Do I have to watch what I eat and drink after the baby is born?

You will feel better sooner if you still eat a healthy diet. After all, food is the fuel your body needs to keep going. Eat nutritious foods as you did during your pregnancy.  If you are breastfeeding, a well-balanced diet with a slight increase in food intake is all that is necessary. You do not need to drink extra amounts of fluid to produce milk. Let your thirst be your guide. You will want to limit alcohol and caffeine since they are passed through your breast milk to your infant, and they may reduce your milk supply.

Producing breast milk requires a few extra calories. Your body's fat stores and your food intake provide these extra calories. Eat a variety of food from the Daily Food Guide. Fruits, vegetables, whole-grain breads and cereals, calcium-rich dairy products, and protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, and legumes will supply the needed nutrition.

Dieting is not recommended for weight reduction during breastfeeding. Breastfeeding helps mothers lose weight gained during the pregnancy even though food intake is increased.

You may eat any kind of food that does not upset you or your baby. Babies often like the variety of flavors they get from breast milk. One or two alcoholic drinks a day are not harmful to you or your nursing infant. Consult with your health care provider before taking any medication while breastfeeding.

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Why Water?
Second Only to Oxygen in Importance to Life

Next to oxygen, water is the most important nutrient for life. Over two-thirds of your body is made up of water, and your brain, your most vital organ, is approximately 85 percent water. Despite how vital this substance is to our health and survival, most of us, and especially the oldest of us, do not drink enough water to enjoy the best of health.

Have you ever seen a wilting house plant, kept half alive, never getting all the water it really needs to look its best? Your body is just like that plant, half wilted, so to speak if you don't drink enough pure water.

Coffee, tea, sodas and other liquids do not have the same properties as plain, pure water. In fact most of us drink more fluids each day that act as diuretics, than we drink of pure water each day. Diuretics cause our bodies to eliminate more water than they provide. Eight full glasses of fresh, pure water are the bare minimum for optimum health and well being.

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Fighting Fatigue

Preparing Antioxidant-Rich Foods

• Make pumpkin pudding for dessert, using canned pumpkin and condensed milk.

• When buying lettuce, choose the head with the darkest green or red leaves, and add carrots, spinach and orange slices to your salads.

• Put together a juicy, sweet fruit salad with cantaloupe, peaches and strawberries - fresh or frozen.

• Sprinkle wheat germ or chopped nuts on low-fat yogurt or add them to pancake or bread recipes and to grain dishes.

• Gently steam broccoli and red pepper slices along with onions and mushrooms. Serve with low-fat or nonfat dressing.

• Sauté kale and other antioxidant-rich vegetable in a moderate amount of margarine, spices/herbs and garlic.

• Serve your pasta dishes smothered with tomato sauce. Add onions, garlic, red pepper and beans when cooking your sauce for added nutrients and great taste.

• Snack on dried fruit, especially apricots and peaches. Better yet, mix dried fruit pieces with nuts and seeds.

• When making soup, throw in greens such as kale, collard and spinach. Add plenty of carrots and parsley as well.

• Treat yourself to shrimp or scallops served in a light yogurt-dill sauce or a zesty tomato sauce.

• Order extra broccoli and peppers on your pizza. Add tomato juice to your stews.

• Include tomato slices and dark lettuce leaves in your sandwiches.

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Tips for Healthy Eating

• Chicken broth and fresh herbs are a delicious butter/margarine substitute for vegetables. Toss the vegetables with sauce made from chicken broth and fresh herbs such as dill, basil, oregano, thyme, chives, lemon grass and rosemary. Just one of these fresh herbs can make a great difference in the finished dish. Add a little marmalade to the broth and you add sweetness and shine to your vegetables.
• Don't skip meals. You'll be too hungry and may overeat when you finally do it. Try to get 3 meals a day with a few healthy snacks such as fruit and vegetables.

After dinner or other large meals, go for a long walk!

• Focus on WATER! Drink water before each snack and meal. Drink water throughout the day. Try the following, which will help to curb your snacking and over-eating: Before each meal and snack, before you put ANY food into your mouth, stop and FIRST have 8 to 16 ounces of plain water. Wait 15 minutes. Then eat. You might still be hungry, and you might still want to eat, but chances are, you'll eat less!

• Try using silken tofu in place of some or all the cream cheese in dip recipes. Silken tofu is low in saturated fat and adds a smooth creamy texture to dips.
  
  Here's a quick and easy low-fat dip recipe:

• Avoid "Black and White Thinking." This is the all or nothing mentality.
  For example, you might say to yourself, "Well, I blew it at lunch so I might as well eat whatever I want for the rest of the day, week, month, etc..." Remember, there are no good foods or bad foods, no good days or bad days, no good people or bad people when it comes to eating. Each time you sit down to eat, it is a new opportunity to make healthy food choices. If you don't make those choices, you can do it at the very next time you eat!  

A balanced, low-calorie diet is the best supplement to your exercise program. The diet should be high in complex carbohydrates and include nutrients from the six basic food groups of the Food Guide Pyramid. This includes:

• 2 to 4 servings of fruit
• 3 to 5 servings of vegetables
• 6 to 11 servings of breads and cereals; 2 to 3 servings of meat
• 2 to 3 servings of milk products a day
• Fats, oils and sweets should be used sparingly.

Most experts advise you not to lower your caloric intake below 1200 calories a day unless you are under your doctor's supervision.

