Atkins and Breastfeeding??

Please do not go on this diet. It is not at all a healthy diet. If you want to lose weight, eat lots of veggies and plant-based foods. You can add in grilled chicken or fish in there as well. Stay away from red meat. Eat 6-8 times a day in small quantities. Stay away from sugar and dairy, and drink water or seltzer. I promise you if you simply do these things, you will lose weight. Add some excercise in there and you will do just fine. Good luck.

Atkins is a very dangerous diet that can quickly put you into a state of Ketosis which occurs when your body has to deconstruct proteins to build the glucose it needs to fuel the body. Essential amino acids are wasted (protein wasting) and come out in your urine. Over time your body cannot sustain this unhealthy state and the effect it has on your kidneys in particular is not reversible, although you may still feel fine on the outside. Complex carbohydrates are essential to fuel your body. If protein has to be used for this purpose, then it won't be used to repair and build muscle, maintain organs and other important functions.

A diet that encourages complex carbohydrates like whole grains, vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats (monounsaturated, including omegas) but reduced calories to a healthy amount for your body type and activity level will help you lose weight in a much more healthy way. Diets that are not balanced will put your milk production in jeopardy and can cause you to dry up.

Many women have lost weight on Weight Watchers (this is a diet that takes into account if you are breastfeeding and allows for extra calories that are necessary and it's great because it is a lifestyle you can continue/sustain even after you are through "dieting." Atkins, on the other hand is definitely not something you are going to want to practice long term.

Hugs honey.... I doubled my weight when I was pregnant... so I feel you on the weight loss, HOWEVER:

Atkins is a very dangerous diet for even non-BF'ing people that relies on the process of ketosis... which causes brain and organ damage, then insanity, then death. I can't even count the number of cases in our ER that stemmed from this diet. It used to be that we immediately called for a psych consult. After the atkins craze... we started treating every crazy person that came in with a glucose drip before calling psych. Fortunately, most of the cases that came in to OUR ER hadn't progressed to irreversible brain damage.

If you're going to try it, it would undoubtedly be better to wait a year... but as with most things... if you can get a good *balanced* diet going, you'll see better longer lasting results.

Hugs!!! It took me 3 years of eating and exercising normally to drop 150lbs.

Having dealt with Registered Dieticians most of my professional career, I've yet to find one that stands behind the Atkins diet for anyone.

Your body needs the extra calories for breastfeeding - I don't know of any research that shows that they need to be derived from fat, protein or carbs. A balanced meal plan is always the best no matter who you are and what your life circumstances are.

My recommendation would be to stay away from Atkins while breastfeeding simply because there's not a lot of clinical research to show the advantages or disadvantages. I wouldn't want to take the risk personally.

Plus, it's critical that the breastmilk have a certain level of fat in it for proper brain development. Yes, the Atkins diet doesn't restrict fat intake, but it does throw the body into gluconeogenesis (basically, stored fats in the liver break down to provide glucose when energy is needed) - again, I don't know if there's clinical information to support this being good or bad while lactating.

Personally, I'd recommend consulting with a registered dietician and getting their advice - preferable one who works with your OB/GYN's office and is accustomed to counseling women in your situation. They'll be able to create a healthy meal plan for weight loss while making sure both you and your child get the nutrients you need.

Best wishes.

I'm not sure how it will effect your milk supply but I caution you against Atkins. It's not necessarily the safest weightloss method. It also, doesn't prove to be a long term solution. While protein is key in weight loss, complex carbs and fruits and veggies also play a major role.

I can totally understand wanting to lose the baby weight, I struggle for a year to lose almost 50lbs. What ultimately worked for me was the exercise paired with a weight watchers type diet.

Before you change anything I would talk to your doctor and if it's available a nutritionest! They'll be able to help you find the right balance and will give you correct information. Remember that the internet, whether it's here or your google type searches is a dangerous thing to count on alone. You never know what information is completely accurate.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

The most important factor for your milk supply is drinling plenty of fluids. Every time you turn around you should be drinking water. When adding excercise to your routine after a long period of not excercising then you need to really up your water intake. Since excercise causes you to sweat, that takes away water that would normally go to making breastmilk. Making breastmilk uses up water your body would use for everyday functions (everyday-type sweat, urine, saliva, nasal mucus... you get the idea). So, you have to replace the water your body uses for everyday functions which has been used by making breastmilk and excercising, AND drink more to keep up your milk supply. Yep, a lot of water. So long as you are constantly sipping on water, you're fine. You don't have to be chugging it all of the time :)

If you have read the Adkins book, there should have been a section on breastfeeding. Even Doctor Adkins does not recommend this diet (or atleast don't cut out all of your carbs) for pregnant women or nursing moms because you need the calories provided by the carbs for your growing baby and producing milk also requires lots of calories.

