[bradleys mom]

I just called LA on the GO to get back on plan today. I am waiting for my counselor ot all me next week. I was put on PLan 4 which is weird because when I first started LAWL last year (before my pregnancy) I weighed less than I do now and I was put on Plan 5. Also, she told me I didnt need to add any extra food for breastfeeding. Is this right? I am worried about this whole thing now.

[Tristesse]

I don't use LAWL but I did breastfeed for a total of 4 years with 2 kids and lost a lot of weight while doing so the second time. The first time I went back to my pre-pregnancy weight with no diet changes, no exercise. The second time I decided to use to my advantage.

What I know about 'official' diet plans is WW is recommended because they have a bunch of special considerations for breastfeeding moms in terms of calorie needs and adjustments for activity.

What I know practically: You don't need *extra* food, but you do need to make sure you're getting a good amount. If you're exclusively breastfeeding then you are burning 500 calories a day. All you need is a well balanced diet, nursing, and a little exercise. I was 165 when I got pregnant, 180 when I gave birth. I walked out of the hospital at 150 and with exercise and diet change while nursing ended up at 127. The metabolic benefits lasted until exclusive nursing stopped and solids were introduced so you have 6 months at least (we went 8 months before he was interested solids).

[jesskahle]

The thing about Bf'd is that you don't want to try to lose weight until your supply is established. This takes about 6 weeks (which you are)
You don't need extra food persay, but dieting not encouraged either.
Although I don't call LA dieting , because you are still eating a well balanced group of foods.
I would just watch your veggies, don't eat gassy veggies- just passing on gassyness to your babe.

I never did LA during this stage of infancy, when I started DD was 19 months old, still nursing, but twice a day only.

Good luck, you may want to talk to your doctor too they can give you specifics.

Jess

[Mama Nicole]

Kimberely,
Clearly the people you talked to from LAWL were dumb$hits.

You need an additional 500 calories for nursing.....so there is no way plan 4 is ok for you now if you were on plan 5 before. I recall someone talking about this before, and if memory serves me correctly, ALL BFing moms used to be put on Red 1. Now, I know the plans are different now, but Red 1 is a lot of food. If you restrict your calories too much, your milk supply will drop, like Jessica mentioned. There is nothing more important at this time than a healthy mom and baby. Listen to your intuition. It is already telling you that plan 4 isn't rihgt. Also......you have the rest of yoru life to try to reduce your weight.........if you can even just stay the same, you will have lots of time to reduce. I always lost a good 20 lbs in the first few weeks of BFing, but then it slowed way down. The one time I really dieted while nursing, I think my 3rd DD suffered for it. I don't know..........she might have been a smaller child anyway......but she was sooooo tiny through infancy. When I look back on it, I kind of wish I had been a little less worried about dieting.......but you know, I did the best I could at the time.

If I were you, I would take plan 4 info to your doc and your pediatrician and see how they feel about it......or better yet, contact the LeLeche League in your area. They are the real experts.....that is who the doctors call when they have questions about nursing. My doc sent me to them with my first baby because she was soooo fussy......and would you know, they figured it out for me immmediately. She was, and still is, allergic to milk. Not intolerant, but truly allergic.......and they helped me alter my diet for her special needs. She was a new baby in three days. Anyay......they also have a list of all medications you can take while nursing, and really really great tips. Some of them are a little wierd.....but you can take what info you can use, and ignore the rest.

Above all elsel........listen to your instinct and your body. You need not feel hungry very often while nursing. You want your baby's changing needs to be met without your or baby suffering. High protein, high veggie/fruits are always god choices. So glad you are back
XOXO

[Tristesse]

Originally Posted by Mama Nicole

You need an additional 500 calories for nursing

That's not necessarily true. The general rule of thumb is "eat when you're hungry" and "eat until you're satisfied".

This is a wonderful article on how many calories you need while nursing and this is a great article about dieting whilst nursing.

I would just watch your veggies, don't eat gassy veggies- just passing on gassyness to your babe.

Eh, that's not necessarily true. I ate whatever I wanted and while I may have gotten gassy my baby didn't. Some babies do, some don't. It's all about their food sensitivities. Here is a good article on that.

[almsthere]

Sorry, my response is late. Haven't been on the web in a while.
I did the LAWL breastfeeding my last 2 children. Here are the instructions i was given:


* Wait until 12 weeks with nursing established...I know, it seems like so long!

* Don't do FF or TO

* Definately do 64 and maybe even 80 oz of water a day

* Red Plus which is:

2.5 Protein, 4 veggies, 4 fruites, 4 starches, 2 dairy, 1 fat, no lites

At that time, my baby was lactose intolerant so I had to subsitute 2 dairy servings with additional veggie, 1 limited starch daily and another fruit. At one point, I was eating 7 veggies a day.

* Make sure you get all your foods in. The days that I wasn't eating all my portions, i didn't lose as much or even stayed the same. The weight came off fast!!

HTH

Ps. I am planning to start back soon. My LO is 14 weeks. I need to go grocery shopping first. We can keep each other accountable