How To Eat A Healthy Breastfeeding Diet

NOT SURE WHAT TO LOAD UP ON NOW THAT YOU’RE NURSING? READ UP ON THE BEST FOODS TO EAT WHILE BREASTFEEDING.

 best foods for breastfeeding
Sure, you’ve heard breast is best. But have you ever thought about how what you eat while breastfeeding can affect baby? Certain nutrient-packed foods can help keep your body and your milk supply nice and healthy, while other foods can lower your milk production and impact baby’s digestive system. We’re here to help you get to the bottom of all your breastfeeding diet concerns, from the best foods to eat while breastfeeding to the best vitamins to supplement your meals, plus which foods to avoid or limiting while breastfeeding and why.

HOW MANY CALORIES SHOULD A BREASTFEEDING MOM EAT?

To start, there’s good news for your evolving body: Making all that milk means you’re burning about 500 calories a day if you’re exclusively breastfeeding. That’s the equivalent of running about five miles at a good clip—except you can do it from the comfort of your chair while snuggling up with baby. Even better, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. If you’re supplementing with formula, you’ll still burn through about 300 extra calories a day, says Jessica Cording, a registered dietitian who works with new moms in her New York City practice.

And though it may not feel like it right now, thanks to breastfeeding, you can (and likely will) lose weight. “You do naturally when you’re breastfeeding,” Cording says. “It’s helping the uterus shrink down, your metabolism is firing, and it happens without even having to obsess over calories.” If you’re anxious to slip back into those pre-pregnancy jeans, it’s fine to start keeping careful track of your breastfeeding diet. Just beware that overly restrictive dieting while breastfeeding can sap your energy and, worse, might even mess with your ability to produce the milk baby needs. In one study, women were able to eat as few as 1,500 calories a day without impacting their milk output, but once they dipped below that number their production shrank by 15 percent. “I generally encourage moms to take it slow and steady,” Cording says. “Sometimes if we’re being overly restrictive with our calorie intake, you’re missing out on important nutrients that mom and baby really need.”