Breastfeeding a newborn is not always an easy task, and you may often feel drained. Therefore, it is essential to be aware of the required intake of calories while breastfeeding your baby. Reportedly, a nursing mother needs an additional 400–500 calories per day when breastfeeding to provide sufficient nourishment that enhances their infant’s growth and development. Moreover, a mother’s milk is the only source of nutrition and is an immunity booster for the baby in the initial months. Since milk production requires a mother to consume extra calories, you must ensure this comes from ample quantities of healthy and nutrient-rich food. Read on as we discuss the amounts and significance of the calorie-rich foods that should be consumed while breastfeeding.

The total amount of calories needed while breastfeeding depends on your physiology, your level of physical activity, and how many times you breastfeed your baby. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian to determine how many calories you will need while you are nursing your infant. Normally, most doctors advise intake of around 500 extra calories or more per day. It takes your total calorie intake to approx. 2000 to 2500 calories per day, and you can keep a check on your weight. However, don’t limit your food intake. You need to eat food, whenever you feel the urge. Consuming nutritious foods boosts your breastmilk production, and your infant gets enough milk. Focus on maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet containing fresh fruits, green vegetables, lean meat, proteins, whole grains and healthy fats. With the constant growth of your baby, the amount of milk she consumes changes, and your body needs a different proportion of calories (1).

Effects Of Reducing Calories While Breastfeeding

While you are breastfeeding, the uncontrolled intake of calories triggers unwanted weight gain. To avoid such a situation, you may need to reduce your calorie intake, and also remember to keep yourselves hydrated. Here are few effects of reducing calorie intake while breastfeeding:

As a nursing mother if you want to lose weight and reduce calorie consumption you can do that. However, your baby needs to be around two months old. A calorie intake of 1,800 calories per day should be more than enough for you and your baby. Reducing calories in the early stage of breastfeeding imposes harmful health effects and reduces breast milk production rate.

Cutting calorie intake by more than about 25 percent interferes with the process of breast milk production. If you abruptly decrease the total amount of calories it can lead to numerous health difficulties. The best practice is to reduce the calories gradually over the lactation phase.

Another danger of reducing calories when breastfeeding is that it makes you more susceptible to malnutrition. As your body does not get enough supply of nutrients and minerals, you may become malnourished and suffer from nutritional deficiencies.

As a breastfeeding mother, if you want to lose weight during breastfeeding you can perform various physical exercises instead of cutting down your calories. A simple 15-20 minutes morning or evening walk burn 200 calories and keeps your weight normal (2).

Important Foods To Eat During Breastfeeding

You need to eat a healthy, nutritious and balanced diet while you are nursing your baby. The breast-milk production rate entirely depends upon your total calorie and nutrient intake. Some of the beneficial foods that you can consume while you are breastfeeding, include:

Fresh fruits and vegetables.

Starchy foods including bread and rice.

Whole grain foods like oatmeal and bread.

Healthy proteins such as eggs, lean meats and a variety of pulses. You can also have two portions of fish per week, including the oily varieties Salmon.

Low-fat dairy products including milk and yogurt.

Water to keep your body dehydrated.

High-Calorie Whole Foods During Breastfeeding

You may want to reduce your calories and shed your extra pregnancy pounds. But, during lactation some of the calories burn out, and you start losing weight eventually. A low-calorie diet decreases your breast milk supply and deprives you of vital nutrients. During lactation, your body requires an extra supply of 500 calories each day. Hence, it is important to obtain these extra calories for breastfeeding from your food supply. Some of the calorie-rich foods to enhance breast milk supply include:

1. Meat and its alternatives

These foods contain beneficial Vitamins such as B6 and B12, which enhance breast milk secretion. During lactation, your body needs to acquire the protein and iron from meat and its alternatives such as chicken, pork, beef and red meat. The recommended intake of meat during lactation is around 6 ounces per day.

2. Seafood

During lactation phase, aim to intake 8 to 12 ounces seafood including shellfish or salmon per week. Seafood contains and omega-3-fatty acids, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin B12. All these beneficial nutrients improve your baby’s development ability. Avoid the intake of high-mercury fish such as swordfish, shark, and king mackerel. Mercury hampers your baby’s brain development process and triggers the condition of mental retardation.

3. Dairy products

Calcium content comes from milk and dairy-based products. Your body requires an adequate amount of calcium to enhance milk supply. Getting three servings of milk or dairy based products daily helps to maintain the milk production rate. Dairy products such as cheese and yogurt contain vitamins, minerals and protein.

4. Fruits and vegetables

Breastfeeding increases your body’s need for Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Folate. A variety of green vegetables including spinach, broccoli, cabbage, sprouts and fortified cereals supplies folate to your body. Citrus fruits, tomatoes, and berries supplies Vitamin C. You can obtain Vitamin A from yellow and dark green vegetables including pumpkin, broccoli, and carrots (3).

