Breastfeeding and My Weight Loss – Totally Cheating

***Disclaimer: Every woman is different.  If you choose to breastfeed, you will have to balance your individual needs.  My attitude on this topic is totally derived from my current experience with my own diet.***

In my case, losing weight while breastfeeding is incredibly easy.  My status as “milk cow” raises my metabolism significantly.  (I am very grateful for my supply.  Finally, my body excels at something physical!)  When I decided to go back on Weight Watchers a couple of months ago, my friend recommended that I be aware of cutting back my diet too drastically for fear of jeopardizing my milk supply.  So I tracked my diet for a couple of weeks once my weight had stabilized, just to see how much I was consuming.  Then I cut back a little until I started losing 1-2 pounds a week.  Since that’s a healthy amount to be losing, and my milk supply is good, I am comfortable with the amount of points I am using.

So, just for fun, I checked to see how many points I should be allowed at my current weight if I weren’t breastfeeding.  Are you ready?  24 daily, plus 35 weekly flex points.  How much am I actually allowing myself?  50 daily, plus 35 flex points.  This is why I’m totally cheating.  This is also why I am not going to feel guilty about eating some of that leftover cake.

Now talk to me in 7 months when I am done nursing…  That is going to be one hard transition!