I'm nursing an 18 month old who has Celiac disease so I've felt very obligated to provide her with this extra nutrition for an extended period (plus, we're just not ready to give it up.) But when is it okay to cut back on calories? If you read my last peanut butter related question you might want to say "JUST GIVE UP THE PB!" but even with that, I'm still on track for calories for someone who burns as much energy as I do and is nursing.
But really, what effect would it have on my milk (do you think?) if I cut back?
By the way, I DID lose 20 lbs almost overnight when I went gluten free...and then flatlined again. :)
The amount and quality of milk you produce is not related to the quantity of food you eat. It's related to how much liquid you drink and the quality of the food you eat. You can cut down on calories and still have a sufficient quantity of good quality milk for your daughter.
When you cut back on calories your body will burn fat to fulfill your energy requirements. Again, this won't affect your milk supply.
You can diet while nursing-- Weight Watchers gives you 10 extra points a day if your baby is getting no formula or solids and 5 extra points if they are (although that was BEFORE they switched to points plus)
I think at this point (I nursed DD to 2.5), you can shoot for a healthy diet and still provide for her. Just give yourself a little more leeway and don't go for any kind of starvation diet. Keep hydrated and take care of yourself. I didn't make any deliberate diet changes her first year, though in her second I realized that I could stand to lose a few and tried to eat more healthily in general. DD was not affected.
After the first year, I didn't deliberately consume any extra calories over and above what I should have been for someone of my size and activity level and my milk was fine. I have wacky metabolic issues and can't eat much without gaining weight (I've been on 1200-1500 calories a day for years and haven't lost weight) so I would guess that I was at around 1500-1800 most of the time while nursing but I know I was below 1500 for many months while nursing and trying to lose weight and my milk was fine.
I agree with looking at Weight Watchers. I lost 50 pounds while I was nursing our daughter. She nursed until she was 14 months and probably would have gone longer if she would not have gotten Hand, Foot, and Mouth. I never had an issue with my milk supply. As long as you are eating healthy foods and drinking good fluids you should be ok.
What I like about WW is that it is not a diet. It is a shift in lifestyle--more emphasis on being active, making healthier food choices, and portion control. You can still eat your pb and chocolate, but you learn how to control the portion or find better alternatives. They also have gluten free recipes and a tool that can help you "skinny up" other recipes you may already have.
Wow... I am surprised you didn't lose weight when you went gluten-free for your baby! Most of us do lose some weight when we eliminate the wheat, barley and rye... maybe because our whole life-style of eating changes. I admit, though, the 3 of us in my family also had to eliminate dairy and that had a big effect, too.
At any rate, You can lose weight safely while nursing and eat a very nutritious diet! Many people lose weight while nursing without even meaning to, just because the baby is drinking up our extra calories.
As others have said, it is not your extra calories that provide high quality milk - it is plenty of water and good clean food... I'd go organic as much as possible. And keep up with exercising and being very active. A healthy diet often leads automatically to a healthier weight. Just be sure you are eating healthy and taking any supplements your doctor says because it is YOUR body you need to protect with the vitamins and minerals as much as it is your baby's. I was told, the baby will take what it needs in nutrients even if it is at the expense of your own bones and muscles. So that is what is important here - you have more than enough calories. So just make sure you have nutrients (which does not come from PB or crackers, etc) - not the calories.
Be aware that dieting can and more than likely will effect your supply to what degree it seems to vary by the person. Might be nearly nothing might dry you up. You have to have so many calories intake per day in order to nurse or your body will go into a different mode kinda like survival and sustaining your ability to nurse will fall to the wayside.
In order to lose weight after I had my latest son my doctor told me to exercise and not diet. It effects your supply less but again if you over do that again you will effect your supply too. So be careful unless you are ready to possibly be done. She recommended talking a walk for an hour. Not a certain route or a certain amount... an amount of time. She said as you get more fit you'll walk further and heck can maybe even get into running rather than walking but to not hit a plateau do time not a certain distance. It worked well! I suck at exercising too. I didn't quit nursing till my baby decided he was done. I was sad but that is just the way the cookie crumbles I guess.
