By Suzana 7 Breastfeeding Diet Tips for Women Post Pregnancy
The pregnancy diet does not actually just abruptly stop after you’ve given birth to your baby also known as “post pregnancy.” The main goal for the diet is to maximize your baby’s growth and development inside you, right? Now that your baby is out of your body, you no longer have to watch your diet and can finally work on losing all those extra pounds, right? Actually, no – not yet anyway.
Your body is stressed. Let it recover first.
Firstly, you can’t start starving yourself and going all out on a weight loss diet just yet. Relax your body first. Labor and delivery is a very stressful experience for your body. It can take a toll to your over all well-being. Remember, if you force yourself too soon and too fast, you will just end up feeling more fatigued. Allow your body a chance to relax first. To be able to hasten your recovery, you very well need to eat your nutritious meals and calories.
Your baby’s growth and development is priority.
The next important point that you need to consider is your baby’s growth and development, which is likely your best interest right now. Although he or she is already outside of your body, only you can give him or her exact nutrients he needs – through your breast milk.
Breastfeeding is the most recommended and effective method of nutrient provision to your baby. After all, your breast milk was created by our body for your baby specifically, and it will keep producing milk as long as your baby still needs it. Knowing that, we can be sure that the quality of your breast milk is highly dependent on the quality of nutrition you feed your own body. Hence, after your pregnancy diet, for your baby’s best benefit, you should move on to another diet – the breastfeeding mother’s diet.
Don’t worry though because the post pregnancy or breastfeeding diet is not much different from your pregnancy diet plan. Both still focus on providing the best nutrition possible for your baby since he or she will rely on your breast milk exclusively.
Here are a few information about the diet for post pregnancy that you can use to jump start on your breastfeeding nutrition:
Eat at least 1,800 calories per day to make sure that the quality of your breast milk will not be affected.
Maintain drinking 8 glasses of water everyday to keep up with your body hydration.
Fruits and vegetables are rich natural resources of vitamins and minerals that your baby requires.
Drink low-fat milk and other dairy products for your baby’s calcium needs. Calcium is good for your baby’s bone and teeth.
Organ meats like liver and many green leafy vegetables like broccoli, spinach and peas provide a lot of iron.
Folic Acid, which is good for baby’s brain, can be found in whole wheat bread.
Ensure you get the extra Vitamins and Minerals by taking the supplements tailored for breastfeeding mothers.
As for your extra pounds, you will quickly lose some of it immediately after birth or post pregnancy. Exclusive breastfeeding also helps you lose a few of those pounds steadily. Additionally, you can start exercising again about 6-8 weeks after delivery. Remember to start off light though and gradually progress from there to not shock your body. Well, then, cheers to your post pregnancy diet plan then and your family’s health!