I know this question has probably been asked a million times but I've seen a wide range of answers and wondering if a) anyone followed the induction phase of Atkins while nursing and b) is this affecting your milk supply

If it was affecting your milk supply how many calories were you eating and do you think that that in itself contributed to the low milk supply?

Babyboo is almost here and I'm going to be nursing.

So far this pregnancy I've done really well - not gaining large amts of weight .. but I've gained nonetheless (18lbs thus far).

My question is: Can you be more strict with low carbing while breastfeeding then when your pregnant? (such as eating 60grams carbs during pregnancy but being able to eat 20 grams while breastfeeding?)

If you had success low carbing (such as 20 or 30 grams of carbs daily and still successfully nursing) how many calories were you eating? Were you active during this time? How often were you active? Were cravings much worse while low carbing and nursing or did you find the high fats and proteins kept that in check?

Thanks in advance!

I hear sometimes it does or sometimes it doesnt. My body was so protective of its milk supply I couldn't shed fat no matter what-contrary to the belief that nursing helps lose fat.

I don't know if you would be able to do induction during nursing as induction tends to zap a lot of energy and you need all the energy you can get! Also, if you lose more than 1-2 pounds a week, toxins that were stored in the fat are released into the milk supply, so it's not something you really want to risk for the baby's sake. I'm on induction now, but I made sure I completely finished breastfeeding before I did.

All I'd say is eat really healthily, eat good carbs like wholegrains and fruit instead of bad processed carbs like chocolate and biscuits etc, and the weight should come off really well. Make breastfeeding work for you - unfortunately I didn't!

And congratulations on the impending birth of your little one!!!

Hey, I'd encourage you to check out the LLL resources to get some more info on losing weight while breastfeeding. There is a lot of controversy about it but I tend to trust them more than the news when it comes to nursing.

I too have found it extremely difficult to shed weight while nursing. As long as my protein is adequate I can eat less than 8 carbs per day for an extended period and my milk is fine. I have a huge appetite though, and crave carbs.. I think that has more to do with severe lack of sleep than nursing though.

I've gone through periods where I exercise intensely 4-5 days a week (not including walking/bikeriding for an hour or so to do daily errands) but it tends not to be regular because when the sleep gets too bad I simply can't exercise.. my body would break down too much and I'd get sick.

Cravings.. once again I think that SLEEP has more to do with it than nursing. I don't know though because I haven't actually had the chance to get sleep and find out Just going from past experience from before pregnancy when I'd get a little sleep deprived I'd suddenl start cheating.

The ladies I've spoken to locally here (not LLL but breastfeeding support group of sorts) stated much of the same thing - keep your protein intake in check and there should be no reason your milk supply will diminish. Although they did state that bread was "necessary" for me since it had fiber. Bogus information for sure - I just wanted to know if anyone had actually "tried tested and found true" and had success low carbing and breast feeding.

Something about sleep deprivation causes leptin to decrease in the body. I had read something somewhere (I cant remember but Im sure I have it linked somewhere) .. Yep.. here it is.. http://www.sensible-alternative.com.au/sensnews26.pdf I had had the same problem with my first born only I had never heard of low carbing back then. Hope you get that much needed sleep soon, your little boy is a real cutie

As I near the end I'm finding it increasingly difficult to avoid carbs. It wasnt so bad up until about 25 wks or so. So Im not sure if I should be upping my protein - maybe thats the problem? Because I know Im getting lots of sleep.. for now.. It just seems like Im starting to follow a trend of increasing carbs and Im worried that I wont be able to control myself once baby is here. (I hear hunger gets crazy when your breastfeeding.. is that true?)

Thank you !! Were very excited and big brother is even more excited!!

Losing 1-2lbs per wk sounds fairly reasonable to me. Although I had lost alot more per wk while doing 20grams or less, I can live with 1-2lbs per wk if it means leaving my milk supply in check and still losing weight.

I lost 45lb over six months while breastfeeding. My baby was a talkative toddler at this stage, who could comment on the milk supply and taste and general quality. In spite of the fact that I was strictly low-carb and sugar-free, she told me my milk tasted like "warm ice-cream". She never noticed any difference caused by exercise either.

"Warm icecream"!! LOL! It also tastes like watered down condensed milk! No wonder they love it so much.
Meg, I so understand you when you say that when you get no sleep you can't exercise. Just the thought of it makes me want to lay down!
Suzanne

New here, Breastfeeding my 7.5 month old and doing a modified version of LC. LCing for 4 years. Since giving birth I have gained 10 lbs! Went back to my pre-preg weight within a week but have not been able to shed the 10lbs I gained since. I am guessing it's from breastfeeding. So frustrating but glad to see I 'm not the only one.

Hi Matrix! No, you're certainly not alone. I went back to pre-baby weight within 3 weeks. I've only added a couple of kilos since but I know that it's all fat and that I've lost a lot of the muscle I had. Tell me about your modified version of LC. What restrictions do you have?

My modified version of LC is that I drink tea and don't really count carbs, just avoid sugar, bread, potatoes etc .I slacked on LC when I was pregnant and haven't really gotten back on track. I became addicted to these oatmeal red square cookies (I live in Vancouver Canada) that aren't low carb. My excuse was that oatmeal is good for milk supply. Anyway, I have cut those out and am back to veg, low carb red square bread, cheese, eggs, etc. I just can't stop the tea because I am so sleep deprived that I need a way to wake up and I just love tea! I used to weigh 185 and lost 50 lbs low carbing (screwed up that info on my profile) so am wondering why it is not working now. Is my body holding onto extra weight because I am breastfeeding?

My daugher is 8.5 months old now, and I've been averaging between 5 - 75 grams of carbs since she was born. (Well, for the first month I didn't count and wasn't trying to low carb). It has never effected my supply...I do keep my calories up there and consume plenty of good fats and protiens. Even when I've been down to 5 or 10 grams of carbs per day my supply has not been effected.

After she was born I automically lost about 15 lbs but don't count that But since about October/Nov 2005 when I really got back into low carbing I've gone from 245 pounds to 219 pounds. 220 is my prepregnancy weight, and I've been hovering between 219 - 225 over the last month. This past week I've been at or below 10 grams of carbs and sadly I haven't lost a thing this week, it's aggravating to say the least. But I think if I get my exercise back in check it will help, I've let it slide lately. But I think it's interesting that I'm hitting a wall with my prepreg weight, and maybe it is due to breastfeeding.

Looks like there is such a wide array of results I'll have to wait to see what happens and whats good for me and babe. Thank you for all the input though, its good to hear other experiences.

Helen H - your six month old talked? How did she tell you what the milk tasted like?
Amazing.
I have actually tasted my own milk and have to agree-it does taste like warm ice cream.
I actually almost gave up BFing a few weeks ago because I wanted to lose the weight I am holding onto but I decided that I wanted the health benefits for DS instead.

Matrix, Helen didn't actually say her baby was 6 months - just that in a 6 month period she lost 45lb! LOL!! Congratulations though on doing what's best for your DS. I agree with your thoughts completely. I've been doing a bit of research and have come to the conclusion that one of the reasons us breastfeeders hang onto so much of our fat is because we aren't eating enough! I've decided that I'm going to have to make a conscious effort to increase my protein consumption.
Also, I am taking extra omega 3 supplements a day. I've found in the past that increasing my Omega 3 dramatically increased my milk production. Maybe that will help Locoshimzy.