does breastfeeding make you retain weight?
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Turns out, I wasn't some outlier: breastfeeding actually doesn't help you lose weight. Although it's true that the act of breastfeeding burns calories, in order to make the milk, your body requires energy in the form of, ahem, calories.
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Pumping or expressing breast milk by hand does not have the same effect on your body as breastfeeding does. If you choose to pump and bottle feed your baby, it will not hold off your period.
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Restricting calories too much, especially during the first few months of breastfeeding, may decrease your milk supply and much-needed energy levels. Fortunately, breastfeeding alone has been shown to promote weight loss, especially when continued for 6 months or longer.
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With new moms, body composition can change quickly after delivery. In the first six months after giving birth, the study's 81 nonbreastfeeding mothers lost fat from their whole body, arms, and legs faster than the 87 breastfeeding moms. In addition, the lactating women gained fat in their arms.
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Breastfeeding mothers should consume at least 1800 calories a day and can safely lose around 1 lb/week (La Leche League, 2010; Lauwers & Swisher, 2015).
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Aim for a weight loss of about a pound and a half a week. You can do this by eating healthy foods and adding in exercise once you are cleared by your health care provider for regular physical activity. Women who are exclusively breastfeeding need about 500 more calories per day than they did before pregnancy.
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Breastfeeding is hard work! Your body requires more calories and nutrients to keep you and your baby nourished and healthy. If you're not eating enough calories or nutrient-rich foods, this can negatively affect the quality of your breast milk. It can also be detrimental for your own health.
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Pregnancy and breastfeeding increase the need for calories and most nutrients. Most women who are pregnant or breastfeeding (and are a healthy weight) might need an additional 300–500 calories per day to provide the extra energy the body needs.
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What are the recommended guidelines for weight loss? Breastfeeding mothers should consume at least 1800 calories a day and can safely lose around 1 lb/week (La Leche League, 2010; Lauwers & Swisher, 2015).
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Depending on your diet, your physician or lactation consultant may recommend that you keep taking your prenatal vitamins as long as you breastfeed your baby.
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Can you continue breastfeeding while pregnant? You certainly can. But make sure to get enough calories to feed yourself, your baby, and your developing fetus. Aim for 500 extra calories per day if your baby is eating other foods besides your milk and 650 extra calories if they're less than 6 months old.
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Yes, you can lose weight by pumping breast milk. Pumping milk burns calories in the same manner as nursing burns calories. There are calories in the milk itself, as well as calories burned by your body during the process of producing milk. When losing weight, it is important to discuss it with your doctor.
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While the level of prolactin, a hormone produced by the body during lactation, drops once a new mother stops breastfeeding, this is a gradual process. When stored in the body (instead of being expelled while nursing), prolactin reduces fat metabolism, which leads to weight gain as well as depression and grief.
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If you are pregnant while breastfeeding, it is likely that nausea and morning sickness will be greater this time around. Hence, it is important that you ensure it does not prevent you from eating well as you will need to provide nourishment to two babies simultaneously as well as sustain your own energy and health.
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Beall. "Breastfeeding suppresses the activities of the ovaries, but if you have more body fat that's producing estrogen, you may have enough of the hormone in your body to keep night sweats at bay. Women who are thinner may not have as much estrogen in their systems and may have more symptoms."
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You cannot overfeed a breastfed baby, and your baby will not become spoiled or demanding if you feed them whenever they're hungry or need comfort.
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That's because, as many new moms will attest, breastfeeding helps melt off the pounds in record time. In fact, depending on how much milk you produce, breastfeeding can burn upwards of 500 calories per day. What's more, it stimulates the release of hormones that help shrink your uterus and your post-baby belly.