A diet for a new mom

Question
Hi,

Hopefully you can offer some advice! I had a baby 4 months ago and gained 40 lbs while pregnant. I started at about 108. After 4 months, I still have 20 lbs to lose! Everyone told me that breast feeding would help but Im not finding that to be true. I have stayed consistently around 130 since having the baby despite breastfeeding and riding my indoor bike 3-4 times a week. I am desperate to get rid of this extra weight!!

I dont think I eat incredibly much- hopefully this isnt too much detail or taking too much of your time but here is a typical day for me:

Breakfast- 2 pieces whole grain toast or Luna bar; OJ diluted with water

Lunch- turkey and swiss on whole grain bread and mustard; some type of vegetable (raw green peppers, cucumbers; green beans with tomatoes; steamed zuccini)

Snack- string cheese; raw veggies

Dinner- frozen pizza and salad (low-fat Italian dressing); Skillet sensations with salad etc

I typically only drink water except some OJ in the morning...what else can I do???

I do like to drink alcohol on occasion and am trying to cut that out as much as possible but I'm not sure what else I can do other than starve myself to lose the weight.

Do you have ANY recommendations for me? I am still breastfeeding and would like to continue for a while, at the very least until my son is 6 months old (2 months from now).

Thank you so much for any help you can give!
Kristen*

Answer
Kristen,

First of all, you need to know for sure that you reallly need to lose weight. To odo that, you might want to calculate your body fat percent. It's possible to do online, the site also offers a sign up for a free diet plan:

Measuring body fat with a tape
http://bantadiet.com/banta/?page_id=21

Also, your description of how you eat looks like you do already starving yourself and this might be the reason for your dissatisfaction. While nursing, you might want to pay more intention to what's NOT your plate than what's on it. For example, looks like you are missing essential (good) fats and quality protein.

Adding strangth training and high-intensity interval training can help

Get your pre-baby body back
http://tinyurl.com/new-mom

Diet for breastfeeding mom
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Special-Diets-768/diet-breastfeeding-mom.htm

Baby weight, breastfeeding...
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Special-Diets-768/2008/9/Baby-weight-breastfeeding-ye...

Tanya Zilberter

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