Diet for Wet Nurses

Most women retain additional weight after childbirth. Of course, even though they want to lose weight, they are worried how weight loss will affect the quality of their milk, considering that they are breastfeeding.

Women who breast feed achieve their desired body weight more easily and rapidly

The first step towards a slender figure is the setting of realistic goals. Kilograms have been accumulating during the course of 9 months of pregnancy and are, therefore, impossible to lose over night. Instead, patience is required.

Adipose tissue gets used up during breastfeeding

Breastfeeding expends an average of 850 ml of milk every day. In order to satisfy the increased needs during the lactation period, it is necessary to ingest an additional 500 kcal per day.

The good news is that a mother's milk is produced from the fat tissue and an enormous amount of energy is spent during this process. Therefore, wet nurses achieve the desired body weight more easily and rapidly that the women who do not breast feed.

Two to three months after childbirth, when the body recovers, you can start a balanced diet, which is restricted only when it comes to the intake of calories, but not nutritious substances.

For an optimal health, a weight loss of 0.5 to 1 kg at the most, is recommended. You will achieve this by reducing your energy intake by 500 kcal per day. However, be careful when it comes to the self-prescribed restrictive diet, so that the reduced energy intake does not reflect negatively upon your milk production.

Weigh yourself often and keep track of your body weight, because you might not even need any significant energy restrictions. Simultaneously, ratios of nutritious substances have to be adequately consumed, and it is also good to choose foods that have high nutritional density (most often, these are low-calorie foods that have a high percentage of vitamins, minerals, dietary fibers, and phytochemicals).

Choose less fatty options

During the reduction diet, choose foods that contain less fat than other food types - fruit, vegetables, grains, meat, and dairy products. Fats contain two times more energy when compared to proteins and carbohydrates, and it is therefore recommended to reduce their consummation.

Certainly, fats should not be thrown out of the diet by any means, because they are necessary for a healthy body. Fats enable the absorption of vitamins that are soluble in them (vitamins A, D, E, and K), as well as growth and development. Besides being an important component of cell structures, fats also act as the body's thermal insulator, and they protect the internal organs.

For all of these reasons, foods with a high percentage of fats, such as oil, butter, margarine, mayonnaise, meat products, meat, dairy products, nuts, and seeds, must not be cut out of the diet. Instead, their intake should be limited.

It is desirable to avoid the food preparation methods that involve a high percentage of fats (fried food). Food appropriate for a reduction diet is prepared by cooking, steam cooking, grilling, and roasting in dishes that do not require large amounts of fat to be added.

Liquid is important for the adequate milk production

You should certainly drink large amounts of liquid, because it is extremely important for the adequate milk production. A newborn cannot recognize your need for weight loss. Worrying about it all day long can only make you skip regular meals, which is exactly what you must not do in order to make your battle against excess kilograms successful.

Besides skipping meals, starvation also leads to the consummation of larger amounts of food that you would normally consume if you ate regular meals, and it can also jeopardize your health. Hence, always plan ahead and eat healthy snacks such as fresh and dried fruit, nuts, low-fat dairy products, etc. If possible, have your partner or a family member help you in preparing the meals.