One of the most common concerns of postnatal mothers is to lose the weight they gained during their pregnancy. Weight gain during pregnancy is known as ‘gestational weight gain’. The recommended gestational weight gain for a woman with a normal BMI is 11.5-16kg by the end of her pregnancy.
Around 2 to 5 kg is mainly fat required for the physiologic preparation for lactation. However, nearly 50% of pregnant women exceed their weight gain goals. Women who are overweight and obese before pregnancy have the highest prevalence of excessive weight gain.
Excessive gestational weight gain is associated with diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases later in life. Therefore, mothers who have gained excessive weight during their pregnancy should focus on healthily losing weight.
Tips For Losing Gestation Weight Gain
Exclusive Breastfeeding
World Health Organization (WHO) defines exclusive breastfeeding as “feeding the infant with only mother’s breastmilk, and not giving any other solid or liquid, not even water, except for oral rehydration solution, or drops/syrups of vitamins, minerals or medicines.” On average, a mother produces 780ml (450-1200 mL) of breast milk daily. The energy content of milk is 67 kcal/100 mL, which means she is burning roughly 500 calories to nurse her baby. Therefore, exclusive breastfeeding will help mothers lose weight.
Calorie Deficit
Additional 500 Calories required for lactation can either come from the food mothers eat or the stored body fat. If a mother has excess body fat, cutting down on calories will help her use her body fat for milk production, thus aiding in losing weight.
However, studies have shown that cutting down calories to a moderate extent (68% of the maintenance) does not affect milk production or its composition. Weight loss of approximately 0.5 kg per week between 4 and 14 weeks postpartum in overweight women who are exclusively breastfeeding does not affect the growth of their infants.
Exercise
In most normal deliveries, mothers can exercise as early as four weeks after delivery. Mothers who used to follow a sedentary lifestyle before can start with light walks or taking the baby for a stroll to get into the habit of being physically active. In contrast, mothers who used to exercise before can gradually start their exercise routine.
Besides weight loss, exercise also helps in the involution of the reproductive system. Certain exercises like Kegels exercise can help in restoring the strength of the pelvic floor muscles.
Increase Fiber Intake
Fibers provide very few calories, approximately 2 per gram of fiber. That means one can increase the volume of food by adding more fiber while minimizing the total calories. In addition, food containing fiber requires a longer time for digestion. Therefore, fibrous food can help you remain full for extended periods. Fiber intake also helps in relieving constipation which is common among postnatal mothers. Mothers should consume 25-30gm of fiber daily.
Adding protein to every meal
Mothers who practice exclusive breastfeeding should take 1.5 to 2gm/kg body weight of protein every day. Protein helps recover from the delivery process and aid in lactation. Additionally, protein has a high satiety value which helps keep mothers fuller for an extended period. Protein has a high thermogenic effect (TEF), which has some benefits when it comes to losing weight.
Fluid Intake
When babies are exclusively breastfed, they consume around 750ml of milk daily, so mothers need to increase their water intake. However, instead of going for numbers, mothers can drink as per their thirst and should be mindful of the signs of dehydration. For example, dry mouth, concentrated urine, decreased urination frequency, etc. They can also drink a cup of water after every breastfeeding.
Hand Portion
In breastfeeding the baby, burping them, cleaning them, and tucking them to sleep, mothers can find it very challenging to prepare their own meals, especially when she has to quantify everything. However, in such cases, she can use the hand portion to control her food intake. For every meal, she can take one palm size protein source (20-30gm), one fist of vegetables, one cupped hand of a carbohydrate source (20-30gm), and one thumb of fat source (7-12gm). Mothers can adjust their portion size as per their hunger, goals, and result.
Quantifying in Batches
If mothers want to follow quantified nutrition, it might be very taxing for them to quantify everything every time before cooking. Instead, they can quantify food well in advance and keep them in small containers or zip-lock pouches so that they do not need to quantify it every time.
Cooking in Batches
Mothers can also cook meals for the next two days in one sitting, divide the food, and keep them in a refrigerator. This way, they can save a lot of time and utilize it more flexibly.
Conclusion
During pregnancy majority of women end up gaining more weight than the recommendation. Studies have shown that women who gain excessive weight during pregnancy tend to retain some weight even after postpartum, which may later lead to health problems. Post-natal mothers should focus on eating healthy and adding some physical activity to their daily routine to lose the weight they gained during pregnancy.
References:
Rasmussen, B., Ennis, M., Pencharz, P., Ball, R., Courtney-martin, G. and Elango, R. (2020). Protein Requirements of Healthy Lactating Women Are Higher Than the Current Recommendations. Current Developments in Nutrition, 4(Supplement_2), pp.653–653. doi:10.1093/cdn/nzaa049_046.
Leghi, G.E., Netting, M.J., Lai, C.T., Narayanan, A., Dymock, M., Rea, A., Wlodek, M.E., Geddes, D.T. and Muhlhausler, B.S. (2021). Reduction in Maternal Energy Intake during Lactation Decreased Maternal Body Weight and Concentrations of Leptin, Insulin, and Adiponectin in Human Milk without Affecting Milk Production, Milk Macronutrient Composition, or Infant Growth. Nutrients, 13(6), p.1892. doi:10.3390/nu13061892.
Minato, T., Nomura, K., Asakura, H., Aihara, A., Hiraike, H., Hino, Y., Isojima, T. and Kodama, H. (2019). Maternal Undernutrition and Breast Milk Macronutrient Content Are Not Associated with Weight in Breastfed Infants at 1 and 3 Months after Delivery. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, [online] 16(18), p.3315. doi:10.3390/ijerph16183315.
Zhou, Y., Zhu, X., Qin, Y., Li, Y., Zhang, M., Liu, W., Huang, H. and Xu, Y. (2019). Association between total water intake and dietary intake of pregnant and breastfeeding women in China: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 19(1). doi:10.1186/s12884-019-2301-z.
Author: Aditi Gurung (INFS faculty)
