​How to Safely Lose Weight After Pregnancy While Breastfeeding

Whether your pregnancy was a joy or it turned you into a monster and made you seriously considering if you'll have another one, once Baby has made an appearance, things return to some semblance of normalcy and you're ready to say goodbye to the baby weight and rediscover that pre-babe bod of yours. But if you're breastfeeding, you'll need to take some precautions when dropping those pregnancy pounds to ensure your health – and that of your baby – remains the priority. Striking the right balance between dropping the pounds and building a milk supply that nourishes your baby is easy (okay, well, maybe not easy, exactly) with these helpful tips.

Wait It Out

Your breast milk production adapts to the frequency of your nursing sessions and your baby's needs, and it can take up to two months for your body to establish the right milk supply. A low-calorie diet can inhibit your body's ability to produce an adequate supply of milk, so you'll want to hold off on your diet plans until your milk supply is firmly established. Wait until your baby is two months old before cutting calories. During that time, let your body heal from childbirth, work to establish a successful breastfeeding relationship with Babers. Then, once your milk supply levels out, focus on losing that baby weight.

Watch Your Calories

When you do turn to dieting, consume at least 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day as long as you're breast feeding. If you notice a reduction in your milk supply, increase your caloric intake. Also, keep in mind that your body burns 300 to 500 calories a day while nursing, and factoring this number into your daily calorie count helps to ensure you're consuming enough calories to maintain your milk supply.

Exercise Safely

Exercise is essential for helping you return to your pre-baby shape. Like dieting, exercise should be approached thoughtfully when you are breastfeeding. First, get clearance from your doctor to return to your exercise routine (or to start one.) Start back slowly, keeping in mind that your body has just gone through a massive shock over the past year. Your body grew a human! So don't expect that you'll be able to run a marathon your first day out. Instead, take regular walks, do some light jogging, and maybe some low-intensity aerobic workouts. Strength training a few times a week will help you build muscle mass, which will rev up your metabolism to speed up your calorie burn. Yoga is always good too, because it helps you regain the balance and flexibility that you lost while you were growing a human inside your body. Be sure to stay hydrated while you're nursing – bring a water bottle along, and replenish your fluids throughout the workout.

Lose Gradually

Set realistic goals for your weight loss, keeping in mind that it took you nine months to gain the baby weight. Drastic weight loss can hinder your milk production, which can make breastfeeding unnecessarily challenging. Set a goal of losing 1 to 1.5 pounds a week, which is a friendly and highly attainable goal that shouldn't affect your milk supply.

If it takes you a little longer to lose the weight than you'd hoped, well, cut yourself some slack. Just look at that little bundle of joy, all sweet and precious. A few pounds of stubborn fat is a small price to pay for that!