just sort of thinking ahead. i'm up about 35 lb's-ish so far with this pregnancy with a due date looming about a week and a half from now.

I'm not really thinking about going hardcore lowcarb as i will be breastfeeding and the literature seems to indicate that breastfeeding moms need 500 cals/day more than usual (pregnancy needs are about 250 extra cals/day). i'm not really into the whole calorie thing anyways, but i think it's nice to have a general idea of what my body's needs are.

i figure after the baby is born, i'll probably go down about 8 to 10 lbs of baby, a couple of pounds of placenta, a few lbs of misc fluids, etc, so maybe about 15 lbs in the first couple of weeks, leaving about 20 lbs to get back to my lowest weight. (i could lose about 30 more on top of that, but i'm not really in a big hurry).

i have been in ketosis while breastfeeding before, but not with a newborn. i figure it would be a good idea to ensure adequate protein, healthy fats, quality greens, etc...

I don't think it matters to the baby if you are in ketosis . While I didn't have much weight gain in pregnancy, I did lose a LOT while breastfeeding. At least 15 out of the hospital, and over a couple months another 15 or so, IIRC. Then it kinda slowed down after that, but I have a tendency to be a slow loser too.

I was sensitive to BF'ing hormones to begin with, every time I nursed I would get pretty nauseous, so that really killed my appetite and took all the enjoyment away from eating. When I got past that I felt hunger like I had never known before, lol. BF'ing made me way hungrier than pregnancy ever did. Just be sure you are drinking at least to thirst and eat enough to keep your energy up. You'll still make plenty of milk but if you don't eat enough you'll feel super tired and dragged out.

Just to be covered I'd be taking a multivitamin, 6500 IU of D3, and a high quality EFA complex derived from fish. Your intake of fatty acids can improve the fatty acid profile of your milk and you should be getting that much D to be able to pass some to your baby.

I hope you have a wonderful labor and birth

thanks mfish
good tips on vites, and efa's. reading that, i wanted to crack open a tin of sardines, LOL. i used to eat sardines for lunch almost every day, until i got sick of them, but they're great for calcium, efa's, protein, etc... (and low on the food chain so lower in environmental toxins, lalala)


just read this: http://www.lalecheleague.org/faq/lowcarb.html there doesnt seem to be any evidence that ketosis is detrimental to a nursing baby. i guess i'll see how i feel at the time and go from there. i know for my general health that i have to keep my carbs lower than most people anyways, even when i'm not eating 'lowcarb'.

http://kellymom.com/nutrition/mothers-diet/mom-lowcarb/ read this but i have some issues with it. i dont think it's particularly accurate in its depiction of what people eat on a lc diet.

my experience has been the opposite, when i eat a higher carbed diet, the carby foods that are lower in nutrient value displace higher nutrient veggies. when i eat lowcarb, i eat soooo many food that are high in "phytochemicals, antioxidants and folic acid". i never eat as many veggies as i do when i'm low carbing. bah