Why you might want to think twice about dieting and doing excessive exercise during the first year of your baby’s life.
One of my lovely clients texted me about her New Years resolution turning into a disaster. Here is what she said and why breastfeeding mums might want to think twice about dieting and doing excessive exercise in an attempt to get their bodies back in shape. You have plenty of time for that when you finish breastfeeding.
2022 rolled around and it was time for New Year's resolutions. With a baby about to turn 6 months old, I was ready get back to feeling and looking like my old self.
My partner and I decided to embark on a health kick for all of January. We cut out sugar, decreased our carbs and I began jogging again after not doing much activity except walking since the birth. I was (and am still) exclusively breastfeeding, so jogging with milky boobs was something new!
The great thing was I lost 500 grams in a week. However, there were some unexpected and unwanted consequences.
My boobs we're just not as full of milk as before, which meant my baby was taking longer to breastfeed. I remember feeding my baby one night and not having a single let down. It was so worrying that for that feed, he didn't get any milk at all.
I began to feel really worried, not knowing why my milk supply had suddenly dropped. Was this the end of our breastfeeding journey? It had taken three months of hard work, after a NICU stay and other setbacks, to get to the point where we were exclusively breastfeeding, and I wasn't ready to accept that my milk was simply 'drying up'.
Then it hit me. I had restricted my kilojoule intake and my body had been using up energy for more strenuous exercise. This meant my body had less resources to produce milk.
This inspired me to ditch the health kick and go back to walking as my main form of activity. My milk supply promptly returned. I've decided I'm quite happy with my body as it is: an amazing source of nourishment for my baby. I'll save the health kick for later.
New Year's resolutions are overrated anyway.
Written by Natalie Repetto