Weight Loss for Nursing Women
Weight loss for nursing women is an important topic, because it concerns both the mother and the baby. During pregnancy, and while nursing, a woman's body stores fat. The fat is nature's way of making sure the baby gets enough nourishment while nursing. The pregnant mother's body actually develops new fat cells during the last 3 months of the pregnancy in preparation for birth and nursing. It is a common complaint among women who have had a baby that they seem to be unable to lose all the weight put on while pregnant. The new fat cells may be a major reason why this is true.
A good program addressing weight loss for nursing women will take into consideration the demands that a feeding baby is placing on the body. The last thing a nursing mother should do is fail to eat nutritionally in an attempt to lose weight. Lack of proper nutrition can affect the amount of milk produced. Also, when nursing, the nutritional value of mother's milk is dependent upon the nutritional value of mother's diet. Nutrients from a balanced diet produces the nutrients needed by the baby when nursing.
A nursing woman should never, without exception, try a popular fad diet while nursing. Fad diets are called "fads" because they are not sustainable over the long term. Most of them are missing a quantity of important nutrients. On the other hand, a woman must daily intake between 500 to 800 additional calories to produce nutritional milk for the infant. So how does a woman go about losing pregnancy weight without harming the infant?
Actually, weight loss for nursing women should be approached the same way anyone would who wants to lose weight. First, eat a balanced diet. Eat 3 helpings each day of fresh fruits and vegetables. Second, avoid foods that are high in fat. Third, eat more fish and chicken and limit the amount of high fat meats. Fourth, avoid excess sugar. Because of the need for higher calorie intake while nursing, mothers must count calories. But losing weight is a matter of taking in fewer calories than are expended through activity and nursing.
Like any other weight loss program, a plan for weight loss for nursing women must include exercise. Not only does exercise help burn calories, it will help a new mother cope better with the demands of a new infant.
Other important considerations of weight loss for nursing women is to not use artificial sweeteners. The studies continue to be controversial about their safety, and mothers don't want to feed their infants chemicals through breast milk. It is tempting to increase the use of artificial sweeteners when limiting the intake of sugar on a diet.
A mother can nurse while dieting as long as the diet is nutritional. The diet must also provide all the necessary nutrients necessary to sustain healthy nursing. Though nursing requires the mother to eat more calories, it also burns the calories. So by limiting calorie intake to only healthy foods, nursing can actually help a woman lose weight. Programs for weight loss for nursing mothers should not be undertaken until 6 weeks after the birth. New mothers may be anxious to lose weight as soon as possible, but the must give the body time to create milk supplies. Making dietary changes too soon can negatively affect all the physiological systems.
