How to Lose Weight While Breastfeeding: 8 Effective Ways

Pregnancy brings a lot of weight gain to mommies. Even if pregnant mothers eat a balanced meal during the nine months of growing a little one in your tummy, you may add a few or more pounds on the scale. 

Doctors recommend that preggy moms gain between 25 to 35 pounds or 11 to 16 kilograms. In that weight gain, around 7.5 pounds (or 3.1 kg) makes up for the baby's weight. The rest is a gift that you have to keep for the rest of your life. 

After giving birth, you might be asking experienced people on how to lose weight while breastfeeding. No need to worry. Here are effective ways to shed those extra pounds as you feed your baby with liquid gold. 

See also: World Breastfeeding Week: Facts Every Mom Should Know

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Do not shop when hungry

Postpartum or not, it is not wise to do grocery shopping when hungry. Everything looks good when one has an empty stomach. And worse, you might be tempted to buy that high sugar and high-calorie junk food from the snack bar. 

Eat slowly

Our brains need more time to let you know that your stomach is full. To avoid overeating, eat slowly so that you would get a hint of fullness before you reach for another spoonful of ice cream. 

Use smaller plates

A bigger plate could carry more food on your plate than how much you intend to eat. Even if you are full, you might be tempted to finish everything on your plate to avoid wastage. A smaller plate could help with food control as getting up to get more food could allow your brain to send signals that you are already full. 

See also: Can Intermittent Fasting Help You Lose Weight?

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Drink lots of fluid

To lose weight while breastfeeding you should drink more water. Breast milk is made up of 80 percent of water, based on WHO. When you are breastfeeding, you lose a lot of water. Sometimes, a thirsty person might mistake it as hunger. To avoid overfilling with food, make sure to load up on water as it could make you feel full. 

Eat more fiber 

Eat more fruits and vegetables as their fiber content could help make you feel fuller longer. Best of all, they have fewer calories so they prevent more weight gain. Watch out for fruits with high sugar content, as they might cause you more weight gain than you expect. 

(Photo: unsplash/Alexander Schimmeck)

Exercise

If you want to lose weight faster, do some exercise when your little one is asleep. Apart from helping you go back to your pre-pregnancy body, it helps with blood circulation, thereby helping to heal your C-section wounds faster. Make sure to seek your doctor's advice first before doing any strenuous exercise. If you got clearance for your OB-GYN, here are 6 Effective Exercises to Return to Pre-Pregnancy Body. 

See also: 10 Easy Exercises to Do at Home While on Self-Isolation