By: Donovan Baldwin
If you are concerned about such things as weight loss and fitness, particularly
after a pregnancy and during the breast feeding period, you are a normal woman.
Many new moms just like you want to know how diet, exercise, and a weight loss
program will affect their ability to effectively breast feed their baby. Here's
a few pieces of information and tips on the subject. For particular advice
concerning your plans, your baby, and your breast feeding program, talk to your
doctor.
Diet
While your particular diet has less impact on the breast milk you provide your
baby than you might think, it is important for YOU to be healthy during this
period. You are going to be losing a lot of sleep and experiencing a lot of
stress anyway, and it will be a difficult time to add the burden of "going on a
diet" to everything else"going on a diet" to everything else. The last thing you
need at this time is more stress, and trying to maintain your energy level and
enjoy your new baby while you are cutting your own personal nutrition is not a
good choice. Most "diets", particularly those of the fad sort, tend to
shortchange the dieter in terms of necessary nutrition, and even if this does
not directly affect your baby, it affects you, and what affects you can affect
your child.
If you must "diet" as part of your personal weight loss plan, look into
NutriSystem, the South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers, or similar weight loss
programs as they stress proper nutrition, exercise, AND have a support mechanism
which will put your in contact with others like yourself...often including new
moms! If you don't want to get involved with such organized program, then at
least make sure that you are following a healthy eating plan and getting regular
moderate exercise.
Exercise
It is normally perfectly okay to exercise during the breast feeding period.
You'll be happy to learn that research has shown that regular, moderate exercise
may actually help milk production. As always, in the face of particular
circumstances, check with your doctor first. Here's a few things you might want
to think about.
One thing that is always a consideration but which is even more important at
this time is to protect your breasts. Injury or stress to them can result in
conditions such as infection or mastitis which could interfere with your ability
to feed your baby and might even result in more extreme health problems. So,
always start with a good fitting, comfortable, effective support bra. Avoid
exercises which may cause stress to the breasts or pressure on, or impact to,
the breasts. Here's where I make my usual plug that for many women, yoga is an
excellent fitness choice.
If you were previously an exerciser, ease back into your routine. You may have
to modify your routine, providing low-impact alternatives to your familiar
high-impact exercises. Don't overdo it. Don't stray from that healthy eating
plan you've got going, and drink lots of fluids. Nurse before exercising. It's
no good to be hot and sweaty, or in the middle of your favorite exercise routine
and have to stop everything to take care of a hungry baby.
Exercise does not have to be a scheduled rigid routine. That walk with your new
baby in the stroller may be just the physical activity you both need at the
moment. Of course, having to stop for all the compliments on your beautiful new
child may interrupt the proceedings a bit.
Weight Loss
After your pregnancy, you will certainly be interested in losing the weight that
seems to have appeared from nowhere. As always, one big key to healthy weight
loss is going to be what you do in two main areas; physical activity and
nutrition. If you are following some of the advice above, are getting some
regular moderate exercise and have a healthy eating plan firmly in place, there
is a good chance that most of that unwanted weight will disappear. On the other
hand, if it is simply not going away fast enough, or that last little bit of fat
is sticking around, maybe you will need to ramp up your exercise program a bit.
However, stick with the plan, make your adjustments in bite-size increments, and
don't overdo it.
After all, you are trying to live healthy for the both of you.
Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer, and a University of West Florida alumnus. He
is a member of Mensa, and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of
service. He regularly publishes articles on health, fitness, yoga, weight loss,
and related subjects. You can find more tips and informaton on breast feeding a
newborn baby at breast-feeding.web-home.ws |
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