The Breastfeeding Diet
When you are on a breastfeeding diet, and especially for the first two months, you should be focused on the quality of what you are consuming. Check with your doctor and pediatrician to ensure that you and baby are on the right track, paying no mind to fad diets, especially ones that are low in calories. A nursing gal should be eating an extra 500 calories per day for a singleton, and an extra 1000 for twins. Kathleen Huggins' The Nursing Mother's Companion is a great resource for all information on the breastfeeding diet. She recommends estimating your daily caloric needs by multiplying your current weight by 15, and then adding the extra 500 calories. According to this guide, if you are a moderately active woman, you can expect to lose a pound every two to three weeks.
Here is her calculation for calorie determination:
Example: 135 pounds x 15 = 2,025 calories + 500 = 2,525 calories
You can adjust the figures according to your activity level (multiply by 13 for low activity, 17 for high activity).
You should know, however, that the extra 500 calories should not be used for dessert. I often made this justification, inaccurately, when I split the Chocolate Lava Cake a la mode with my best girlfriend after our lunch dates. However, this infrequent splurge did not prevent me from eventually losing all of my baby weight and then some.
The below guidelines for a brestfeeding diet are pulled from many sources, including The Nursing Mother's Companion, diet experts, and my own literature provided to me after delivery of my first child.
It is well known that when a nursing mother does not eat properly, it is to the detriment of her own health. The newborn baby needs at least 1,000 calories a day from your breast milk, and your healthy reserves will be depleted if you don't eat properly.
You should receive the same counseling when you depart from the hospital, but later, when asking a doctor for help, pose questions to your ob-gyn, lactation consultant, and pediatrician.
Vitamins & Minerals
After checking with your doctor, you should continue to take the same prenatal vitamin that you took while pregnant. If you are a vegetarian or leaning that way, make sure you take your B vitamins. B vitamins are often overlooked, but so important. I had a spell when I first started eliminating meats from my diet, where I had trouble concentrating, felt lethargic, basically became a big dumb mess. I started taking a B12 supplement and felt better, almost overnight. Again, check with your doctor. As large doses of B vitamins while breastfeeding have been reported to reduce milk production. Folic Acid is another B vitamin, but it should be contained already in your prenatal tablet. Folate is the natural occurring version of Folic Acid, which can be found in food, as we'll explore below. Brewers yeast is a combination of all B vitamins, iron, and protein, and some believe it to help bolster milk supply and their overall energy level. Be careful though, it can be a source of baby colic. You should also be taking 1600 mg of calcium per day, in addition to vitamin D if you live in a dark climate. I agree with La Leche Leaque when they recommend that mothers consult their doctors to find out how much of any supplement should be added to their diets. That's it, the rest of the vitamins and minerals should be obtained from your wholesome, healthy breastfeeding diet.
AND FOR YOUR BABY: Because vitamin D is absorbed through the skin and we are limiting our outdoor exposure now more than ever, we should take baby for walks outside for about 20 minutes a day. The CDC reports on it's website, that per the American Academy of Pediatrics; human milk typically contains a vitamin D concentration of 25 IU per liter or less. Not much. Ask your pediatrician about a supplement of 400 IU per day of vitamin D for your breastfed infant. Adequate amounts of vitamin D can be achieved by currently available multivitamin products containing 400 IU of vitamin D per mL or the newly available preparations that contain 400 IU/mL vitamin D alone without other vitamins. These products are available over the counter for babies: Gerber Vitamin Drops, Poly-Vi-Sol Drops, Tri-Vi-Sol Drops, or Vi-Daylin ADC or Multivitamin Drops. Ask your pediatrician before starting any supplements for your baby.
Later, they report that if an infant is weaned to vitamin D fortified infant formula (consuming at least 1000 mL per day) or a child one year of age or older is weaned to vitamin D fortified milk, then further supplementation is not necessary.
Hydration is Essential
Drinking enough fluids is mandatory on the breastfeeding diet. I've read that you should be drinking anywhere from 8 cups (2 quarts) to 3 quarts of fluids a day. This can be accomplished by a combination of water, juice, fruits, or non-caffeinated tea. Fennel tea is terrific for building milk supply. You can make your own with some fennel seeds and a tea ball or strainer, or tea bags can be found at lactation consultation & supply stores. Organic Mother's Milk is a brand-name tea touted to enhance milk supply. In Europe, I was served Fennel tea daily at the hospital to bolster my milk supply after my second child's birth. I don't recommend any other herbal supplements while breastfeeding, as they can have many unreported side effects and as always check with your doctor to make sure you aren't taking any drugs, especially antibiotics, or have a condition that might interact with fennel or other herbal remedies.
Breastfeeding Diet Foods
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Pesticides pass through to the mother's milk. Try to buy organic with products that don't have a thick outer hull or peel, like bananas and melons. These days, organic prices are coming down, especially in places like Trader Joe's.
