The average weight gain during a single pregnancy is 12kg. As a new mom, you are also concerned about how soon you can shed off the baby weight.
My ladies I am here to tell you that breastfeeding will help you lose pregnancy weight.
The obvious question on you mind is surely how can I lose weight when I have to eat a whole lot in order to produce more milk?
Do you really have to?
‘Yes i do, you do not understand, my baby sucks me dry!’
Let me shock you…your baby sucks just about 67% of your breast milk. The baby stops sucking because he/she has had her fill, not because the milk is finished.
Tip: The secret is to leave the baby on your breast and let him/her suck. It is the suction that stimulates the production of breast milk
Let me shock you again! When you breastfeed, it means you use up the fat that was stored during pregnancy together with the calories that come from your diet to make breast milk making you lose over 1000 calories!!!.
Here are however some tips to help you lose more weight (healthily of course)
- First accept your new weight (by that i mean love yourself) and in bear mind it won’t shed off all at once…consistency is key
- Make healthy eating choices ; vegetables, fruits and grains
- Avoid high calorie foods ( added sugars and fatty): soft drinks, fried foods
- Drink a lot of water (it would also help reduce the cravings)
- Go for moderate physical activity as simple as walking and dancing (bonus: it helps with the postpartum depression most women face…you do not have to be by your baby 24/7, take some breaks and get active)
Ladies don’t be too hard on yourself. The rate of weight loss in the first 6 months after birth is about 1kg every month. It will take you at least 9 months to shed your baby weight as such be patient.
Here is what Lesley, a young mother who did exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months has to say about how she was able to get right back into shape. It’s personal (what works for her may not work for you) but am sure you can grab a thing or 2 from it.
“As a first time young mother and living with my parents, they kept on saying to me “You don’t eat like a breastfeeding mother” but little did they know that as a breastfeeding mother it’s not all about the quantity of food you eat but the quality of food. I did a lot of reading during my pregnant days and personally I decided I was going to have and eating timetable.
So I ate four times a day; 6am, 9am, 3pm and 6pm. I hardly ate after 6pm and if I did it was a mixture of fruits. At 6am I always had a cup of milk with Ovaltine and fried eggs with whatever complement I chose. I could fry 3 eggs with very little plantains or bread. I always made sure during my other eating hours I had different balanced meals for the day.
How I did it? There was always frozen food in the house. I ate a lot of fruits and veggies. As for complements like cocoyams, rice, plantains etc generally am not a food fan so I ate very little of these. I drank a lot of soups too like pepper soup?, and ate a lot of meat and fish. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t on a diet like parents thought I was. I was only interested in providing quality milk for my little one.
I didn’t want her to feel as if she ate the same every day reasons why I varied my diet a lot to give the milk I produced different taste and flavors. Before i knew it, i was back to shape in just 2 months postpartum. Almost forgot…I don’t take my milk with sugar it’s just something I just don’t do”
How about you? any tips on how to lose weight safely while nursing? share in the comment section
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