While pregnant, many mothers feel compelled to eat as nutritiously as possible. Lean meats such as chicken and fish and loads of fruits and vegetables are extremely helpful in making sure that your baby is the healthiest it can be, during those nine months before birth. But after giving birth, many mothers undoubtedly find that eating for two has had its consequences.... So how can you lose the pregnancy weight while still having nutritious breast milk to feed your newborn?
Understanding Healthy Breast Milk
EasyBabyLife.com, an online resource for new mothers, says the most important thing to remember about your diet during breastfeeding is to eat something. So many mothers, they say, neglect entire meals at a time because of all the new responsibilities that come with having a baby. But there are fewer dietary rules when the baby is actually out, and mothers should take advantage of that.
Water is the most important thing you can drink in the year after you've given birth. You need to be extra-hydrated to produce milk for your baby, so make sure water is close by at all times.
Also, fruits and vegetables contain many vitamins and minerals that your newborn will need in the first years of his or her life. So while many restrictions have been lifted on what you can eat, this doesn't mean you're free to eat cheeseburgers for breakfast and milkshakes for lunch. Be sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables at every meal.
The website also states that drinking an excess of milk, or eating an abundance of dairy products, is not necessary to produce milk yourself. Your body will make the milk it needs naturally, and it doesn't take a lot of calcium for you to lactate.
If you'd like your baby to develop a taste for fruits and vegetables from infancy, make sure they are part of your diet while lactating. The foods will permeate the breast milk and your newborn will develop a craving for these foods as a small child.
The Whole Grain Diet
Anne Collins, of AnneCollins.com, writes that breast feeding may actually help you lose weight. She writes that according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the process of breastfeeding releases hormones into the body which helps the uterus shrink back to the size it was pre-pregnancy.
That said, watching calories is still important if you want to be sure to lose weight. Collins says that 1,800 calories a day should be the goal, and that whole grains should be a large part of a new mother's diet, as it they help stimulate breast milk production. MayoClinic.com describes the Whole Grain Diet as one of the simplest diets to follow and also one of the most effective.
What sets this diet apart from others is that it doesn't require a radical reformation of what you eat and what you don't. Instead, several suggestions are simply given for adding whole grains to your everyday diet. For example, try replace white rice with kasha, brown rice, wild rice or bulgur. Also, make sandwiches with whole grain breads or tortillas instead of white bread--and eat high-fiber cereals. Making these small changes, MayoClinic.com says, can reduce calories, help you lose weight and make your breast milk healthier for your baby.
The High-Protein Diet
Protein is also a necessary component to any healthy mom's breast milk for her newborn. While infusing whole grains into your diet, you can also try the High Protein Diet suggested by WebMD.com.
For breakfast, try a green pepper and onion omelet. While it may be a little high in cholesterol because of the eggs, one cup of peppers and onions each should bring nearly 14 grams of protein. For lunch, a tuna sandwich (with no mayonnaise) should suffice, as a can of Starkist tuna contains 13 grams of protein. Dinner should consist of a cut of some kind of lean meat. A breast of chicken or a slice of fish, with vegetables and a fruit smoothie, should be all you need to keep your newborn healthy and your figure slim.
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