I've nursed four babies. And let me just say, nursing makes me HUNGRY! So hungry in fact that with the first three, nutrition went out the window in a desparate attempt just to feel full.
UNHEALTHY:
For my first three babies I doubled my portion sizes of everything. I purposely ate anything I knew was high fat and high calorie like donuts, chips, and cookies. I also added extra butter, sour cream, cream cheese, and peanut butter to everything just to get full. (I still lost weight eating this way because my metabolism was in high gear, but we all know you can't keep eating like this for long without consequences!)
HEALTHY AND EASY
With this baby, I started drinking a green smoothie everyday. Wow, I feel soooo much better! Finally, I can eat healthy while nursing!
I still have to eat a ton of extra food, twice as much in some cases, but it is usually whole grains, legumes, nuts, unprocessed meats in small amounts, salads and plenty of healthy oils (olive oil, flax oil, coconut oil) and butter which isn't ideal, but better than margarine. I eat this instead of the junk and I feel FULL. Eating twice as much food before without green smoothies still left me with overwhelming cravings and hunger, so I credit the difference to green smoothies.
I think green smoothie should be standard fare for all nursing mothers. Honestly, they should give you your first one as soon as you deliver that baby and teach you how to make one before you go home from the hospital. That is what I think. If you are feeding two, you NEED it. Green smoothie gives moms an energy boost too. And don't forget, green smoothies are weight loss enhancers, which is a big deal to most new nursing mothers.
Update:Although I'm no longer nursing I'm still trying to solve the puzzle of what would have been best to eat as a nursing mom. I always see moms who are well past that stage, who have all the answers. They say "if I had only known what I know now, I would have done it then and I would have felt so much better too..." Well, it is true, several years later with no babies, I am a much healthier eater and my health is better in every way. However, I am not going to say "if I had only known", I did know and it was too much to handle then. Having a baby is Hard Work. You feel tired and hungry because its such a physically demanding full-time job. Lots of things slide. You don't drink enough water, you snack on sugar a lot because you are weak and its hard to have resolve, you don't have time to plan and prepare the ideal food. This is what i say--do the best you can and have faith in yourself that when you are past the stage of having babies some day, things will get better. Trust me, all the exhaustion now is worth it! Kids are worth it.
