Breastfeeding and Dieting.....need some 'how to' tips!

[FluffyDucks]

Hi Ladies,

I am overweight and really would like to shed these pesky kilos. I am 89kgs and ideally would like to get to 69kgs but would at least like to shift 9 kgs in the short term.

Oh and I am 5'ft 3'' (160cm) so reaaaaaally need to lose the weight!

DD is 6 months and I am concerned that any reduction in my food intake may affect my supply. She is demand fed so bascially she is on the boob about every two hours. She is happy to be there and I am happy to keep going so I really dont want to do anything that could reduce my supply.

So....how do I go about losing weight while continuing to successfully breastfeed?

My problem is I get hungry and need to eat! I also have 2 other kids and a home business to really need something thats quick to prepare and healthy.

Do you have any tips to help me lose weight?

TIA :goodvibes:

[JessColquhoun]

I do weight watchers online it's breast feeding friendly and it's not about buying special food but sticking to an allowance everyday. There is also online tools that you can download to keep track on your phone!

I also looked at a site called losethebabyweight.com.au but I didn't want to spend the money on shakes just wanted to eat better.

[FluffyDucks]

Thanks Jess! I have done Weight Watchers before....guess I was hoping to avoid paying for it again :p

So how much weight did you lose on a weekly basis and did you see any changes in your supply?

[mim1]

The recommended weight loss when BFing is about 1kg a month from memory. Not much really. I always found it hard to be sure I was losing weight til I'd lost at least 2kg, otherwise my weight fluctuates too much from day to day to be sure I'm actually losing weight.

If you are eating any 'bad' food you could try & just cut that out - eg. chocolate, chips, junk food, etc, etc. I'd start by increasing your exercise by walking 30 minutes a day.

I'm hoping to lose weight too and as my dd increases her intake of solids I need to watch my food intake more closely to prevent weight gain - that's a good starting point for me cause last time I put on quite a bit of weight between when my ds was 6 months old and 12 months old.

[CamD]

Hi Michelle. I'm in the same boat - need to lose a total of 13kg but my first goal is 6kgs. I have always been self-conscious about my supply and want to continue bf for as long as possible so don't want to compromise that at all.

I have just started working on it and lost 4kg is about 4 weeks with no impact to supply - if anything I feel mine is getting better as I eat healthier foods and cut out processed food and sugar plus eat more lean protein. I was tired all the time and craving cake type things in the afternoons. Now I have a hard boiled egg or some lean turkey breast as afternoon snacks with a piece of fruit. I also don't eat dinner after 630pm. I am eating loads of food, just all clean and healthy stuff - no white carbs and no junk. Im also walking every second day for 45 mins with the buggy and do some light resistance training when I can.

It's coming off slowly but I feel better already! Good luck!!!

[Anjalee]

I'd recommend getting a calorie king account and tracking your calories. You can safely eat 1500 calories a day while breast feeding which will still be little enough to help you lose weight :)

Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation offers a breast feeding diet and exercise plan if you'd be interested in that? I highly recommend it! I'm going to do it now I'm pregnant to help me stick to a healthy pregnancy specific diet :)

[jordansmumma]

I doing weight watchers too. I love the iPhone app it makes tracking easy... I've lost 4.5 kg in a month. 27kg to go...

[jordansmumma]

Oh yeh should have mentioned it hasn't affected my milk supply although I've always had plenty

[shinebrite]

When I started my gluten dairy and sugar free diet I thought my supply would decrease but I was supplementing with more fruits and veg, and just ate healthy. I went from
A size 12-14 down to a 6-8 in no time!! I'm tiny so a 12-14 is HORRIBLE on my height. It worked well for me and now I'm a vegan, I feel SO much better it's hard eating out and sometimes I have a little bit of sugar then but it's not all the time, I look at the word 'moderation' in a very different light these days!!


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Mummie to
Lucy Alys (July '06)
Minnie Audrey (July '09)
Pippi Violet (oct '11)

[FluffyDucks]

Thanks for all the advice ladies! Gives me something to work on....now to get the motivation to do it!

[Alphabetsoup]

When I started my gluten dairy and sugar free diet I thought my supply would decrease but I was supplementing with more fruits and veg, and just ate healthy. I went from
A size 12-14 down to a 6-8 in no time!! I'm tiny so a 12-14 is HORRIBLE on my height. It worked well for me and now I'm a vegan, I feel SO much better it's hard eating out and sometimes I have a little bit of sugar then but it's not all the time, I look at the word 'moderation' in a very different light these days!!


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Mummie to
Lucy Alys (July '06)
Minnie Audrey (July '09)
Pippi Violet (oct '11)

Sorry to crash your thread but I was wondering if you are still gluten and sugar free as well as vegan? I want to cut out sugar and wheat but it just seems so daunting since my diet is already pretty restricted being vegan.

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[Skips]

I've been doing Weightwatchers since DS was 7 weeks old. He's demand fed and I've had no problems with supply at all.

He is 6 months old now and I have lost 25.5kg and have 2.5kg to go to get to my goal of 55kg.

[trishalishous]

i lost 15kg between pregnancies, but i didnt diet, just made sure i exercised daily (weights 3x, yoga 5x, cardio 3x a week)

[shinebrite]

Sorry to crash your thread but I was wondering if you are still gluten and sugar free as well as vegan? I want to cut out sugar and wheat but it just seems so daunting since my diet is already pretty restricted being vegan.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using BubHub

Yep we are! It's not THAT hard. I'm allergic to certain things as well as dh and dd1 being allergic to other things do it just works! We eat a lot and I mean A LOT of greens, fruit n veg, nuts beans legumes, and always have smoothies and juices in our day. If we go out there is always a sushi bar and if there's not ill pack food, hard on holidays we usually resort to restaurants who do gluten free hot chips, not many mind you. Pop corn and fruit is our goto food on the road!! We don't eat a lot of bread, we have Sunday pancakes and hot chocolates all the time! You get use to it! I just google the thing I want to make and adapt it to my liking. I make an awesome allergy vegan caramel slice, not an ounce of sugar! Sweetners are used but I don't make it often it's a treat!


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Mummie to
Lucy Alys (July '06)
Minnie Audrey (July '09)
Pippi Violet (oct '11)

[Alphabetsoup]

I make an awesome allergy vegan caramel slice, not an ounce of sugar! Sweetners are used but I don't make it often it's a treat

Sounds amazing! Can you share the recipe?

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[shinebrite]

I haven't made it in AGES!!!! And I made the recipe up myself too! I'd be able to write something up for you but it won't be fool proof as it would b from memory and the fact I literally grab a bit of this and that and it equals to that IYKWIM!!! Lol


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Mummie to
Lucy Alys (July '06)
Minnie Audrey (July '09)
Pippi Violet (oct '11)