67%

of people who tried this diet endorse it

BACKGROUND

The Breastfeeding Diet is not a diet per se, but rather a set of recommendations put forth by the Womenshealthguide.net, an online resource for women and about women. Since breastfeeding is a time when the new mother is burning an approximate 500 extra calories a day as her body works to produce milk to feed her baby, The Breastfeeding Diet is a bit of a misnomer. The eating guide stresses the importance of consuming a balanced and nutritious foods while staying away from that four-letter word, diet. Even though many new moms are eager to shed those pounds quickly once their little darling is born, breastfeeding is one of nature’s magical ways of helping you to shed those extra pounds without adhering to a stringent diet.

PRO

• Nutrition information is sound according to health experts

• The Breastfeeding Diet establishes nutrition for mother and baby as the priority

CON

• Could include more detailed information in its plan.

• Some of its terms are a bit confusing: “Albuminous foods” and “chiselly bread”

• No reason stated why women should avoid fatty fish while nursing

• More information needed on portion sizes

• More information needed on how many calories a woman needs daily

• No guidelines for or against exercise

DIET and NUTRITION

The Breastfeeding Diet places the importance of eating a nutritious diet ahead of the tendency to want to restrict calories to shed the weight gained in pregnancy. It focuses on eating foods that are high in calories such as complex carbohydrates, consuming vegetables and proteins. It recommends eating vegetables and certain complex carbohydrates that contain “cellulose”, which is more commonly referred to as dietary fiber, to avoid constipation and to alleviate some of the abdominal pain that lingers after pregnancy. The Breastfeeding Diet also suggests avoiding certain foods because of their tendency to pass through the milk and thereby affect the baby. Foods such as caffeinated drinks, nuts and seeds.

The Breastfeeding Diet encourages the nursing mother to continue taking a multi-vitamin which includes 10 mg of Vitamin D. It also stresses the importance of eating foods high in calcium as this mineral is often depleted in breastfeeding mothers.

EXERCISE

Does not provide any guidance for exercise and fitness.

EXPENSE

The Breastfeeding Diet is free from Women's Health Guide.

There are a variety of well-written books regarding breast-feeding and diet. Those are available from online retailers for varied prices.

CONCLUSION

The Breastfeeding Diet does not contain any additional or new information that a new mother can not receive from a pregnancy book but it does take some of the complexity of eating while nursing away by relying on some very simple and quick eating suggestions and avoidances. For new moms who are looking for more guidance on what to eat, how to eat and how much to eat, The Breastfeeding Diet may fall short of your information needs.

Common Misspellings

brestfeading, brestfeeding, breast feeding diet, bestfeeding diet, breastfed diet, breast feed diet, breastfeeding diets

LizH
Oct 4th, 2008
3:34 pm

Alright Moms!! So happy to hear we are supporting each other as we feed our children the best way possible!

Sammy125
Oct 4th, 2008
3:33 pm

I wish there was more support outside of just breastfeeding. I'm a new mom so there are lots of areas I would appreciate getting support in as well

bethanyLB
Oct 4th, 2008
3:31 pm

Although its not a diet exactly I appreciate the support of women who are breast feeding in a day in age where we hear more and more that women are shying away from doing so