Breastfeeding and Weight Loss

If you’ve ever expressed any concerns about getting your pre-pregnancy body back, the odds are that you’ve been told that breastfeeding will do the trick for you once you have your baby. This is an extremely common thing for people to say to reassure pregnant women having body image struggles. 

It’s something many people say in real life, and it’s something we often see on TV.  Characters in various shows and movies frequently talk about how they will use breastfeeding as their pregnancy weight loss program. It has been said nearly as frequently as “you’re eating for two” when discussing a pregnant woman’s appetite increases.  

That said, just as “eating for two” isn’t true in the strictest sense, neither are many of the claims regarding breastfeeding and weight loss.  Therefore, it’s important to find out what you should believe, and what you should leave to fiction.

Celebrities Link Breastfeeding and Weight Loss

One of the things celebrities seem to credit their rapid post-pregnancy weight loss on is breastfeeding. Time and time again, famous starlets say they lost their baby weight so quickly by breastfeeding instead of using formulate. But is this really true?

To be honest, most celebrities also have chefs on hand to cook them healthy foods as well as trainers to help them workout as soon as possible after having a baby. This being said, breastfeeding can play an important role in your post-pregnancy weight loss plan. 

How Breastfeeding Helps You Lose Weight

The energy it takes to breastfeed actually does allow your body to burn calories. Since the body needs to produce the milk, the body needs to burn calories for energy in order to complete this process. Many medical professionals have stated that the body can burn up to 500 additional calories each day that a woman breastfeeds. Keep in mind that this is up to 500 calories, not an average of this amount.

This can cause the mother to lose about a pound of fat a week if they do not make up the additional calorie loss in some way. However, if a woman eats more than they should and the calorie deficit is not created, then the woman may not lose weight as they might like. That said, most women are quite hungry during this time – as can be assumed – and eating a properly balanced diet for breastfeeding can often result in a high calorie intake.

Losing Weight While Breastfeeding

Despite all this, it doesn’t mean that losing weight while breastfeeding is impossible. For those who are looking to lose weight while breastfeeding, they will want to look into watching the sorts of foods they are eating.

By eating fewer carbohydrates and more vegetables and lean proteins, they will be able to lose weight more easily while still giving their breast milk the nutrients it needs to sustain the baby. Drinking lots of water will also help to quell any cravings the mother might have, while also helping to keep the mother hydrated during the many hours of nursing. 

The real question is whether breastfeeding mothers should be worrying so much about losing weight at all, and this is a good question to ask. Mothers who have just spent the last nine months gaining weight might feel better if they were to start losing weight right after pregnancy, this is true.

At the same time, if the mother isn’t eating enough food or they aren’t balancing their meals, they might also have troubles keeping up with the pressure of parenting, causing them to feel more tired and moody than normal. The basic rule to follow is that watching what you’re eating is a good plan, but if it starts to affect the way you parent, stop trying to lose weight and refocus on your health instead. 

Breastfeeding can help a mother begin to lose weight immediately after giving birth. However, while it might seem like the perfect way for pounds to just melt off, this is far from the case. Instead, mothers can expect to begin to lose weight after giving birth, though not necessarily at the rate they might desire. Health should come first for mother and baby and if weight loss can take place at the same time, then that’s all the better for everyone.