Postpartum Nutrition: When (and If) a Calorie Deficit is Appropriate

Hey Mom, this one's for you. If you’re reading this blog post there’s a good chance you are either currently in the trenches of newborn life or about to be in them. You might not be feeling like yourself and you’re probably wondering when you can start to safely lose weight and get back to feeling like you again. I’ve been there. It’s a really challenging time period. There’s so much messaging that says “oh you have a beautiful and healthy baby you should be proud and happy about where your body is” blah blah blah…

Screw. That.

The only person’s thoughts about your body that matters are yours. If you’re deeply unhappy with the current state of your body THAT’S OKAY. You can feel that, and feel grateful for your baby and for what your body did AND also want to be strong and fit, and wear your favorite pair of jeans again. I’m here to tell you that whatever you want to do with your body is FAIR GAME!

Phew, got that off my chest. Now let’s get into how to do it in a healthy way in order to optimize your recovery, energy, and overall well-being.

You might be wondering, can I lose weight, properly heal my body, and breast feed at the same time? I’m sure there are women out there that are super milk producers and “the weight just falls off” but that surely wasn’t my experience. I needed to break my goals up into phases to best support myself and my baby. So let’s break those phases down.

The immediate postpartum period (0-6 weeks ish)

During this phase your ONLY and yes, I mean only, priority is healing from birth and nourishing that sweet baby however you decide to. If you had a vaginal birth, you may have tears that need to heal and ice packs that need to be sat on. If you had a c-section you had literal major abdominal surgery…let me say that again…MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY. Neither of these births are to be taken lightly. Not to mention the trauma you may have from your birth. In order to heal your body (and let’s be VERY clear, your body isn’t healed in 6 weeks, it can just start to work on other things in 6 weeks) you need to rest, you need to nourish it properly and you need to check in on your mental state and reach out to loved ones or professionals if you are suffering or think you might be suffering from postpartum depression or anxiety.

So what does nourishing your body properly look like? First, we need to make sure your meals are packed full of nutrients. It’s really hard in this phase to prepare elaborate meals so if you can prep meals that include protein, healthy fats, vegetables, and complex carbs and put them in the freezer beforehand, gold star. If that’s not possible, using a meal prep service might also be a good idea in this phase. You want to prioritize protein to help with your recovery. Protein is the building blocks for our body. It not only helps us build muscle but it also helps repair tissue. So whether you had a vaginal birth or a c-section, you need your protein. Plus it helps with milk supply if you’re breast feeding.

Let’s go back to the mental side of things for a second. For many women, this is the phase of their lives when they are the least active. Since exercise and physical activity act as a natural mood enhancer, it’s sometimes really hard to get out of that postpartum depression or anxiety when you don’t have any way to boost your mood. Luckily, focusing on adequate calorie consumption and making sure you’re eating whole, nutrient dense foods, can work to mitigate this. Also, getting outside in the fresh air and getting in the sun in the morning can REALLY help especially if you had a rough night with the baby. That was the only thing that kept me sane on the hard days.

Breastfeeding Considerations

This is like 1b. step, because you need to make sure you’re focusing on yourself first (believe me, even as I’m writing that I’m also rolling my eyes because it’s sooooo hard to do that but I have to say it, even if it only works 30% of the time). Once you are in a good position for healing yourself from pregnancy, birth and postpartum, you want to focus on how to support breastfeeding if you decide to do it. I do believe there is no perfect way to feed your baby. Literally every baby is different and every mom is different so please, do not feel guilty or bad if your feeding journey is not the one you pictured.

Personally, I was lucky enough to have a baby who had a good latch and fed well…for about 3 months. Then he would get WAY too distracted by any tiny noise and we introduced formula to supplement since I didn’t have a large supply pumped yet. Once he got his bottom teeth our breastfeeding journey quickly came to an end after he bit me. I know some women are willing to put up with that but I wasn’t. I knew he liked his formula, I knew he was getting nourished, but I STILL felt like part of me failed because I couldn’t breastfeed for a year. Now I look back and realize that was just internal guilt and pressure I was putting on myself but I think that’s the most common mom guilt.

