Nursing mother being primal? page

[newmama]

Are there any primal nursing mothers out there? I have been primal for one week now and I am wondering how others' experience has been with nursing.


I'm 6 months postpartum, and I also want to lose some weight, but shouldn't be doing it intentionally at this point because I'm nursing. I am eating a lot of everything on the "primal list," but I'm concerned about eating so many nuts and just so much protein in general.

[soror]

I am 6 weeks pp. My diet was paleo/primal well before pregnancy- through pregnancy and afterwards of course. It is a healthy way to eat period. And yes I am intentionally losing weight. I am doing that though through activity and eating healthy food just to satiety- not through any crazy fake foods or starving. I would worry about too many carbs and sugar than too much protein. I don't do a lot of nuts myself, maybe a serving a day sometimes. I try to eat lots of veggies, lots of good fat and lots of good quality meat and eggs.

[FairyRae2]

I agree about not worrying too much about nuts and protein. Your protein needs will probably increase b/c of nursing. (I feel like mine have.) I am nursing my 2.5 year old (he still nurses quite often), and have slowly made the switch to more primal eating (first went gluten free and totally whole/real foods 1.5 years ago, grain free a few months ago). I think this a wonderful way to eat while nursing, and feel better than I have *ever* felt in my life, including all of my time spent nursing. I think a primal diet can only be helpful!


I would follow your cravings (as long you are sticking to primal foods--avoiding processed junk and grains etc.). I've heard some pregnant mamas crave more carbs than usual (in the forms of tubers and fruit etc...) but not sure about nursing mamas. And I think if you eat primal foods to satiety, you will natural lose weight/maintain a healthy weight for you. And I'd try not to overdo nuts specifically, b/c you mentioned wanting to lose some weight. (They can keep pounds on when eaten in excess--like more than a quarter or half cup a day...)


I say stick w/ the primal foods and enjoy! It's what our nursing bodies were made to do!! And if you really would like to lose weight, watch the carbs--but continue eating foods until you are satisfied!!

[newmama]

Thanks for the response. Both of you mention eating primal foods to satiety, but my problem is that I'm not getting satisfied and I'm trying not to eat a lot of fruit. I'm limiting myself to four serving of fruit, like I'll have an orange, an apple, a banana and a pint of berries or something like that.


I am eating so much protein and vegetables that it seems like I must be overdoing it. However, I am already losing weight. It's only been 10 days with one mistake, and 8 days with no non-primal slips.


I am nervous about keeping my milk supply up for my baby. That's all he eats right now, and I've already lost 4 pounds in 10 days. And I do feel somewhat unsatisfied.


It's nice to hear that you feel great after a few months. I think this diet may be the right one for me long term, it's just a matter of trying to maintain my milk supply and lose weight slowly while I continue nursing.

[lil_earthmomma]

You may need more fat. I found that while nursing and primal eating, fat is very important! Try adding some coconut oil to those fruits, I used to LOVE dipping a banana into nutbutter mixed with CO.


Also drinking coconut milk (either plain or as a green smoothie or whatnot) would be beneficial. The lauric acid alone is great for your babe, and the fat will help you to feel satiated.


Your protein needs do increase as a pregnant and nursing mama, so don't worry about that!


Keep doing what you're doing mama, and just keep an eye on your milk supply. I try to keep my carbs above 50g, but I don't stress if they are low one day, I'm just not going to constantly put myself in ketosis while nursing.

[newmama]

Thanks lil earthmom...tips on foods to eat is especially helpful because eating primal is very different from how i was eating before. I just bought my first can of cocounut milk yesterday to try.


I am so excited about this way of life because for as long as I can remember I have had major fluctuations in my energy levels and have relied on sugar, carbs and caffeine to raise them when they fall (which is many times a day). I have also consistently been 10-20 pounds overweight. It makes sense that I can't lose those extra pounds while still eating sugar and carbs when I think about what Mark describes about insulin's role. I am less concerned about the weight than the swings in energy levels. I would prefer not to be overweight, but it's so awful to wake up feeling the way I do in the morning, and to have regular crashes throughout the day.

[FlyNavyWife]

ooh yay coconut milk is so yummy. If you were hoping for something to drink try this: http://www.joyfulabode.com/2009/10/1...-drink-recipe/


Have you noticed the shift in your energy yet? I was on the carb rollercoaster too, pre-primal and remember feeling shaky and headachey if I didn't eat every 2-3 hours. Ridiculous. Now everything is much more stable.

[soror]

Also, know that it takes your body a while to adapt. It is not unusual to feel like you are starving at first. Plenty of fat helps and also keeping busy. Eating fruit can help or hurt. It can be a good transition, but when it comes to lc'ing it is hard to stay low if you are eating a lot of fruit. I try to keep around 50-100g, sometimes less- sometimes more. Have been doing some fasting as well.

[FairyRae2]

[quote]

Also, know that it takes your body a while to adapt.</blockquote>


I totally agree w/ this. Dropping gluten felt like going through withdrawl for me--headaches and brain fog for over a week. More recently dropping all grains and refined sugars didn&#39;t feel as difficult, (I just think gluten is extremely powerful) but the lowering carb stuff was/is harder for me. I stick to around 150 g a day (I&#39;m starting to dip under that now, but it used to be a concious effort--I&#39;ve just noticed this past week my potatoes are all sprouted since I haven&#39;t been cooking w/ them as much, and I&#39;ve not been using my raw honey as I was daily for a bit, which I think *has* lowered my carb cravings). Lowering carbs to &#39;maintenance&#39; level of 150 g a day was honestly a struggle at first for *me*.


Esp. as a new mom, and someone brand new to primal eating, I might try to just focus on eating lots of primal foods and following your cravings, just not eating anything outside of the primal recommended foods. It&#39;s a tough call w/ carbs, b/c the more you eat, the more you&#39;ll crave, so many find going strictly lower carb to be a much quicker and easier transition. But nursing a new little one is not a simple task either, and doing anything too restrictive (and adding any new/extra kinds of &#39;struggles&#39; or things to worry over) sets off alarm bells in my head, although I don&#39;t know that you&#39;ll get tons of helpful stuff from a bunch of carbs...


Oh mama, sorry for the ramble, the carb thing is just a tough call IMO!

[Jedi]

Soror, just out of interest, the alternate day fasting you are doing, does it have any effect on milk production?