How to lose weight postpartum (and keep your breast milk supply)

Introduction

I created this guide to help moms who feel that it is impossible to lose weight after pregnancy and childbirth. I know many women fear that losing weight and returning to exercise will effect the amount of breast milk they produce. I want to encourage those women to adopt habits that will allow their bodies to:

• Return to their baseline healthy weight

• Regulate their postpartum hormones

• Heal pregnancy-related issues such as diastasis recti

• Get stronger

I also want to remind you how hard your body has worked to create this tiny perfect human. While I believe it is important to work toward your health and fitness goals I also believe you have to give yourself grace during this time of healing. If you are newly postpartum give your body time to heal and do not start exercising until you have clearance from your doctor or midwife.

Below are the 8 most important things that will help you to achieve sustainable fat loss, muscle gain, and keep your breast milk supply.

Hydration

Breastmilk is made up of about 90% water, hydration is incredibly important to both active women and breastfeeding mothers. You need to be drinking adequate amounts of water, limiting dehydrating liquid (coffee & alcohol) and supplementing with electrolytes. Have you ever felt nauseous after a tough postpartum workout? It could be due to dehydration! 

Electrolytes can come in the form of powders, though many have high sugar or artificial sweetener contents. If you buy an electrolyte powder, search for one with high-quality ingredients. Alternatively coconut water is a great supplement to regular water consumption. Another great and cheap way to stay hydrated is to drink salted water or lemon water. 

Salted lemon water recipe:

¼-½ High-quality sea salt or Himalayan salt

16-32oz Filtered water

Lemon (optional)

Eat enough

It is so common for a mom to be so busy you hardly find time to eat, let alone nourish yourself well. However, if you want to reach your fitness goals it’s one of the most important things you can do. Your body can only expand so much energy through exercise, breastfeeding, and keeping you alive before it is stretched too thin. Make time to eat nourishing meals that will hit all of your macros (protein, fat, & healthy carbs) to fuel your body. When your body feels safe it will naturally shed excess weight without compromising your breastmilk supply. If you’re unsure where to start when it comes to nourishing yourself, eat simply. Whole foods are easy options that will nourish you and your baby. 

Some of these foods include:

• Eggs

• Dairy products

• Fruits

• Vegetables

• Meat

• Fish

• Poultry

• Bone broth

Listen to your body (and your baby)

Listening to your body postpartum is extremely important. Exercises that felt great pre-pregnancy may no longer be suitable for a postpartum breastfeeding mother. Whether it stresses out your hormones and messes with your milk supply or just doesn’t feel right anymore you have to listen to those cues. Some exercises can do more harm than good to your hormones, pelvic floor, or diastasis recti after pregnancy. Stay in touch with your body and adjust as needed. Your baby’s cues are also helpful here. If a once-happy baby starts to become fussy, lose weight, and display other signs of not being full it’s time to pivot- don’t wait until your supply suffers beyond repair.

Supply and demand

Breastmilk is created on a supply-and-demand basis. If you feed or pump less, you are telling your body to produce less milk. If you’re exclusively breastfeeding, feeding on demand and continuing night nursing will help keep your supply strong. If you are a pumping mama, keep your pumping schedule regular. If you experience a dip in your supply you can add an extra feed or pump session to encourage your body to make more milk.

Portion sizes

While I strongly believe eating enough and regularly is important to keep both our hormones happy and our breastmilk supply strong I also believe the portion sizes here in America are huge! Try to stay mindful of how much food you are eating in one sitting. Properly nourishing your body with the whole foods listed above should curb cravings and reduce binge eating. You can enjoy all things in moderation. 

Exercise

Exercises that stress out your hormones and pelvic floor are not the best way to lose weight postpartum. This includes things like kickboxing, endless cardio, HIIT. If you enjoy those things, by all means, do them if they make you feel good and don’t cause any issues. However, I have found that the best exercises to gain muscle and lose fat are:

• Walking 

• Pilates

• Strength training

Walking is a great form of cardio because it does not cause excessive hunger that can lead to binge eating and burns the same amount of calories as running. Stroller walks are also very easy to fit into your busy life as a mom. I suggest going on a daily walk for 30 or more minutes a day.

Pilates is an amazing modality for pregnant and postpartum women! Its focus on the core, pelvic floor, and posture can heal many issues that arise in pregnancy and postpartum. It also helps you move better. You can take this into other exercises to improve your alignment and into your life as a mom when you are lifting your children, squatting, and bending.

Strength training is an important part of a well-rounded exercise practice. Strength training regularly will help you to lose fat and gain muscle, which will help you look more “toned”. This is called body recomposition and it will help you achieve your postpartum fitness goals.

Sleep

I know that it is hard to get sleep as a mother to small children, but it is an important part of the recovery process. Try to get rest whenever you can whether that’s a nap with your baby or going to bed at a reasonable hour instead of binge-watching Netflix. Often as a mother, it is unavoidable to lose sleep, so when you can help it-rest!

Habit change

The real change comes in putting this all together. Being consistent is the only way you will see results. If you eat healthy all week and binge every weekend the scale will stay the same. If you exercise hard a few days a week but get very little movement the rest of the time you will not reach your goals. You have to change your mindset when it comes to losing weight postpartum. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Exercising even 15 minutes a day, every day, can help you reach your goals (even if it is interrupted by tiny people). Set realistic goals for yourself, even if all you can manage at first is 10 minutes of exercise 5 times a week and 30-minute walks 3 days a week. As you build your healthy habits they will compound. Energy begets energy, short workouts will inspire you to make healthier food choices, which will fuel you to add more movement to your day. It’s all connected and it all adds up!