After the birth of a child a big priority for a lot of women is too lose the excess weight gained during the pregnancy however they have concerns about whether it is safe to do so while breastfeeding. Gaining extra weight during pregnancy is beneficial to you and your
child as you have to have enough stored fat for two. The typical amount of weight to retain after giving birth is between 5 and 12 pounds although this will vary somewhat depending on the individual.
Breastfeeding is a very energy-demanding process and to keep fat stores as they are needed it is recommended to eat approximately 500 calories more than you did pre-pregnancy.
Although it may seems as though this is excessive if the process works well it will encourage your body to burn an additional 250 calories each day. A big problem for a lot of women who try to lose weight whilst breastfeeding is that they eat an insufficient
amount of calories which causes the body to go into starvation mode and subsequently slows down the metabolism and weight loss. The best way to lose weight whilst also breastfeeding is not to decrease calorie intake but be smart about the types of foods you eat. Letʼs look at some of the best strategies for achieving this -
- Drinking plenty of water is one of the best ways to aid weight loss while breastfeeding. Milk is 50% water so not only does it ensure you are able to produce the milk for your child but it also speeds up the metabolic process so it helps with weight loss too
- Once you have recovered from the birth you should start an exercise regime that includes both cardio and strength training. You can include your baby in this too – there are many excellent baby carriers that provide excellent resistance while walking around.
Since you will be spending a lot of time with your baby this is a great way to do strength training and cardio at the same time.
- It is important to be realistic with your weight loss goals. You gained the weight during pregnancy gradually so you should approach losing it in the same way. If you eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly then the weight will come off sooner than you think and youʼll also be doing it in a sensible way.
