Smart Ways To Lose Weight While Breastfeeding

Now that you had your baby and made sure he’s healthy, you are definitely thinking of ways to lose the baby weight you’ve put on during pregnancy.

Even if you’re eager to shed some weight, we don’t recommend starting right after giving birth. You have to take this matter slowly and give yourself between six weeks and two months so your body recovers properly and your milk production stabilizes. After that, you can follow the tips below in order to lose weight in a healthy, safe way:

• Eat smaller, but more frequent meals throughout the day, so you give your metabolism a push and give your body that extra boost of energy with vital and necessary nutrients to support your milk supply.
• Eat plenty of iron-rich foods, with a particular focus on non-fatty meat, spinach, lentils, black beans and different types of leafy vegetables.
• Support your daily meals with complex carbohydrates, such as whole-grain and whole-wheatproducts, sweet potatoes and vegetables.
• Let your diet be rich in protein and calcium. You can consume them in the form of snacks like yogurt, cheese and milk, and banana smoothie.
• Eat lots of Omega-3 sources —such as nuts, eggs, salmon, spinach and breakfast cereals.
• Drink plenty of water –an average of 8 cups a day– as it will help you get rid of excess fat.
• Eat your meals slowly so you can pick up satiety signals sent by your body and thus avoid overeating.
• Always eat grilled, boiled and steamed food and stay away from fried food.
• Avoid as much as possible junk foods, processed products and food sources high in sugar and calories.
• Reduce your daily caloric intake as long as it does not fall below 1800 calories a day and keep on eating a wide variety of nutritious foods.
• Exercise more, because it helps you get rid of all excess fat and weight, and helps your muscles remain intact.

While following these steps, remember to remain patient and realistic. This task requires a lot of effort and time and there's no point in replacing it with any other type of diet that might make you lose body muscle and water and adversely affect your breastfeeding. The World Health Organization recommends continuing breastfeeding for at least 6 months after giving birth.

Read More: Common Breastfeeding Challenges