Can Breastfeeding Really Lose Weight?

Medical Video: Nutrition : How to Diet While Breastfeeding

During pregnancy, your mother's weight increases and she looks fatter. Some mothers are very worried about their body shape which is no longer like before pregnancy. No wonder some mothers are thinking of losing weight after the birth of their baby. Maybe you will think of going on a diet, but wait, you still have the task, namely breastfeeding, where you still need enough intake to meet the needs of the baby.

Yes, diet is not the best way to lose weight after giving birth. What is unexpected is that when you breastfeed, you are actually helping yourself to lose weight. Is it true that breastfeeding can lose weight?

Research on breastfeeding and weight loss

Breastfeeding is proven to help you lose weight after giving birth, but this depends on you. Some mothers are helped by breastfeeding in losing weight after giving birth and can get their weight back like before becoming pregnant faster. However, some mothers also have difficulty in losing weight, even though they have breastfed.

Some studies show that breastfeeding can help you lose weight. As in a study conducted by Jennifer L Baker and colleagues (2008), the study showed that breastfeeding was associated with lower postpartum weight in all categories of BMI mothers had before pregnancy.

Another study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and involving 25,000 mothers also showed that exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months can reduce the weight gained during pregnancy. The study also estimates that breastfeeding mothers maintain a body weight after childbirth of less than 2 kg compared to mothers who did not breastfeed for 6 months after giving birth.

The amount of weight you can lose after giving birth and breastfeeding also seems to depend on many factors, such as weight before pregnancy, how much weight you gain during pregnancy, diet, level of physical activity, and overall health. Breastfeeding combined with a balanced diet and regular exercise is the best way to lose your weight after giving birth.

How can breastfeeding help you lose weight?

Breastfeeding increases your food intake needs because you need extra energy to produce milk, so you are encouraged to eat more. In addition, hormones that help produce your milk (the hormone prolactin) can also stimulate your appetite, so you are also encouraged to eat more when breastfeeding. Then, how can breastfeeding help you lose weight?

Don't worry, the calories that enter your body will disappear when you breastfeed. Breastfeeding can burn your calories as much as 300-500 calories a day, so it can help you lose weight. You may need at least 6 months to get your weight as before. If the calories you eat correspond to the recommended amount and you exclusively breastfeed, you will lose about 0.5 kg of weight every one or two weeks.

Breastfeeding not only helps you lose extra weight, but also helps you lose weight shortly after giving birth. Breastfeeding shortly after giving birth can stimulate contractions in your uterus, so your uterus shrinks back to size before you become pregnant. At least 6 weeks after giving birth, your uterus will return to its original size if you breastfeed your baby.

Tips for losing weight during breastfeeding

Limiting food intake is not a good way to lose weight while breastfeeding. This can actually make you lose the essential nutrients needed by you and your baby. Very low calorie intake for a long time can also cause your milk production to decrease.

The following are tips that you can do so that you can lose weight while breastfeeding, without limiting your food intake.

1. Start slowly

You can start losing weight 6 weeks after birth. If your intake is no more than the recommendation of the calories you need, your weight will drop by around 1-1.5 kg per month gradually. Try to adopt a healthy diet, which is 3 main meals and 2 intervals between main meals. Eat foods that contain complete nutrition, which consists of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals.

2. Limit or avoid food junk food

Food junk food it will only increase your daily calorie intake, but cannot provide the nutrients you need. If eaten excessively and frequently, food junk food it will cause weight gain, keep you from losing weight

3. Do exercise regularly

Six weeks after you give birth (if you give birth normally), maybe you can start doing sports. If you have a caesarean delivery, you may have to wait longer to be able to do sports. Do regular exercise so that the calories that enter your body from food are the same as the calories you spend through physical activity that you do.

4. Get enough sleep

It may be difficult for those of you who have just given birth, but try to do it. Sleep time is less associated with difficulty losing weight. Enough sleep can keep you from fatigue, so you can control your diet better.