Losing the Baby Weight with Breastfeeding

Aside from the sleepless nights, new mothers often worry about how they will lose the baby weight. For some mothers getting back to their pre -pregnancy size is a major concern. For me breastfeeding was the easiest and most successful way to lose some of those extra pounds hanging on after pregnancy.

They say a woman burns an average of 500 calories per day just by breastfeeding. After the birth of my first son I hoped and prayed that was true. Before motherhood I had been a smoker of several years, a bad habit that I found hard to break. For the first few months of my pregnancy every time a craving to smoke hit I would find something else to do with my hands and mouth, most often that something else was eating. I gained 20 pounds in my first month of pregnancy alone, and that was just the beginning. After giving birth I found myself carrying around an extra 40 pounds of baggage in my waist and hips, weight I was desperate to get off.

The early days of parenthood did not leave me with additional time to work out, and I was often too focused on my new baby to worry about counting calories and measuring food. Motherhood had given me a new set of priorities that did not directly involve getting back into mypre -pregnancy body. Luckily breastfeeding my son did have some weight control advantages for me. The first few months of motherhood was spent sitting and nursing my son, yet the weight melted away easily for me. The extra calories burned by producing milk and feeding a baby was like a workout that did not involve much work on my part.

When people asked me how I was able to lose so much weight so quickly I only smiled and replied that breastfeeding lead the way. For new mothers who find themselves staring at a body that does not match the one they left behind breastfeeding can be a great way to take off some of those extra pounds. It is like a personal workout designed to fit the exhaustion of motherhood. There is no better way to burn calories and enjoy the newness of your baby and parenthood.