Say Goodbye to Your Pregnancy Weight While Breastfeeding

Getting rid of your pregnancy weight soon after delivery can be tricky. While you're waiting to shed that extra weight, you also need to eat well to maintain an adequate milk supply. Is there a middle ground? While you can lose weight without affecting your milk supply, remember that thinking about losing weight shouldn't be your first postpartum concern. Women can begin walking about 2 weeks after a normal delivery, so keep that in mind.

1. Limit your carbohydrate intake: This could help you lose weight, but make sure that your diet is supplemented with a lot of protein, fruits and vegetables. You will still need to eat a minimum of about 1,800 calories per day.

2. Slowly start exercising: When your doctor clears you for exercise, you can start by going for walks with your baby or doing some postpartum yoga. 20-30 minutes of physical activity per day is sufficient, to begin with.

3. Keep yourself well hydrated: 12 cups of water should be your daily goal. This will help your body flush out any water weight. Make sure you avoid sugary beverages, as that will be counter-productive to losing weight.

4. Avoid skipping meals: This can slow down your metabolism and can cause a drop in your energy levels, making it challenging to stay active and caring for your baby. If you find that you don't have time for a full meal, add small snacks in between meals. However, remember to choose a healthy snack.

5. Rest as much as you can: Sleeping can help your body recover faster, thereby helping you lose weight too. If you're getting some daily exercise, it's important to sleep so that your muscles can rest and recover. Your baby may not leave you with a full night's sleep, so the rule is to sleep when your baby sleeps.

Remember not to push your body to lose weight quickly. After all, it did take 9 months to put on all that weight. Be kind to your body, don't compare your progress to others and focus on keeping yourself and your newborn happy and healthy.

Author Bio: Prapti Chauhan is a professor of Genetics in Bangalore. She has contributed to several online research papers. However, she passionately develops contents on pregnancy, childbirth, childcare and Stem Cell Banking and stem cell cord blood banking.