Atkins and breastfeeding.

[cherl889]

Hi. To those that know me im back! I had Summer Lily on Jan 3rd, she weighed 7lb 2oz and is soooooo beautiful.
I have gained tons of weight during my pregnancy and now almost 10wks into being a mummy again im ready to lose the weight in the best and only way i know how. The only problem is that im breast feeding. Can anyone give me any pointers as i dont want to start until i know its safe. Ive looked in the book but cant find much on it. Im wondering if any ladies out there have done this and lost weight without it affecting your milk. Ive read on some sites thats its dangerous and of course my baby will always come first so i thought id come and ask the experts.

 

[losingit]

I believe it is OK to do Atkins whilst breastfeeding, but don't quote me on it! There are many people on the net who are doing so without problems. The only thing i would do if it were me is to ease into Atkins very slowly if your normal diet is very carb loaded, perhaps don't go straight for the 20g carb a day thing but gradually ease yourself in, or consider a milder form of Atkins where you limit carbs to 60-70g a day or something, and the carbs you do have, limit them to whole grains and 'healthy' carbs? Whilst you won't get the full benefit, it definitely won't hurt and will start you off on the right path. Then, when you are ready to reduce breastfeeding you can ramp up your diet to full speed. Also make sure you take multivitamins just to cover you.

If your body is used to doing Atkins then i don't think you need to worry quite honestly, your gut enzymes will be well clued up on what to do and how to process your diet without problems (i believe your body has a kind of 'memory' for this kinda thing and produces chemicals in your body that respond based on that). I guess the only danger would be that your milk doesn't taste the same to baby which might also explain why others report reduced milk (perhaps baby takes less, supply and demand rules and all), so the slower route in may be better for this for baby's comfort/taste.

This page i found quite interesting: Special Diets: diet for breastfeeding mom, dr robert atkins, free fatty acids
especially the bit about concerns about Ketones and baby already being on a ketogenic diet anyway, lol.