One of the best parts of breastfeeding (aside from bonding with your baby and giving him or her your nutritious milk high in antibodies) is how much you can get away with eating. Not that I am eating more on purpose: the fact of the matter is that breastfeeding new moms need to eat more calories and nutrients than non nursing mothers, accorinding to the NIH. Of course, those foods should be high in nutrients. Some of the healthy bites that the NIH recommends for nursing ma mas include wheat germ, sweet potatoes and yello fruits like mango and cantalope.
Fatty meats, whole milk products and sweetened deserts are considered "extras" by the NIH, or "empty calories" as I refer to in my book. You're allowed 100-300 calories of the empty stuff - in other words, the tasty treats that are high in unhealthy fats and/or sugars.
Which begs the question: an I eating too many "extras?" My 16-month old is a voracious breastfeeder (I am working on weaning) and thus I am voraciously hungry at all hours of the days. I stick the the nutritious stuff most of the time (high protein cereals with no added cane sugar, legumes and lots of fruits and veggies) but find my hunger is at time unsatiable unless I gorge on a vegan cookie or peice of cake from Peace Food Cafe or the home source version: a Neuman-o's vegan oreo cookie with a glass of unsweetened soy or almond milk (making up for the sugar-sweetened cookie in the unsweetened milk, of course). I simply can't help the sweet cravings with the babe on my chest, but try to keep the chowing down on sweets to one serving a day.
At least experts at the NIH would agree that us breastfeeding moms need some "extras" in our lives.
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