There are a lot of conflicting sources of information regarding postpartum diet. What works for one person may not work for someone else. Breastfeeding adds a whole new factor into the mix. While you want to lose the baby weight, you don't want to lose your milk. There are also still some dietary restrictions for breastfeeding moms. Therefore, I thought I'd share my diet with you which has helped me lose most of the baby weight at approximately 5 months postpartum. Hopefully, this can help you as well.

Breakfast

On work days, breakfast is pretty simple. Since I like to workout most mornings, after I feed the baby I'll judge my energy level. If I feel I need a little something before working out, I'll have half a tablespoon of peanut butter otherwise, I hold off til breakfast. For breakfast, I generally have one of 4 combinations: Cheerios and yogurt, Cheerios and a protein shake, oatmeal with raisins and yogurt, and oatmeal with raisins and a protein shake. I like to keep it quick and easy on work days. On the weekends I may get fancy with a veggie omelette or homemade waffles. Finally, I have coffee pretty much everyday.

Lunch

Lunch during the week is PB and J more than I would care to admit. I mean it's organic strawberry spread, natural peanut butter, and wheat bread, but still PB and J. With it I will often have some apple sauce, a sparkling water, and some pretzels. Other entrees include Amy's lentil soup or vegetable lentil, organic Mac and cheese, madras lentils, and maybe once a week, a chicken and vegetable wrap or panini. Other sides may include greek yogurt, organic chips, a fiber one brownie, or a vegetable squeezy. On weekends if we are out pizza or a salad might be had.

Dinner

This is where it gets tricky in our house. I get out of work at 5pm and my husband usually has work at 6pm. So I get home at 5:15 and have to feed the baby, making it my husband's job to cook. My husband is no cook.... So on nights he has work it's usually turkey burger and fries, pasta and a vegetable and turkey meatballs, Mac and cheese and a vegetable and nuggets, ravioli and a vegetable, and quesadillas and a vegetable. The meatballs, nuggets, ravioli, and vegetables are generally from frozen. Take out generally happens at least once a week. When the hubs doesn't have work I try to mix it up with pork chops, or chicken stir fry, or steak with rice or mashed potatoes and a vegetable. Other times we'll do tacos or grilled chicken.

Evening Snack

In order to get through studying after the kids go to bed, I usually require a snack. This generally consists of hot chocolate and pretzels, or skinny pop popcorn, or string cheese and crackers.

Every once in a while a cookie or dessert creeps in to my diet. I try not to have them on a regular basis so I don't feel guilty when I do indulge. I generally don't do soda or candy so keeping sugar down is easier. I take my coffee black. I keep my calories intake at about 2000 calories daily and I exercise 5-7 days a week for about 30-40 minutes. I do a mix of weights and cardio.

While there is not huge variety in my normal diet, it helps me stay consistent as far as calorie intake and calories burned. In general, my philosophy is to eat when hungry but try to make healthy choices. I also continue to take my prenatal vitamins and vitamin D. I also use the myfitnesspal app to keep track of everything. Definitely check that out in the app store. It syncs with a variety of devices including Fitbit which I also use.