I plan on getting back into a weight loss routine very soon after this baby is born. I know Ill still need to eat good foods but I plan on eating fairly low fat. I dont plan on being strict- 25% give or take calories from fat should be sufficient. Ill discuss it with my midwife at my next appointment. With my last child I did not lose any weight while breastfeeding. He was completely breastfed- no formula at all so one would expect to shed the baby fat very quickly but there was a problem- I couldnt control my eating. I would start each day by trying to eat light, Id maybe eat a banana or a packet of oatmeal and by 10:30am I would be literally starving. So almost every single day I would eat several large pancakes with butter and boysenberry syrup, then at noon Id eat lunch, have snack around 3, dinner around 6, snack around 8, snack around 10 and finally to bed. God only knows how many calories I was consuming but it was a ridiculous amount Im sure! I was really low on fruits and veggies and high on fat and carbs. I slowly packed on the pounds even though I was nursing. This time I am armed with knowledge. Knowledge that I need to eat a big hearty low fat breakfast and have a nutritious low fat snack waiting when that hunger hits. If I can get to lunch time eating well then the rest of the day generally goes very well.  Lactating burns about 500 calories a day! But that doesn’t mean you can eat anything you want in whatever amount you want. Still watch that fat and those calories. Make sure you are eating healthy food but in a smart amount, don’t let yourself get so hungry you over eat. I got into that habit everyday and it really took a tole on my health and it took a lot of miles of running and months (years!) of watching what I ate to lose that fat I put on during the pregnancy and postpartum period.

Posted by Shelley in Nutrition on July 21st, 2007 |