How should I adapt my diet?

It is perfectly healthy to cut back calories to a certain extent but it is not advisable to go on a strict diet; your body needs at least 1,200 to function so do not restrict your diet below this mark. Looking after a newborn baby can be demanding and you may feel like you’re running around like a headless chicken; if this is the case, your body needs to be fuelled and you should be consuming around 1,600-2,100 calories per day. Adapting your diet to incorporate healthy foods will help to ensure you are getting all the nutrients and minerals you need for your body to function effectively so try to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, fresh meat and fish and wholegrain carbohydrates.

If you are breastfeeding, it is particularly important to try and eat as healthily as possible, as the nutrients will be passed onto your baby. It is not advisable to cut down on calories significantly while you are breastfeeding but you can start to think about losing weight by introducing gentle exercise and adapting your diet to include more healthy foods.

Losing Baby Weight:

• Losing Baby Weight
• When can I start exercising again?
• What kind of exercise should I do to lose baby weight?
• Problems which may affect exercising

• How should I adapt my diet?
• How long will it take to lose my baby weight?
• Other tips for losing baby weight