Breastfeeding and (mom's) hunger

[mari42]

Hi all --

Breastfeeding my large 17mo son. and I am hungry all. the. time. Does anyone have any advise on getting my hunger under control? I try to eat 5 small meals a day but end up snacking frequently.

Thanks!

Mari

[girlspn]

What do you eat?

From my experience, fatty foods help a lot to feel satiated after a meal. I eat a lot of oily fish, meat, eggs, and use coconut oil to cook. I eat 2 big meals a day, and snack a few times. I learned not to restrict food and just eat until I feel comfortably full. It works for us, my 15 month old nursling is still mostly on breastmilk and thriving, and I'm not hungry all the time. 

[BabySmurf]

i agree with the pp that eating more fat will help.  also make sure that you have cut out sugar - sugar causes cravings when you aren't actually hungry.  if you are hungry you should eat, it's your body's way of telling you that you need nutrients - especially if you are nursing a big kid

just try to make sure that you are getting enough fat, and that what you are eating is as nutrient dense as possible. 

i am nursing my little big guy still, and i eat a TON of food.  i definitely feel full longer when i have a high fat, high protein meal....so, for example i eat 3 eggs and 3 slices of bacon for breakfast, which will usually last me until lunch.  If I need a snack, it will usually be an avocado or coconut milk yogurt.  for lunch, it's usually left over stew or a sandwich made with nut flour bread or something like a pepper or zuchinni in place of bread, with fruit or veggies dipped in nut butter. or sausage and sauerkraut with potato.  for dinner we usually have a soup or a stew or pan seared meat and veggies with a gravy made with my home made chicken stock.  i do snack in between meals too, usually fruit and/or nuts.  guacamole is another good one, or a green or other colored smoothie with an egg yolk and coconut oil..sometimes a LaraBar...and sometimes i make a pie for dessert and snack on the leftovers during the day.....now i'm getting hungry again!

anyway, point is that if you need to eat, then eat!

[pickle18]

Thank you for posting this!   I am marathon nursing a gigantic (off the charts), awesome, sick 17 mo. kiddo today.  Love the advice, BabySmurf!  For some reason, I was really pro-active about healthy snacking choices early on, but have fallen into a carby/sugary trap lately.  You inspired me to dig out my old fav snack, organic baby carrots w/ organic pb (and LOADS of water!!!). 

I agree about incorporating lots of fats (I find it cuts the sugar cravings, too).  Olives, raw cheese, nuts, olive oil, avocado - YUM!!