Some moms who want to lose some pounds after giving birth often worry about whether their bodies will be able to breastfeed their newborn child. This concern isn’t uncommon as various factors may affect a mom’s ability to produce milk. In some cases, changing something about your routine after you give birth may halt your milk production.
So, if you wish to lose your postpartum weight without it affecting your breastfeeding capability, you can try to consider the following points:
Don’t Rush
You don’t need to rush and lose the weight you gained during your pregnancy as soon as you give birth. If you want to breastfeed, it may be best to rest for the first weeks to allow your body to produce a healthy milk supply. Once you’ve built your breastfeeding routine, you can slowly transition into a more active lifestyle. You can try stretching or walking for a few minutes every day if you want to move your body. Just remember to be gentle, and don’t push yourself past your limits.
Find A Suitable Training Program
Before you engage in any physical ability to shed some pounds, it may be best to consult an expert and find a suitable program for your body. You may need to follow a less strenuous routine to ensure your body won’t be overwhelmed by it. For example, programs by trainers like Sam Wood are tailored to cater to women who have just given birth.
Some postnatal exercises focus on helping women regain their strength and mobility after pregnancy. After all, some women may not have as much muscle strength and endurance due to the changes in their bodies after giving birth.
Postnatal training programs can also be adjusted, depending on your availability and current fitness level. For instance, if you’re a beginner or are still under-recovery, you can perform light movements and stretches for the first few weeks of your training program. This will ensure you won’t feel strained during your workout. It will also help you monitor your body’s condition and check whether you feel good or not.
Eat Enough Calories
Another key to successfully losing weight is your diet. No matter how much you work out, if you don’t make healthy food choices, you may not see a change in your body. So, if you wish to shed some pounds, you should prioritize a consistent meal plan.
However, you also need to consider how your diet will affect your breastmilk production. For one, if you don’t intake enough nutrients and calories, your body may stop making milk for your baby. Hence, it’s best to find a balance between eating enough to nurse your child without going above your daily calorie limit.
When calculating your recommended food intake, you should consider the number of calories you burn while breastfeeding. On average, this practice can burn up to 500 calories or more daily, so you shouldn’t worry about eating more than what you’re used to. You should factor this in when calculating your calorie allocation to ensure you won’t have a large deficit.
Furthermore, you shouldn’t neglect proper hydration during your postpartum journey, as these will aid your weight loss and your milk production.
Eat Smaller Portions More Often
Nursing your newborn child can take a lot of work. For one, you may need to breastfeed multiple times a day, depending on your baby’s needs. Feeding your child can exhaust your energy, so it’s not surprising that you’d feel hungry often during the day. If you don’t want to overeat and gain weight, it may be better to eat smaller portions more often. For instance, instead of having three full meals without snacking daily, you can opt to eat twice or thrice with snacking in between. This means you can eat a small serving between your main meals.
Eating more often will prevent you from feeling hungry and help you avoid binge eating. Furthermore, it’ll help you sustain your energy throughout your day.
Get As Much Sleep As You Can
One challenge you’ll face when losing weight during breastfeeding is your sleep routine. However, it’s vital you get enough rest to help your body lose some weight. If you don’t sleep enough, your appetite may increase, and your metabolism may slow down. Hence, you should try to find ways to rest while you’re still breastfeeding.
One tip you can try is sleeping whenever your baby does. It’s best to get some shut-eye whenever you can as you don’t know when your baby may want milk. Also, try to work with other people in your household when taking care of your newborn. Ask others for help so that you can take a break and sleep. You can stock up some breastmilk so that they won’t need to bother you if your child is hungry.
Final Thoughts
Overall, losing weight while breastfeeding is a challenging task. However, there are steps you can take to lose the extra pounds you gained during pregnancy. Just remember to take things slow and follow the advice of an expert to ensure your new postpartum practices won’t affect your milk production.
