Can you lose weight while breastfeeding?

After giving birth, many pregnant women have to go through a period of confinement and breastfeeding for the sake of their health and the nutritional needs of their children. For many women, their figures have already been out of shape after ten months of pregnancy. Women who love beauty often want to quickly restore their perfect figure before giving birth after the birth of their child. At this time, the question arises: when you are still breastfeeding after giving birth, will high-nutrition food supplements help you lose weight after giving birth?

Can I lose weight during breastfeeding?

It is best not to lose weight during breastfeeding, let alone through dieting. Breastfeeding mothers are responsible for feeding their babies. Breast milk is converted from fat, and the source of fat is various foods. Therefore, if a new mother goes on a diet, her body will not get enough nutrition and there will not be enough nutritious milk to feed the baby. For the sake of the nutrition and health of babies, mothers should never lose weight by dieting.

How to lose weight during breastfeeding

1. Time to lose weight. It is best to consult your doctor first and get their approval. It is generally recommended to start losing weight 42 days after delivery, because mothers are weaker and babies need nutrition.

2. Methods of losing weight. Don't go on a diet, but adjust your eating habits. The principle of diet should be scientific, reasonable and balanced, which should ensure that mother and baby can absorb adequate nutrition while avoiding overnutrition. Eat slowly, chew more often, and swallow thoroughly.

3. The speed of weight loss. While ensuring that the baby has sufficient milk, the recommended weight loss rate for new mothers is controlled at 0.5 kg to 1 kg per week.

4. Get moderate exercise. For example, morning and evening walks, simple yoga and housework.

5. Keep a happy mood. Mothers should not worry too much about their weight. As long as they have the determination and perseverance to lose weight, losing weight after childbirth will not be a problem.

6. Change your eating habits. Replacing your usual favorite snacks with fruits can not only allow you to absorb certain vitamins and increase the mother's nutrition, but also effectively reduce the production of excess fat.

7. Daily life skills. Drink plenty of water, get enough sleep, and massage your legs regularly.

· Tips for fast weight loss during breastfeeding

1. Start losing weight 6 weeks after giving birth

Women can start losing weight six weeks after giving birth, when their bodies have basically recovered. New mothers can achieve rapid weight loss by adjusting their eating habits. This weight loss process may last from 10 months to a year, and the speed of weight loss should not be too fast.

2. Develop scientific eating habits

Avoid high-fat and high-calorie foods, and eat more foods that are high in protein and low in calories, such as fish and lean meat. Make sure to have a good balance of meat and vegetables, and coarse grains and refined grains. Eat staple foods, milk, fresh fruits, and vegetables. Try to eat less or no high-calorie foods such as sweets, fried foods, and fatty meat. Increasing the number of times you chew when eating can also help you lose weight. Chewing slowly helps the stomach digest food and reduces mothers' desire to continue eating.

3. Continue breastfeeding

Breast milk is the best natural food for babies. Persistent breastfeeding can not only consume excess fat and calories in the mother's body, but also promote uterine contraction and stimulate prolactin secretion. So breastfeeding itself is a process of weight loss.

4. Exercise moderately

Moderate exercise is also important, as it can burn excess fat and calories in women's bodies. While ensuring adequate sleep, new mothers can do some simple exercises, such as brisk walking half an hour after a meal, postpartum yoga and gymnastics, etc., which are good choices for rapid weight loss after childbirth.

How to lose weight without affecting breast milk

1. Seize the opportunity

If the mother gave birth naturally, it is recommended that she start a weight loss plan about one to two months after giving birth, taking into account her own physical condition; while mothers who gave birth by caesarean section should start losing weight three months after giving birth.

2. Eat a healthy diet

Don't go on a diet, but eat a reasonable and scientific diet. Eat more foods that are high in protein and low in calories, such as lean meat and fish, as well as some foods that help with milk production, such as bitter melon and whole-wheat products. You also need to ensure food diversity. Don't eat the same food for several days in a row. You can make a menu and try new foods every day to increase your appetite.

3. Uniform motion

Do steady-state exercise rather than strenuous exercise. Exercises such as yoga and walking are relatively slow and can effectively achieve the goal of weight loss and burn excess fat without affecting milk production and breastfeeding.

4. Postpartum gymnastics

Lie flat on the bed, overlap your hands and place them on your abdomen, breathe naturally, and contract your abdomen quickly and forcefully, then slowly relax. Do it 10-20 times, and then gradually increase to 50 times. When doing this movement, other parts of the body should also relax.

