30 mins (running) she walks the kids to school 30 mins she does boot camp workouts at home she goes to curves in the arvo and ashtanga yoga 2 nights a week she goes in the sauna 3 nights a week .she just started going to this new pod thing where you ride this bike and its a suction thing . and her house is spotless she vacumes and mops 2 times aday (ive even stopped goin round cos shes either cleaning or exersising and doesnt stop while im there its uncompfortable ) she doesnt rest shes on the go all the time . and shes on a detox diet and i read up on this diet its 1100 calories a day mainly consisting of herbal drinks and soups

i just dont think she should be doing this much and breastfeeding if shes not consuming any fat and burning over 500 calories aday is bubs getting any nutrients

if u have any thoughts or ideas as to how to approach the subject please post them cos shes so damn stubborn.

also shes been doing this for the last 5 months but she keeps going to more exteems every month. and i think she looks so muscly and boney

[Hollywood]

If she was eating more I wouldn't be worried about the exercise, as it is certainly safe to exercise whilst BFing. But by the sounds of it she is not eating anywhere near enough to support BFing.

BFing takes around 500 - 600 extra calories, so if she's consuming only 1100 calories....well it doesn't take a dietician to figure out that it's not enough.

As for how to approach her, that's tough. She might get a bit defensive, particularly if she is dealing with body image issues. Don't know what to advise there, but I'd be inclined to stay out of it and only offer advice if she asks. But if you do feel like you have to say something, I'd tread very delicately and instead of giving her facts, perhaps ask her questions like "How is bub coping, do you notice a difference in him/her after you exercise" or something along those lines, focusing on the bub.

[Milk_Monkey]

Yip, I agree with LG. If you have to bring it up dont do it too directly. Maybe find an article that you can mention you were reading and say something like, you were amazed at just how much food intake is needed to breasfeed.

On the otherhand, is she exclusively breastfeeding? if there is formular or food included in bubs diet then maybe she feels he is getting everything through that.

[peanutbutter&jelly]

I'n honestly not sure what to say... it sounds like me, but without the BFing part and 3 - 4 years ago...
TBH I think you have to work the baby angle, if you're going to say anything at all, because if she does have issues (which lets face it, she seems to) then she isn't going to respond well... it takes a lot of get over these sorts of issues and thats once you've actually realised & admitted that these behaviours are stupid and even dangerous...

I really hope that something wakes your friend up :hugs:

[tomnabbysmum]

thanks for ur replies ladies
it is a touchy issue when she started going hard on the exersise again ( 5 months ago) i did ask her are you eating enough because u need to remember about the extra calories when ur breastfeeding and she smirked..
bubs is eating pureed food 3 times a day and having 4 boob feeds im concernd because of her weight obsession but also breastmilk is supposed to be the best thing for bubs getting calories iron ect but how is bubs getting all of it if she burns so much exersising and lives off diet shakes soup and salad....
i know exersise is ok when ur breastfeeding i exersised whilst i was feeding but not 3 hours a day bootcamp style
i just wanted to hear other ladies opinions as my friends and her mum who im am close to are concerned and we gave up 2 years ago trying to get her to see what was going on..
ta

[Mrs Nietzsche]

I wouldn't worry about it to be honest. Breast milk takes all the nutrients first, then Mum gets it. So if she feels fine then all is well.

So far as the extra calories thing I certainly can't tell a difference - I struggle so badly to lose weight breastfeeding or not. Soups & salad are pretty health eating really- as long as she's getting enough omega 3?

If her and the baby are both fine I would just leave it.

eta: btw, I probably 6000 kj plus exercise every day and I have an abundance of milk and a very healthy baby (9kg at 4 months). Every woman's body is different... I honestly think I just don't need much energy. Nutrients is another thing - you need to make sure you're getting all the calcium, iron, vitamins etc needed. But if she isn't she will soon feel it.

[PunkyDiva]

1100 calories is way too few, should be around 2000.
Breastfeeding requires extra calcium and iron amoungst others, on a daily basis.
Not sure how you go about talking with her about it as sounds like you have tried most approaches.
I would try to bring it up again though as long term she can do serious damage to her health. :hugs: