Name: Vindhya

Once you’ve settled into a routine with baby, if you’re like many new moms, you’ll probably start thinking about losing those pregnancy pounds. But if you’re nursing, it’s not just as simple as starting a diet to cut back on calories. You need to remember that you’re still nourishing a baby, and a healthful diet for yourself remains very important. To ensure that you’re producing enough milk for your infant, it’s essential that you get enough calories and consume plenty of liquid each day.

You need more calories while you’re nursing
Nursing a baby requires about 500 calories a day above your pregnancy calorie requirement. For example, if you typically consumed 2,200 calories a day while you were pregnant, you should be eating about 2,700 calories while breastfeeding. You’ll need more than the extra 500 calories a day if you have a very large baby (who will need more milk) or if you’re feeding multiple babies.

Watching your weight while nursing

If you’re nursing, you shouldn’t think about losing weight until baby is at least 6 weeks old. Then, you should take a gradual approach to weight loss, losing not more than 2 pounds a month.

If you start a diet and cut your calories, you could be compromising your own nutritional well-being because your body will draw nutrients from your reserves to produce breastmilk. Cutting calories will make you feel tired and may reduce the immune factors in your breastmilk so that baby is less resistant to colds and infections. What’s more, you may not produce enough milk for baby. If you’ve gone back to work outside the home or have resumed an ambitious exercise program, you’ll also need more energy (calories).

Your highest caloric needs will be in the first 4 to 6 months of breastfeeding, because that’s when baby is drinking breastmilk exclusively. During this time it’s more important than ever to make wise food choices. Being able to eat more calories does not mean you should eat an extra serving of french fries, apple pie, or other foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients. To make up the additional 500 calories you need for nursing, you should consume nutritious foods.

The following is an example of a way to add more calories to your daily diet nutritiously. These items total about 500 calories each:

• 3 extra servings of complex carbohydrates (for example, 3 slices of bread)

• 3 extra ounces of lean meat or poultry

• 1 extra serving of fruits or vegetables

• 1 extra serving of a reduced-fat or fat-free dairy product

As baby gets older and begins to eat solid foods, you won’t need to produce as much breastmilk and you won’t need as many calories. This is the time to watch your weight carefully and cut back on calories if you start to gain weight.

Drink plenty
In order to produce lots of breastmilk, you also need to take in plenty of fluids. Two to three quarts a day is ideal. The liquids can include water, milk (reduced-fat or fat-free), and fruit or vegetable juices, but don’t waste calories on non-nutritious drinks, such as sodas or sweetened, flavored waters.

Exercise does work
Another important part of slimming down while nursing is exercise. While you may feel like you can’t possibly squeeze another thing into your hectic day, if you really want to regain your figure, carve out a small bit of time for exercise. This can be as simple as taking the baby for a walk in the stroller or walking with the baby strapped into a front carrier pack. Exercising in front of the TV with a fitness video designed especially for new moms also can work. Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, biking, or swimming, will help burn calories, while muscle-toning exercise, such as working out with light hand weights, will help redefine your shape.

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