A question for nursing mothers

What is a good eating plan for nursing mothers who would like to lose weight but still keep up the milk supply?

A little background: We have a six-month precious one, and my wife has done a great job of providing for our child's nutritional needs. She's taken the advice of others and found the right combination of foods that seemingly aid in milk production.

However, as a man who doesn't know much about this stuff, I question how good these foods are for mom. I've worked with other nursing mothers who were able to get back to close their pre-pregnancy weight while nursing.

My wife wants to do _something_ but isn't sure what to do to help. Her ability to exercise right now is limited until the end of May.

Here's what I'm looking for:
* An organized, laid-out plan what has documentation somewhere either on the net or in a book that we can follow
* No meetings required to attend with fees attached
* Something that won't cause her milk supply to decrease
* An eating plan that helps with hunger (she complains of being hungry all the time)

I welcome your ideas. Also, I should note that I'm not opposed to finding a plan that I can follow with her to give support.

Wed. Mar 28, 7:05am

I have nursed two children. My son I nursed for 6 months my daughter for 10.

Oatmeal is good in increasing milk supply. There is an herbal supplement fenugreek that also can help increase supply. Alcohol will decrease supply. And make sure she's drinking plenty of water.

Other than that.. diet and exercise. There is no certain foods that are banned (yes you will find lists that say so, but look and you'll find others that say they are fine). Breast feeding burns appx 500 calories a day. So calculate how many calories she should be eating without breastfeeding and stick to that amount. She'll have a 500 calorie per day deficit which works to 1lb a week and she won't be restricting any nutrients for the baby.

As for helping with hunger. Foods high in fiber help you feel fuller longer. More fruits and veggies since you get a lot of food for your calories.

I guess it's not hard. Look on the internet for good diet tips, forget nursing, just plain good eating and exercise plans. Just remember that instead of reducing her recommended calories by 500 a day to lose weight she should just limit herself to that amount while breastfeeding.

Good luck.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007, 9:09 AM

anyone else?

Wednesday, March 28, 2007, 5:59 PM

First I commend you in taking an interest in wanting to help your wife BUT I caution you to make sure that your help is wanted, lol. At this point she has hormones jumping all over the place. I guess there are a few questions. Why can't she exercise till the end of May? And what sort of food is she eating that you question?

I nursed for about 9 months and I think I remember that after I started giving my daughter more solid foods I wasn't as hungry as when I solely nursed. But I ate a lot of veggies (except broc, it cause gas in my baby), fruits, yogurt and fish like salmon, cod, other whitefish, a lot of tofu, brown rice, a lot of stir frys. But I think I ate probably an extra 500-600 calories a day in the beginning. I did go on a lot of walks, at least 2x a day. Maybe you can walk with her? Maybe you can cook dinner once or two times a week and make it real healthy. Did she gain a lot of weight? Whatever you do don't put a ton of pressure on her about losing weight.

If she complains about hunger, she should try eating 4 - 5 small meals a day

Wednesday, March 28, 2007, 7:05 PM

_What to Expect When You're Expecting_ has good basic diet recommendations, both for pregnant moms and for nursing moms.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007, 11:48 PM

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