Nutritional Requirements During Breastfeeding

You need to pay utmost emphasis on your nutritional intake and include all the vital nutrients in your breastfeeding diet. During the phase of lactation, your body requires an extra amount of calories to enhance the breast milk supply. It is important to get the requisite amount of calories from beneficial and nutritious food. You may lose around 1 to 4 pounds per month, as breastfeeding burns your calorie intake. Let us look at all the essential nutrients that you need to consume while breastfeeding:

1. Protein

While breastfeeding, you need to intake two to three servings of protein per day. You can include fish, lean meat and poultry in your diet. Some of the recommended protein foods for you:

Eggs Cheese Low-fat yogurt Lean meat Tofu Seafood Meat Poultry Cottage cheese Dried beans

2. Calcium

The recommended daily intake of calcium during lactation is around 1,300 milligrams per day. Eating calcium-rich foods helps in the healthy bone development of your feeding infant. Some of the beneficial calcium-rich foods are:

Milk Calcium-fortified tofu Yogurt Hard cheeses

3. Iron

One of the most vital minerals required during lactation is the Iron. Iron enhances blood production rate and helps your body fight harmful infections. While breastfeeding the recommended daily intake of Iron is 9-10 milligrams per day. Some of the best sources of iron are:

Egg yolks Dried fruits Meat Seafood Poultry Dried beans

4. Vitamin C

Vitamin C helps improve the overall functionality of your body process and boosts the milk production rate during lactation. The recommended daily intake of Vitamin C during breastfeeding lies around 120 milligrams per day. Some of the best sources of Vitamin C are:

Citrus fruits Cabbage Tomato Potato Bell Pepper Broccoli Kiwi Cauliflower

Important Nutrition Tips For The Lactating Mothers

Consume plenty of soups, fruit juices and two to three liters of water daily. An adequate amount of fluid enhances your breast milk production and compensates for the loss of fluid from your body.

Consume nutritious fruits and vegetables containing vital vitamins, minerals and fibers that you require during lactation.

Add high-quality proteins in your diet including lean meat, fishes, and eggs.

Avoid the intake of fried and sweetened foods, as they do not supply any vital nutrients and neither increase milk secretion.

Consume three to four servings of milk and dairy products per day to acquire a substantial amount of calcium, protein and phosphorous.

Eat calorie-rich foods such as nuts (almonds, walnuts) to compensate the calorie loss during lactation.

Avoid allergic foods such as eggplant, legumes or spicy foods as they trigger harmful health discomforts in your baby.

Avoid smoking and intake of alcohol completely. Both the factors degrade the breast milk production rate.

Perform light physical exercises such as yoga, walking and jogging to burn your calories and maintain a nominal body weight (4).

Drinking Water During Breastfeeding

Drinking an adequate quantity of water keeps your body hydrated and satisfies your thirst quench. Intake of water does not affect your breast milk supply. However, during the phase of lactation your body releases a specific hormone, Oxytocin, which makes you feel thirsty. So drinking water keeps you satisfied (5). If you want to check whether you’re getting enough water to drink during breastfeeding, check the color of your urine. If it’s transparent and pale color, you are getting plenty of water. But if it’s yellow or smells strong you are dehydrated, and you have to drink the plentiful amount of water

Healthy Recipes To Increase Caloric Intake While Breastfeeding

As you need to intake nutritious food in your breastfeeding phase, you can consider the following food recipes:

1. Beef stew

You will need

1 kg chopped steak 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 onion, roughly chopped 4 medium carrots thinly sliced 1 bay leaf 300g turnips, roughly chopped 2½ cups hot beef stock Salt and pepper to taste

How to

2. Vegetable And Barley Soup:

You will need

1 tbsp. sunflower oil 1 clove crushed garlic 1 onion chopped 3 medium carrots sliced 3 sticks celery chopped 1 medium parsnip, chopped 100g pearl barley 1 ¼ liters hot vegetable stock 100 g shredded cabbage Crusty bread, to serve Salt and pepper to taste

How to

3. Salmon With Pesto:

You will need

4 salmon steaks( 175gms each) Mixed salad for serving

For Parsley Pesto:

40g fresh flat-leaf parsley 25g pine nuts 25g freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped Salt to taste

How to

4. Carrot Fritters

You will need

2½ tbsp. sunflower oil 200g carrots 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 small onion, finely chopped 150g potatoes 2 eggs, beaten Salt and pepper to taste

How to

5. Warm Chicken Bulgar Wheat Salad:

You will need

6 tbsp. olive oil 4 boneless chicken pieces, about 200g each 150g bulgar wheat 1 large onion sliced 1 red pepper sliced 1 large courgette sliced 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced 4 tbsp. chopped parsley ½ small aubergine, cut into small pieces Salt and pepper to taste

How to

6. Tarka Dal:

You will need

250g red lentils 200g chopped tomatoes 1 onion, finely chopped Fresh ginger finely chopped ½ tsp. cumin seeds ½ tsp. turmeric 2 cup vegetable stock 150g low-fat yogurt salt and pepper to taste Coriander leaves, to garnish

For Tarka:

1 tbsp. sunflower oil ½ tsp. cumin seeds 2 tsp. black mustard seeds 2 garlic cloves, chopped A pinch of turmeric

How to

7. Cauliflower Cheese:

You will need

1 medium size cauliflower, sliced into small flowers 2 tsp maple syrup 50g Gruyère cheese, grated 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tsp maple syrup 350g crème cheese 2 tsp mustard sauce 1 tbsp grated vegetables 100 g Parmesan cheese 1 tbsp chopped Fresh chives Salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to

8. Greek Lamb Moussaka:

You will need

400g potatoes, grated 350g lean lamb mince 1 medium onion finely chopped 150 ml vegetable or meat stock 175g chestnut mushrooms 2 garlic cloves 400g chopped tomatoes 1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary 1 medium egg 1 tbsp. chopped fresh asparagus 1 tbsp. Worcester sauce 100g low – fat soft cheese 150g Greek yogurt Salt and pepper to taste

How to

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