Breastfeeding diet

Most women, experiencing restrictions in food during pregnancy, are also forced to be selective in their choice of food products when breastfeeding. The diet during breastfeeding is usually quite strict, because, according to many experts, all the substances that the mother eats are passed on to the baby with milk.

The nutrition of a nursing woman should be complete and varied, and at the same time easily digestible and hypoallergenic. In addition, many young mothers already from the first days of the postpartum period think about how to lose the kilograms accumulated during pregnancy without harming the child. How to combine all the listed requirements? And how to correctly compose a diet that would meet all the norms of the lactation period?

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The essence of the diet during breastfeeding

Breast milk is a complete nutritious liquid, the first food for a baby. The quality of milk, its content and taste directly depend on the principles of the mother's nutrition. It is for this reason that a diet is necessary during lactation.

What is the main essence of dietary nutrition?

• The menu of a nursing mother should be balanced, rich in vitamins and microelements.
• To avoid problems with the baby's tummy, the mother should eat fewer carbohydrate foods, as well as foods that cause increased gas formation.
• The most strict stages of the diet are the first month of the baby's life. During this period, the baby's digestive tract improves and the bacterial flora in the intestines is established. After about 3-4 weeks of age, the mother's menu is allowed to be gradually expanded, paying attention to the baby's reaction.
• Breastfeeding and drinking alcohol are incompatible. The same applies to products with dyes, preservatives, stabilizers and other synthetic additives.
• When going to the grocery store, a nursing mother should carefully read the ingredients on the label. If the product contains large quantities of any chemical components and substitutes, it is better to refuse it.

What should you not eat while breastfeeding?

• all types of cabbage;
• legumes;
• raw fruits;
• red vegetables;
• whole milk;
• dark breads;
• coffee and strong black tea;
• smoked foods and hot spices;
• large amounts of salt;
• mushrooms;
• canned goods;
• eggs (no more than 1 per day);
• garlic, onion;
• honey;
• sweets, creams, biscuits;
• watermelon.

What can you eat while breastfeeding?

• still water, rosehip tea;
• boiled and baked dishes, as well as those cooked in a steamer;
• oils (butter or vegetable);
• sour cream, cottage cheese;
• soy sauce;
• green;
• potato;
• all types of cereals;
• roots;
• vermicelli;
• bananas;
• dry biscuits (biscuits, crackers), rusks, pretzels;
• lean meat, fish.

It is preferable to cook low-fat soups, porridges, stewed vegetables. For dessert, you can bake fruits or eat cookies. Let us remind you: a strict diet should last about one month, after which the diet should be expanded. It is important to carefully monitor the baby and his reaction to a new product in the mother's menu. If the child has diathesis or flatulence, this means that such a product should be temporarily abandoned.

Diet for weight loss while breastfeeding

It often happens that a woman wants to lose weight after giving birth without interrupting breastfeeding. Is it possible to do this? Of course it is, but it is important to immediately specify what is absolutely forbidden:

• starve;
• take diuretic or laxative pills, as well as slimming teas;
• follow a mono-diet, or a very limited low-calorie diet.

It is important to remember: if a nursing mother is starving, then her baby is also starving, since the milk no longer contains enough useful nutrients. Moreover, with a strict diet, many mothers completely lose breast milk, as a result of which the baby has to be transferred to formula.

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Breastfeeding Diet by Month

In the first month after birth, the following products are allowed:

From the first to the tenth day:

• baked apple;
• porridge on water (rice, buckwheat, millet, etc.);
• banana;
• vegetable soup;
• green tea, possibly with rose hips;
• vegetable oil;
• butter no more than 15 g/day;
• chicken fillet.

From the eleventh day you can add:

• fermented milk products;
• sea fish;
• whole wheat bread;
• potatoes;
• vermicelli;
• vegetables (boiled or steamed);
• green;
• dried fruits;
• biscuits, crackers, pretzels.

In the first month after childbirth it is not recommended to consume:

• fresh milk;
• soups with fatty meat;
• strong coffee;
• heavy cream;
• raw fruits or vegetables (except banana);
• fresh baked goods;
• alcohol.