Okay back to the nitty gritty of nutrition to support breast feeding. You need an extra 300-500 calories a day to support breastfeeding. Does that sound like a lot? It should because it’s basically an extra meal compared to what you were eating before you were pregnant. Even in your third trimester you only need about an extra 300 calories daily so the fact that the need is even higher when you breastfeed doesn’t make sense to try to cut your calories back. Your milk supply might be at risk if you do.

If you continue breastfeeding for a long time, you can lose weight and maintain your milk supply but it’s recommended that you mainly do this through increasing your energy expenditure through physical activity and keeping your nutrition practices consistent. This means, roughly the same intake every day and focusing on proteins, fibrous foods like vegetables and starches, and healthy fats.

It’s time for the calorie deficit

For most women, starting a SMALL calorie deficit is appropriate after about 6-12 weeks postpartum. This is due to the fact that your milk supply will be well established by this point. You’ve probably also gotten through the worst postpartum healing issues. It’s still important to monitor your energy levels, your mood and your milk supply and if any of these start to dwindle, it’s unfortunately probably not the right time for a calorie deficit yet.

Personally, I didn’t start a real calorie deficit until I was 6 months postpartum. At the point, I was starting to wean off brerastfeeding and it finally felt like something I could add to my plate. Before that, I was breastfeeding, working from home, the primary care giver (my husband works out of the house and we didn’t do daycare), and trying to keep up my workouts. It was more mental energy than I could handle. But when breastfeeding/pumping left my plate I felt like I could do it.

Your goal should be reasonable weight loss. This means 0.5-1lbs per week. Also, if you have started your menstrual cycle, you want to look at a monthly average of 2-4lbs of weight loss. Sometimes with our cycles, we hold on to weight more during ovulation and menstruation and we lose weight easier in the other phases.

Also, remember that sleep quality, stress and your overall health are going to be factors that impact the rate of weight loss. Don’t get discouraged if it’s slow at the beginning. Your body is still reeling from everything it has been through. Give it time.

Setting up a reasonable deficit…when you’re truly ready

You aren’t going to change anything about the quality of food you focused on in the first period postpartum. You still want to prioritize whole, nutrient dense foods and especially protein. Protein fills you up for longer so when you’re in a calorie deficit, it makes it so you aren’t as hungry if you increase your protein servings.

A great strategy to begin to lose weight that is actually realistic postpartum is to do a 3 day audit of your current intake. Write down EVERYTHING you consume in a day for 3 days. Go through with a highlighter and highlight any foods that you ate when you weren't truly hungry or when you felt really full after a meal. These are the things to focus in on:

Eating only when you’re truly hungry, and not just bored or already in the kitchen.

Being a LITTLE bit hungry after every feeding. Like you could have 5 more bites. You want to be satisfied but not totally full.

If you go to bed and you’re a little hungry, that’s also a normal feeling. Try your best not to eat more.

Increasing your physical activity daily can also help you be able to eat a little bit more and still lose weight. Taking an inventory of your steps, and trying to increase your average by 2,000 means you get about an extra mile of movement in every day which can go really far into helping you lose weight. This might look like an extra walk with your baby (or by yourself), or parking a little farther away at work, Target, and the grocery store.

Special Considerations

The above advice is intended for women who are generally healthy with no medical complications. Remember, if you have a history of disordered eating or metabolic disorders or are struggling mentally with this transition, reach out to a professional for help.

All women go through the most significant “hormone dump” postpartum that they will ever experience in their lives. This can change how you respond to a calorie deficit, what your body needs, and how you handle things mentally. That being said, approach a calorie deficit with ease, and don’t get down on yourself if it’s harder than you think or even if you need a little more time before you dive into this endevor.

Remember, your focus should be on recovery first, strength to make sure you can keep up the with demands of motherhood second, and your mental well-being third. If you have taken care of all of these things, and continue to do so, a calorie deficit should be the next thing you add to your plate. If you need help with what an appropriate calorie deficit should be for you specific needs, please reach out to schedule your free 15 minute consultation.