VITAMIN A RICH:
(Vitamin A needs increase from 1000 mg/day to 1300 mg/day)
1 Serving
cantaloupe or Mango - 1/4 medium
papaya - 1/2 medium
apricots - 3 medium
tomato - 2 medium
bok choy, greens, spinach, sweet potato, or winter squash - 1/2 cup cooked, or 1 cup raw
chili peppers - 1/2 cup cooked
carrots - 1/2 cup cooked
Feeling lazy? Trader Joe's Very Green Juice Blend is a delightful punch of Vitamin A
VITAMIN C RICH
1 Serving
juices: orange, grapefruit, or juice with added vitamin C - 6 oz.
cantaloupe or papaya - 1/4 medium
grapefruit - 1 medium
orange, lemon, or kiwi - 1 medium
tangerine or tomato - 2 medium
chili peppers - 1/2 cup cooked
broccoli, brussels sprouts, strawberries, cauliflower, red, yellow, or green peppers - 1/2 cup cooked or raw
VITAMIN B9 RICH
3 Servings
enriched wheat or OJ - 1 slice or 6 oz.
asparagus - 1/2 cup cooked
cabbage - 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw of this and the following:
corn
garbanzo beans
spinach
Other
raisins - 1/4 cup
grapes or watermelon - 1/2 cup
apple, banana, nectarine, peach, or pear - 1 medium
green beans, potato, peas, yellowneck squash, zucchini - 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw
BREADS, GRAINS, AND CEREALS
It's best to pick enriched wheat or whole organic grains when choosing these. Avoid processed, refined, or bleached flour:
5-7 Servings
bread - 1 slice
tortilla - 1 small
cold cereal or hot cereal - 3/4 cup
pasta - 1/2 cup
rice - 1/2 cup cooked
hot dog or hamburger bun - 1
crackers - 8
DAIRY PRODUCTS OR CALCIUM RICH FOODS
Better that these dairy products be low-fat and organic:
<3-5 Servings>milk, yogurt, pudding, or custard - 8 oz.
cheese - 1 oz
cottage cheese - 1/2 cup
frozen yogurt, ice milk or ice cream - 1/2 cup
broccoli - 1/2 cup (I'm seeing a pattern here)
almonds - 1/2 cup (Trader Joe's has a great pre-portioned version)
sesame seeds - 1/2 cup
tofu - 6 oz.
kale - 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw
hazelnuts - 1/2 cup
salmon - 3 oz (good source of DHA)
PROTEIN RICH FOODS
3 Servings total
Vegetable Protein ( 1 serving everyday)
Cooked or Dry Beans or Peas - 1 cup
Peanut Butter - 4 tablespoons
Nuts or Seeds - 1/2 cup
Tofu - 6 oz.
Animal Protein
Cooked Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Fish, Pork or Lamb - 2 oz. (not necessary every day)
Eggs (also rich in zinc, the organic ones taste better - boiled eggs are the perfect food, buy the ones with DHA in them)
Canned Tuna or Other Canned Fish (only one serving a week)*
Essential Fatty Acids
1 tablespoon
These are essential to baby's nervous system
sunflower oil
rape seed oil
olive oil
Try Sunflower Seed Butter - it's delicious - and great for lunches where you can't use peanut butter due to airborne allergies!
* Due to their mercury levels, fish like tuna, shark, swordfish, king mackeral, and tilefish (golden and white snapper) should not be eaten by nursing mothers more than once a week.
A note on DHA: The fatty acids DHA and ARA are credited with boosting the IQs of babies who are breast-fed. A study, recently published in the Journal,Child Development concluded that
"Babies who received DHA and ARA enhanced formula (same levels as breast milk) had significantly higher scores on problem-solving tests compared with their counterparts on regular formula. In addition, among babies who drank formula from Day One, the proportion that successfully completed all three tests was 51% in the DHA/ARA group and 29% in the control group. Among babies who were weaned at six weeks, the results were 46% for the DHA/ARA group and 13% for controls."
And according to the LA times blog by Karen Kaplan, entitled, Booster Shots, that summarized the report; "The results are meaningful because a baby’s ability to solve these kinds of tasks has been correlated with enhanced IQ and vocabulary development later in childhood, according to the study. The babies who transitioned from breast milk to formula when they were 4 to 6 months did equally well on all of the tests whether they got the enhanced formula or not. Perhaps babies in that group hadn’t been drinking the supplemented formula long enough to get an IQ boost, the researchers speculated. Or maybe all of the babies had been fed naturally enhanced breast milk for so long that the fortified formula was superfluous."
Pretty compelling stuff. So glad I breast fed my babies!
Losing Weight After Baby
According to Kathleen Huggins, "if you use your appetite to guide you while you continue nursing, you will probably lose the weight gradually and feel good about it."
You should not be losing more than 2 pounds a week after the first six weeks. If you are, then something needs to be evaluated and you should check back in with your doctor. Losing weight rapidly is not only bad for you, it's bad for the baby. When you crash diet while nursing, your body releases toxins from your fat stores and they end up contaminating your breast milk. Not good. Low-carb diets like the Atkins diet should not be followed, as they are too calorie restrictive. I have read about a couple of commercially sponsored breastfeeding diets on-line, but am so convinced that sensible eating, 2-3 days of activity a week, and breastfeeding can get you back to your pre-baby weight that I hesitate to mention anything else. However, if you were overweight before you had your baby and really desire a structured program, I understand that Weight Watchers has a program for a breastfeeding diet. I've always respected Weight Watchers since it teaches people how to eat for life, rather than to crash diet. And most people who do Weight Watchers seem to see results that last.
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