World Breastfeeding Week 2016 – Weight Loss Tip #151– Breastfeed to lose weight

Women gain anything between 9 to 23 kg during pregnancy, but whether you need to drop 5 kg or 50, breastfeeding can be one of the effective ways to lose weight after childbirth. Remember not to do these things while breastfeeding.

Yes, the rumours are true. Nursing can help you burn  calories and research does support that [1].  According to lactation educator Sonali Shivlani, you can lose up to 20 calories when you are breastfeeding so if you nurse 8 times a day, your burn up to 160 calories just by sitting. Sonali also reminds you that it took 9 months for your uterus to expand, so you need to give it at least 6 weeks (or maybe about two months) before it relaxes or shrinks to a smaller size. Even after that, your abdomen could be a little flabby especially if you binge after the delivery. Breastfeeding can make new mums like you hungry and sleep deprived making you reach for simple carbohydrates. And it will not be easy to lose weight if you are always nibbling cookies. So, think before you snack. You can eat these healthy Indian snacks during pregnancy. 

“If you wait too long between meals, your body will start pulling energy from your reserves which will lower prolactin and reduce the milk you make,” says Kavita Mehra Child Birth and Lactation Educator, Fortis, Noida. So the best idea would be to eat smaller more frequent meals so that you don’t starve. Here are other scary things that can happen when you starve. 

Everyone does not lose weight at the same rate so don’t be discouraged if your weight loss happens slowly as compared to other new mothers. Weight loss cannot occur in a day. It took you some good nine months to put on that weight so give yourself some nine months to get your body back in shape. As long as you are eating a balanced diet and getting at least 30 minutes of exercise every day, you are fine.

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References:

[1] Sámano R, Martínez-Rojano H, Godínez Martínez E, Sánchez Jiménez B, VilledaRodríguez GP, Pérez Zamora J, Casanueva E. Effects of breastfeeding on weight loss and recovery of pregestational weight in adolescent and adult mothers. Food  Nutr Bull. 2013 Jun;34(2):123-30. PubMed PMID: 23964385.

 

 

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