If you are over 35 or have a history of medical problems, ask your doctor to recommend an exercise program that is right for you. It is important to know that exercise alone can bring you a variety of health benefits. An active lifestyle combined with a low fat, balanced nutrition plan not only fuels exercise and activity but also plays an important role in improving body composition and increasing metabolism.

Vitamin/Mineral-Rich Snacks

Here are a few simple ways to include at least five servings a day of fresh fruit and vegetables:

• Fresh strawberries, blueberries or blackberries
• Fresh kiwi dunked in yogurt flavored with shredded orange peel, poppy seeds and cinnamon
• A tortilla filled with shredded carrots, zucchini, low-fat cheese and salsa
• A cup of vegetable soup
• Fresh fruit stirred into vanilla yogurt
• Unsweetened fruit juice frozen in ice cube trays
• Mix unsweetened fruit juice concentrate with gelatin and chill to form a "jellied" juice snack
• Fresh fruit and nonfat milk smoothie
• One-half honeydew melon filled with nonfat yogurt
• One-half papaya filled with cottage cheese
• A spinach salad
• Carrots dunked in peanut butter
• Three bean salad with low-fat dressing
• A sweet potato, cut into chunks

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Weight management  

When you see your health care provider at your six week check-up, you can discuss your concerns with weight management. Eating healthy is one of the ways you can start in managing your weight until you have had your postpartum visit (see home after delivery regarding exercise).   

Crash diets and diet pills usually are not an effective means of weight loss and can be dangerous. If you are on a diet that promises you will lose more than two pounds a week, you will probably lose lean muscle and water - not fat - and you will regain the weight quickly.

Lifestyle strategies designed to help burn body fat are to eat a wide variety of foods, consuming a minimum of 1200 calories per day to prevent the starvation response of under-eating. The best way to get the maximum amount of nutrition from the food you eat without gaining weight is to decrease your intake of concentrated "empty" calorie sources such as fat, sugar and alcohol. While cutting back on these concentrated calorie sources, increase your intake of higher fiber whole grains, low fat and fat free grain products, fruits, vegetables and legumes. At the same time, incorporating a program of regular aerobic exercise also helps burn fat as fuel as well as to help improve cardiovascular endurance, increase HDL cholesterol, decrease blood pressure, improve self-esteem and relieve stress. Strength training with weights can help to maintain, if not increase, muscle mass to boost metabolism and improve body composition.

The bottom line is to focus on the habits, not the end result. Making realistic, achievable and maintainable goals around nutrition, exercise and other health related behaviors can help you gauge your progress towards a leaner and healthier you.

20 Positive Pointers To Manage Your Weight:

1. Remember to use low fat or no fat salad dressings. Regular dressings may have more than 10 grams of fat in one tablespoon.

2. Eat a variety of foods. Your body needs more than 40 different nutrients to stay healthy.

3. Balance the amount you eat with your activity level. All foods can fit into a healthy diet.

4. Steam, stir-fry or microwave vegetables. For great taste and just a few calories, spice them up with herbs, spices, lemon juice or vinegar.

5. Trying to make healthy meat choices? Look for cuts of meat with the words: loin or round. These are the leanest cuts.

6. Cutting the fat in meats is easy. Trim off as much fat as possible and remove the skin from poultry. Eat a 3-4 ounce portion, the recommended serving size, which is the size of a deck of cards.

7. Give low fat products another chance. Food manufacturers are constantly reworking their products and improving the taste.

8. Still hungry? Have seconds on vegetables. These low calorie treasures add lots of beneficial nutrients and phytochemicals.

9. Look for the words, 'Whole Wheat' or '100% Whole Wheat' on breads to get more nutrients and fiber.

10. Dried fruit, such as raisins, prunes, apricots, or apples make a great low calorie snack in the car or when you are on the go.

11. Never eat directly from a food package or bag. Put one serving into a bowl and put the bag away!

12. Keep healthy, crunchy foods available. Crunchy foods are favorites of Americans. Try baby carrots, fresh apples, graham crackers, breakfast cereals, pretzels or any of your low fat favorites.

13. Three is key! Aim for three servings of whole grains in a day. Oatmeal for breakfast, whole wheat bread for lunch and a snack of graham crackers would do the trick.

14. Chose skim or no fat milk. If you prefer chocolate milk, add a squirt of chocolate sauce. It is more important that you drink the milk than worry about the extra calories the chocolate sauce adds.

15. Stick with broth or tomato based soups to cut the fat. Cream based soups are often made with cream or whole milk which increases the fat and calorie content considerably.

16. Look for low fat items at the store. Eat them in moderation. You have won twice because you have lowered your fat and calorie intake.

17. Do you choose to lose? A weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week is scientifically sound and achievable. Remember you are modifying habits and making lifelong changes.

18. Eat slowly! It gives your brain a chance to send the 'I'm full' signal to your stomach before you overeat.

19. Resign from the 'clean plate' club. If you have had enough, leave food on your plate. Your waistline will be glad you did.

20. Learn to compensate! If you eat too many high fat foods one day or just eat too much, consider cutting back the next day.

Developing strategies to improve eating and exercise habits that fit your lifestyle can be learned from the nutrition and exercise experts in Preventive Cardiology Program at MedSport. Supermarket smart tours, dining out seminars, cooking classes, exercise testing and exercise training are available by physician or self-referral. To schedule a nutrition or exercise consult through Preventive Cardiology at MedSport, please call area code (734) 998-7400.