From the second to the third month you can add:

• fresh tomatoes;
• seasonal vegetables and fruits in raw form;
• walnut;
• veal, rabbit meat;
• berry compotes;
• cream.

Not recommended:

• fresh milk;
• coffee;
• alcohol.

From the fourth to the sixth month we add:

• honey in small quantities;
• spices and seasonings;
• onions.

Not recommended:

• fresh milk;
• alcohol.

After the sixth month, you can gradually add to your diet:

• seaweed;
• garlic;
• beans, peas, lentils.

Throughout the entire period of breastfeeding, it is better to avoid sweets, chocolate, canned foods, carbonated and instant drinks, ice cream, store-bought sauces and ketchups, fast food and semi-finished products.

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Breastfeeding Diet Menu

As an example, we provide a sample menu for a breastfeeding diet:

• For breakfast we have yogurt (without additives) with biscuits or a handful of walnuts.
• For a second breakfast, a cottage cheese casserole with green tea is suitable.
• We have lunch with a light cream soup, a piece of fish with a vegetable side dish.
• For an afternoon snack – kefir, banana or apple.
• We have stewed vegetables, pasta, or porridge for dinner.

It is advisable to drink some fermented milk product at night – kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt.

The menu can be changed at your discretion, using the permitted products from the list. The main thing is to avoid overeating. If you want something from the "forbidden" list, you can eat it, but just a little. And do not forget to monitor the baby's reaction.

A nursing mother's diet involves eating five or six times a day, more often is possible, but the portions should be smaller accordingly.

Breastfeeding Diet Recipes

Despite the impressive list of prohibited products, you can combine your diet so that all the dishes in it will be both tasty and healthy. The main thing is to include imagination when cooking.

Lazy vareniki recipe

Ingredients:

• half a kilo of cottage cheese;
• flour;
• one egg;
• a little salt.

First of all, we prepare the dough from cottage cheese, salt, and egg. We add flour, as they say, “as much as it will take” to make the dough elastic enough. We form a sausage and cut it into small pieces. We bread them in flour so that they do not stick together.

Cook the dumplings in salted boiling water, then place them in a bowl with butter and sour cream. If desired, you can sprinkle with sugar or drizzle with honey.

Cheese Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• one onion;
• one carrot;
• 100 g butter;
• some parsley;
• processed cheese 100 g;
• crackers;
• salt and pepper to taste;
• water.

Finely chop the onion, grate the carrots on a fine grater. Fry the onion and carrots in butter and transfer to a saucepan with boiling water.

Grate the cheese, melt it in boiling water and add it to the soup. Salt and pepper to taste. After boiling, add parsley and pour into plates. You can sprinkle some croutons on top.

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Zucchini casserole recipe

Ingredients:

• two medium zucchini;
• flour for breading;
• four medium potatoes;
• 300 ml kefir;
• 150 g grated cheese.

Cut the zucchini into circles, bread them and fry them in a frying pan, first on one side, then on the other.

Cut the potatoes into circles, spread them on a baking sheet, add salt and a little kefir. Put the zucchini in the second layer, and also add a little salt and kefir. Repeat this several times. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese and put in the oven until done (about 30-40 minutes). Enjoy!

Recipe for liver balls

Ingredients of the dish:

• five potatoes;
• two raw eggs and two boiled ones;
• 2 tablespoons flour;
• 0.5 kg chicken liver;
• 2 onions;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Chop the onion, fry, add the liver and simmer. After 15 minutes, add the chopped eggs, salt and pepper. Simmer until done, then use a blender to turn into a homogeneous mass.

Prepare mashed potatoes, mix in flour, eggs, salt and pepper.

Form small flat cakes from the puree, put a spoonful of fried liver mixture in the middle and roll into a ball. Then the balls can be fried in sunflower oil, or cooked in a steamer or baked in the oven. When serving, it is advisable to sprinkle with cheese or herbs.

Almost all women know that there is a diet for breastfeeding. Nutrition is changed in order not to harm the growing child - to avoid colic, flatulence, diathesis and other unpleasant moments. In addition, proper nutrition will help you lose weight without harming the health of both the nursing mother and the baby.