TF For Weight Loss?

[ZoeyZoo]

I'm about to have DC#1 and was looking into a TF diet since I think it will be able to provide all the nutrients the baby will need in the breastmilk. I feel so many "diets" out there will deprive my and the baby's body of what it will need.

I'm also concerned about losing my pregnancy weight and was wondering how well TF helps with weight loss since it goes against most of the tranditional weight loss advice. Any tips?

Thanks!

[bri276]

right after you have a baby is never a good time to try to "diet" anyways, because you will still need additional nutrition for breastfeeding. you might want to read the book "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" by Sally Fallon to understand the common weight loss myths. I wouldn't worry about gaining or losing weight while nursing, as long as you are eating as healthy as possible for yourself and baby, the number on the scale is irrelevant. for many women, nursing helps take the weight off, but for a few, it seems to signal their body to keep the weight on (it's probably just a hormonal thing), so just be accepting of your new body that is nourishing your baby no matter if it's different than it was before pregnancy. I don't think anyone knows what havng a baby has truly done to their body until they wean, anyways

[ZoeyZoo]

That's why I was looking at the TF diet... thought the increase in fats and vitamins would be great for BFing.

How does the switch from a conventional diet to a TF make someone feel?

For me a conventional diet is limited processed foods, lots of veggies, limiting sugar, etc with an bad treat each weekend. It doesn't seem a lot different from what I'm doing now except I'm not doing the bone broths, am using low fat organic milk products, am eating some white bread products. Often times when I've gone to lower carb diets I get really tired.

I guess I'm just trying to get a better idea of what to expect... Will I lose/gain fat? Will I get tired? etc.

[Taedareth]

Hi mama,

We eat TF and I have never felt better Reading Eat Fat, Lose Fat is definitely the place for you to start. It focuses mostly on the benefits of eating coconut in all its forms - oil, cream, milk, dehydrated, fresh, the juice, etc. Coconut oil is totally wonderful for revving up your metabolism! DH has low thyroid and after he drinks a morning smoothie with about 3 Tbsp coconut oil, he actually feels warm because his metabolism kicks into higher gear.

If you want to go all the way with TF, you would be getting rid of the conventional bread and pasta in your diet (for nutritional reasons) but you could certainly replace them with sourdough or sprouted grain bread. Maybe there's sprouted grain pasta for sale somewhere... I haven't looked. Anyway, no empty calories. You wouldn't be eating any refined sugars or artificial sweeteners, but you can certainly have nutritious sweeteners like honey and pure maple syrup (among others). You wouldn't be drinking conventional milk (low fat, homogenized) again for nutritional reasons, but you could drink whole, raw milk - or if that isn't available/affordable, you could get pasteurized, non-homogenized milk and make kefir with it.

Basically it's like you said - TF is all about nutrient-dense foods. And they're DELICIOUS. No depriving yourself and no feeling hungry. You get to embark on the enjoyable process of discovering new favorite snack foods and sweets. There are lots of great recipes on this forum for TF-friendly sweets like chocolate mousse, pancakes, donuts, ice cream, eggnog and others.

If nothing else, be sure to try that breakfast smoothie recipe from Eat Fat, Lose Fat. It contains coconut oil to kickstart your metabolism and keep you full for literally hours. Awesome breakfast food, especially for a nursing mom. Coconut oil makes your milk creamy rich in brain-developing fats that your baby needs.

[lotus.blossom]

In my experience, I found TF about 6 months after I had my son. At that point I was actually heavier than right after I gave birth because I stuffed my face while nursing. All day long and not aways the best food choices. Switching to a TF diet allowed me to lose weight by the time he was a year. I felt full and didn't crave the chips and ice cream because my fat needs were being met in a healthy manner. I also exercised and found that I was back to my preprenancy weight at about a year. I will definitely eat TF during and after my next prenancy.

However, right now I have decided to move away from it. I am trying to lose another 5-10 lbs and I just can't seem to do it on all the full fat items I was consuming. My son is almost done nursing and I am eating a moderated calorie diet and its been working to budge those extra lbs that I want to lose. I still eat pastured meat and eggs and TF items but not exclusively.

That being said, I would very much recommend a full TF diet for anyone pregnant or nursing. We were extremely healthy all winter and my son is bright and nourished! I also wanted to second the fact that you may want to be accepting of your post partum body and not put a lot of stress on yourself to lose weight right away. You are doing an important job for your baby and there will be a time again when you can regain your figure!

[Etoile]

I am very overweight and I am losing weight having adopted a TF diet. So far I have lost 12 pounds in about 6 weeks, and that is not even trying that hard. One of the most important things I have found is that somehow i am not emotionally eating anymore and I am eating much smaller portions and feeling satisfied. I think that the biggest reason is because my body is now getting all the nutrients it needs so I don't have the need to be stuffed all the time.

I haven't gone super low in carbs, but I am eating only whole grains when I do eat grains, I have not gone to soaking all of them yet but I only buy sprouted bread (alvarado brand) and I make sourdough rye pancakes on weekends for breakfast. When we eat pasta (rarely) we have rice pasta or buckwheat soba noodles. I try to have a lot of veggies with dinners, something I've never really done before since being on my own (I do have lots of experience with many veggies, being raised vegetarian/macrobiotic). We are getting organic produce delivery so we have plenty of fruit & veggies in the house. I am also adding coconut oil & CLO.

An average day:

Breakfast: egg sandwich on sprouted bread OR plain whole-milk yogurt OR a glass of whole milk OR oatmeal (I haven't done soaked yet). On weekends like I said I make the sourdough rye pancakes with organic grade B maple syrup and organic cultured butter), or bacon/sausage, eggs and sprouted toast.

Lunch: I either bring dinner leftovers for lunch or make a sprouted-bread sandwich with meat or almond butter & raw honey.

Snacks: I usually bring 2 pieces of fruit to work with me for snacks and sometimes a piece of raw cheese. When I get home from work so I'm not starving when I am fixing dinner I often have a piece of cheese or another snack like that.

Dinner: Once a week is generally fritatta with a ton of veggies and pastured eggs I get from a farm, sometimes with organic sausage. Once a week usually a bean dish, indian Dal or lentil soup or something. One day I do fix myself liver & onions (hubby eats leftovers that night! ha) and the other nights I do either a meat dish or a soup or a curry. For meats we mostly use lamb, ground pastured beef, and chicken. I try to make stock once every couple of weeks in the crockpot.

For treats I make a coconut fudge which is coconut oil, raw honey, organic cocoa powder, almond butter, and a pinch of salt heated over a double boiler and poured into cupcake papers like a reese's cup (keep in fridge).

Is that TMI? This is what's working for me. As I said I really think that the nutrition I'm getting now is helping me have a more realistic appetite and lose weight.

[Ruthla]

Originally Posted by ZoeyZoo

I'm also concerned about losing my pregnancy weight and was wondering how well TF helps with weight loss since it goes against most of the tranditional weight loss advice. Any tips?

The traditional weight loss advice never helped me lose weight anyway! The only way I've been able to lose weight is with low carb, moderate protein, high fat. If cutting carbs made you too tired, then either you didn't stick with it long enough for your body to adjust to the new way of eating, you've cut carbs too low for you personally, or you didn't fill in with enough protein and fat.

I wouldn't recomend a strict LC diet while pg or postpartum anyway. But it can't hurt to cut out junk foods and increase protein and fat.