Having a really hard time losing weight while breastfeeding.
I hear you and you probably won’t like my response. Breastfeeding is not the time to be trying to cut calories/lose weight necessarily. I completely understand wanting to feel like yourself again and feel good in your body after baby. However, drastically cutting calories or reducing overall nutrition intake too much may impact your milk production if you’re wanting to continue breastfeeding. Cutting calories too low may also leave you feeling even more tired (remember a calorie is a unit of energy) and you need ALL the energy to survive newborn life!
I would encourage you to shift the focus to feeding yourself high quality nutrient dense foods to help with the recovery of having a baby. Focus on 3 balanced meals and high protein snacks. Limit mindless snacking that may be happening due to being home with baby and tired. Without knowing specifics about your individual situation it’s hard to give more specific tips, but trying to incorporate more stroller walk, adding in strength workouts, drinking plenty of water, limiting adding sugars, watching portions (but also eating enough to support your milk supply), getting quality sleep (if you’re there yet with baby), and overall just focusing on the basics of taking care of yourself. Give yourself grace during this period and after breastfeeding hormones will hopefully normalize and you’ll feel more like yourself. If not, get your labs checked!
Have a hard time eating enough carbs for my macros, but hit protein no problem. Tips?
Most people have the opposite problem, so thats great you’re getting in adequate protein. Definitely don’t want to skimp on the carbs though because we don’t want the body to use protein as an energy source which will take away from it’s main job of building and repairing muscle tissue (along with many other functions I won’t dive into).
I don’t know what your grams per meal/day goal is for carbohydrates, but focusing on including carb rich that also include fiber like fruits, starchy vegetables, beans, lentil, and whole grains. A short list of foods you could incorporate into your meals: oats, quinoa, rice, sweet potatoes, berries, apples, legumes, and the obvious ones like pasta, bread, cereal, etc.
If consuming adequate portions of carbohydrate rich foods are challenging, you could add in dried fruit which will give you high carbs in a small serving size.
What do you think of creatine and high protein trend for women?
I love it! It’s a trend I approve of! I wrote this blog post on creatine for women. There is a lot of exciting research taking place on the benefits of creatine beyond what we already know, which is how it can aid in muscle building, repair, and recovery. Side bar… taking creatine and not lifting weights won’t help you build muscle or “get lean”. You still have to do the work 😉 There are some misleading products out there. I think the research on how creatine can help with cognition and brain health is very exciting.
While I love that women are incorporating more protein (esp. animal protein) into their diet, let’s not forget about fiber. Fiber is just as (if not more TBH- but that’s a debate for another day) important as protein, so I wrote up a sample meal plan that is both high in fiber and protein.
I have a hard time staying regular while traveling any tips to help with this?
Staying hydrated and active can help keep things moving along. A fiber supplement may also be beneficial since diet can look different when we travel. If having a big meal out or a different type of food than you typically eat, a digestive enzyme can be beneficial. Take 15-30 minutes before a meal to help with digestion
What do you think about fiber supplements helping lower cholesterol?
Fiber can definitely be a helpful tool in lowering cholesterol. Soluble fiber is the type of fiber that can bind to cholesterol and keep it from being absorbed in the blood stream. There are lots of supplements on the market to choose from, but foods like oats, beans, apples, psyllium, nuts, and seeds are all high in soluble fiber as well.
Drop any additional questions you have in the comments and I’ll answer in the future.
xx, A
