If you have just given birth to a baby and are anxious to shed those extra pounds, here is some good news for you. Breastfeed your baby and watch those pounds melt away. Although not many are aware of it, breastfeeding and weight loss, do go hand in hand, provided also that you eat a healthy breastfeeding diet. If you are breastfeeding twins weight loss would continue at the same rate, or may be even faster, because your body is using up more fats to make more milk. Breastfeeding problems may hamper the process at times but in most cases are minor issues that can be easily addressed.
If you are feeding your baby solely on breast milk, you are using up approximately 600 calories a day. It would take 2 hours of aerobics to lose that many calories. And the best part is that the places from where you lose fat are the hips and the buttocks, where extra body fat was stored during pregnancy.
In fact, one of the main reasons why this fat was stored was to provide breastfeeding calories, and help you later in producing breast milk. If you are feeding your baby only with formula and no breast milk, this fat continues to remain on your body, and would require a lot of exercise to make you get back to your pre-pregnancy shape.
Doctors, social workers and relatives, while giving breastfeeding advice, recommend breastfeeding because it provides emotional bonding between mother and baby, and also provides certain immunities to the baby. They may also point out the connection between breastfeeding and weight loss.
Mothers, who feed their infants solely on breast milk for the first 12 months, show the most remarkable weight loss, and many breastfeeding weight watchers will confirm that they have lost as much as one pound per week, which is equal to 3500 calories.
Diet: It is however necessary to follow a proper nourishing diet if you are breastfeeding. Never go on diet during this period, because this will deprive your baby too, of certain essential nutrients. Take care to eat balanced meals which will provide carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and ‘good’ fats necessary for baby’s growth and development. Eat sufficient fruits, vegetables, whole grains, cereals, dairy and poultry products. Drink plenty of water.
Problems: However, some mothers may have certain breastfeeding problems which cause them to stop the practice. These could be breast pain, blocked ducts, sore, cracked or bleeding nipples, thrush, mastitis, low milk supply or the infant’s refusal to suckle. Putting a warm towel on your breasts, ensuring that your baby feeds from both breasts and certain herbal medicines may prove helpful.
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