What to eat to lose weight during breastfeeding

Postpartum women want to lose weight and return to their pre-pregnancy slim figure, but they are also afraid that insufficient nutrition will affect breastfeeding and the baby's health. In fact, postpartum weight loss and normal breastfeeding can coexist. Here are some foods that can help you lose weight while breastfeeding without affecting breast milk:

1. Apple

Apples contain unique fruit acids that can speed up metabolism and reduce body fat. Because apples are low-calorie food, no matter how much you eat, it will not exceed the calories you consume in daily life, so your weight will naturally decrease.

2. Cucumber

Cucumber is also a good choice for postpartum diet therapy and weight loss, because cucumber not only helps inhibit the conversion of fat, but also inhibits the conversion of carbohydrates in various foods into fat in the body, which can effectively reduce the fat content in the mother's body.

3. Nuts

Foods such as walnuts and cashews contain large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids, which can help lower cholesterol and maintain the health and elasticity of arteries.

· Recommended diet for weight loss during lactation

1. Crucian carp and tofu soup

Ingredients: 2 crucian carps, 1 piece of tofu, 5 grams of salt, 4 slices of ginger, 2 stalks of coriander, a little white pepper, and appropriate amount of salad oil.

Steps: (1) Cut the tofu into thin slices, soak in salt water for about 5 minutes, and drain.

(2) Remove the internal organs of the crucian carp, apply rice wine, marinate with salt for 10 minutes, and then fry in a pan until it turns yellow.

(3) Add onion, ginger and appropriate amount of water, cook over high heat for 10 minutes, then simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

(4) Finally, add tofu and cook for 5 minutes. Add appropriate amount of salt, pepper and chicken essence, and sprinkle with some chopped green onions.

Efficacy: It not only helps with milk production, but regular consumption can also enhance disease resistance.

2. Milky red bean

Ingredients: appropriate amount of red beans, yogurt, and white sugar.

Steps: (1) Soak the red beans for a day in advance. After soaking, put them into the pressure cooker. Be careful not to cook the red beans until they bloom.

(2) Place the cooked red beans in the refrigerator.

(3) Pour the prepared milk powder into the refrigerated red beans.

Efficacy: The nutrients contained in red beans exceed many foods, such as wheat, millet, corn, etc. Red beans are mild in nature, sweet and sour in taste, non-toxic, and have the functions of nourishing and strengthening the body, strengthening the spleen and stomach, promoting diuresis and removing dampness, clearing away heat and detoxifying, promoting lactation and replenishing blood.

3. Assorted Oolong Porridge

Ingredients: 30 grams of coix seed, 100 grams of wax gourd seeds, 20 grams of red beans, 10 grams of lotus leaves, and appropriate amount of oolong tea.

Steps: (1) Cook coix seeds, wax gourd seeds and adzuki beans.

(2) Place the cooked coix seeds, wax gourd seeds and adzuki beans into the lotus leaves and oolong tea wrapped in gauze.

(3) Boil for 7 to 8 minutes, remove the gauze bag and take it in two doses.

Efficacy: It can not only achieve the purpose of weight loss, but also has the effect of strengthening the spleen and eliminating dampness.

Taboos of weight loss during lactation

After giving birth, many mothers are eager to regain their figure and start losing weight blindly. This will not only harm your body, but also affect the healthy growth of your baby. It is generally not recommended to lose weight immediately after giving birth. It is best to consult a doctor in advance.

1. Don’t take diet pills and slimming teas

These weight loss drugs are excreted through breast milk, and the baby will indirectly consume the drug ingredients. Infants' livers have poor detoxification capabilities, and large amounts of weight-loss drugs can cause reduced liver function in infants, leading to abnormal liver function.

2. Don’t do strenuous exercise

Vigorous exercise after childbirth is likely to interfere with the recovery of the uterus and may also cause uterine prolapse and relaxation of muscles and ligaments. Lactic acid will also be produced after strenuous exercise. Feeding breast milk containing lactic acid is not conducive to the healthy growth of the baby.

3. Don’t go on a crazy diet

Crazy dieting is not an acceptable method for postpartum women, because new mothers have to bear the burden of feeding their babies. Crazy dieting will cause the body to be malnourished, which will also harm the baby. The baby cannot get adequate nutritional supplements, which is not conducive to the healthy growth of the baby.

4. Don’t use acupuncture to lose weight

Acupuncture for weight loss will cause women to eat less, which will affect nutrient absorption, resulting in insufficient breast milk nutrition and interfere with the normal development of the baby. It is recommended that you try acupuncture weight loss after your child is weaned. In particular, women who are menstruating, postpartum, or whose menstruation has not returned to normal after abortion should never try acupuncture weight loss.