My husband and I did Adkins for a while before we got pregnant. It really isn't a long-term diet plan. Since I couldn't/wouldn't follow it, my husband stopped, too. In about 4 months he gained back about 25 pounds (half of what he lost). He ended up gaining it all back. Even in Adkins you will be adding carbs back into your diet, just not as many as you had been eating before. If you choose Adkins, you do need to monitor your ketones to avoid ketoacidosis or ketosis (both very similar, just slightly different names).

Weight Watchers is the best diet (which actually means eating lifestyle, I believe). It teaches you how to eat a balanced meal in healthy amounts. Combined with proper excersise, you will not only lose the weight you want, but will learn how to keep it off.

Good Luck!

my only concern might be all the antibiotics they pump into meat. A lot of people find they become immune to antibiotics themselves.
Maybe get hormone & antibiotics free meat & organic cheese & eggs. You are feeding your baby, you want to make sure your nutrition is stellar.
How long since you had your baby? Mine is 9.5 months & around 3 weeks ago I just started losing a bunch of weight, just melted away...
I have about 10-15 to be back to normal but for now I am just keeping my diet in check-big lunch, very light dinner.
The think the old addage is true: 9 months on, 9 months off!
Good luck!

i don't think you'll find anyone who will tell you that being on the atkins diet while breastfeeding is a good idea. talk to your dr or wait until you are done breastfeeding to get the weight off.

I agree with a lot of the other responders. I'm in the same boat (have a 3 month old) and just started Weight Watchers. Its slow going, but the recommendation is to not lost more than 1 pound per week.

I have found kellymom.com to be a great resource for breastfeeding information - check out this link on dieting. http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/mom/mom-weightloss.html

I don't know the science behind this, but having just finished losing about 30 pounds while breastfeeding, I do have some experience.
I don't know if Atkins is safe or not, but I do know that losing more than a pound a week will put your supply at risk (for most people).
You don't need to eat a high carb diet while breastfeeding, I cut back on most breads and sugary items to lose the weight. (I did weight watchers which I HIGHLY recommend, there are dozens of meeting locations in NY) But I wouldn't cut out any fruits and veggies. Not only will your baby be familiar to those items from "tasting' them through your breastmilk, but there are so many nutrients in veggies that you need to have in your breastmilk. If you don't get those nutrients through your diet your body will simply extract them from your own body's stores leaving you deficient.
I would encourage you to look at a well rounded balanced low calorie diet that is sustainable over months of slow weight loss, rather than a quick boost of excessive weight loss that is unsustainable and not healthy over the long term. Studies have shown that after the initial weeks of quick weight loss, excessively high protein diets fizzle out in their ability to continue your weight loss and they are hard to maintain anyhow.
Good Luck

I am nursing a hefty 6 month old. I consulted a trainer/nutritionist. Her advice was balance each meal: protein, carb, fat in pretty equal ratios. They even advise that on Biggest Loser I think. Anyway, your protein does not need to be meat (ie nuts, beans, but keep in mind fat). Carbs include your fruits and veggies. They are "fibrous" vs "starchy". She also gave advice on portion size, but I ignored that (too much info to handle). I just focused on the balance part.
More advice from her: snack all day if you want on veg and fruits, and try not to eat your starchy carbs (white potatoes, etc) after 6:30. I eat all day-nursing takes a big toll on the body!-and very generally follow these guidelines. I enjoy dessert about 2x per week. I am probably the exception, but 9 lbs melted away.

Hi F.,

Hold off until AFTER breastfeeding! ! Any diet is not good for the baby. They need all the carbs, fats, etc for their growing little bodies. Diets such as Nutri System, etc should even be avoided.

Exercise is the way to go!! That way you can eat anything you want and you and your baby will be totally happy and healthy!!

Simply breastfeeding will also help you shed the pounds if you eat the way you always ate before.

Good luck,
L.

A very unsafe diet even if you are not breastfeeding. Your child is getting all of his/her nutrients from you and protein isn't enough. You need to be eating a healthy balance of all food groups. By the way...didn't Dr. Atkins die of a heart attack, hmmm.

F., first of all YOU SHOULD NOT BE DIETING while you are breast feeding.

I suggest this to all my pregnant and nursing moms to FEED their body and allow it to function properly (www.BestBreakfastEver.com) 2 shakes a day and you will not only be feeding your body properly, your body will release the weight quicker BECAUSE it is being fed.

B.
Family Success Coach

check out the my pyramid site and see what your body needs specifically even while breast-feeding. Best wishes.