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Articles > Breastfeeding Gives Your Post Pregnancy Body A Weight Loss Boost
Carrying around extra pregnancy weight postpartum can be a drag. After wearing maternity clothes for the past nine months, you’re ready to get back into some of your old favorites. Most moms if not all of them can hardly wait to get their bodies back to their pre-pregnancy size. Luckily there are a few built in body boosters for breastfeeding moms.
The first body booster is that your body will use an additional 200 to 500 calories each day to produce breastmilk for your tot. So yes, breastfeeding can help you lose weight and gain your pre-pregnancy body back through this extra calorie burning. However, breastfeeding is not a magic weight loss plan. Eating more than necessary or eating empty calories such as soft drinks and other junk foods can cancel out the calorie burning effects of breastfeeding.
While nursing you’ll still need to eat a well-balanced, nutritious diet, drink plenty of fluids, get some much needed rest and fit some moderate exercise into your daily schedule. Moderate exercise can be as easy as taking a 30-minute walk each day with your little one in a stroller or sling.
Keep in mind that it did take nine months to gain the weight you’re currently carrying around so don’t expect it to fall off overnight. Postpartum weight loss is safest at a gradual pace, which equates to about one pound per week.
Stay away from dieting gimmicks and other quick fixes that accelerate weight loss because they can negatively affect breastfeeding. During rapid weight loss, the body begins to burn stored fat rather than glucose. This process is called ketosis. When the body is in ketosis, acidic chemicals or ketones are excreted in the blood and urine. These ketones can be passed through breastmilk and research has not yet shown what levels of ketones are safe for breastfeeding infants. Rapid weight loss has also been associated with a decrease in milk supply.
Your second body booster is that when you breastfeed the hormone oxytocin is released in your body. Oxytocin prompts uterine contractions (a.k.a. afterpains) which help to shrink the uterus back to its pre-pregnancy size. All mothers will experience after pains whether breastfeeding or not, but breastfeeding moms experience stronger contractions which speeds up the shrinking process quite a bit. These accelerated afterpains help to bring back your body’s pre-pregnancy shape.
Consult your physician before beginning any kind of weight loss program postpartum and give your body time to recuperate from childbirth. For the first 2 months following your child’s birth, give your body a chance to fully recover and establish a good milk supply by holding off any plans to lose weight.
This article was contributed by Elizabeth Catalanotto from Breast Pumps Direct . As a nursing mother to her 1-year-old daughter and a breastfeeding counselor, she spends a great deal of time everyday thinking, talking and writing about breastfeeding and breastmilk.
