Vegan Nutrition with Dina Aronson, M.S. R.D.

Dina Aronson, MS, RD is a vegan dietitian whose specialties include chronic disease prevention, vegetarian/vegan nutrition, and lifestyle management. She is the founder and director of VeganRD.com, a nutrition consulting company. Active in many vegetarian nutrition organizations, Dina was the recipient of the American Dietetic Association's Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year Award in 2002.

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I am a vegan nursing mother and can't seem to shift the excess baby weight I gained, I exercise, eat healthy so any suggestions on dieting would be greatly appreciated. I am 30 pounds heavier than my prepregnancy weight of 138 pounds. -Dawn

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Dear Dawn,

I'm not sure how long you've been trying, but for many women, patience is your most valuable strategy: slowly but surely, if you return to the same healthy habits as before, they weight will come off. Weight loss diets are not recommended during lactation, because cutting calories can affect milk supply. Plus, when we eat less food, we get fewer essential nutrients, which can compromise the quality of the milk. But there is a lot you can do that will support the health of both you and your baby, but will help the weight loss along.

If you have your health care provider's OK, exercise every day. Of course, this is challenging given your breastfeeding and care-taking schedule, but with support from your partner and others, you should be able to make exercise a priority. (Plus, exercise is a great mood lifter and sleep helper). Try to get about an hour of activity in, ½ hour of cardio activity and ½ hour of strength training. Choose exercises you enjoy, and mix things up to stay motivated. It may make the most sense to split your hour into 2 sessions during the day, unless you're lucky enough to be able to have a whole hour to yourself.

For the cardio: During your baby's nap, if you have help, get outside or to the gym for some intense aerobics exercise like jogging, cycling, swimming, or power walking. If you must stay home, try a home exercise video, home exercise equipment like a treadmill, or an exercise TV show.

For the strength training: lift light weights, use resistance bands, do yoga or pilates, etc. Books, videos, and web sites provide wonderful information on safe and effective strength training. Don't worry about bulking up; strength training is excellent for weight loss because you will build lean muscle mass, which increases the rate at which your body burns fat. But take it slow and don't overdo.

Here some tried-and-true nutrition tips that will encourage slow, safe weight loss:

Focus on nutrient-dense foods, such as beans, whole grains, fresh fruit, and vegetables.
Get most of your fat from whole foods: seeds, nuts (avoid peanuts if there is a family history of peanut allergy), avocado, soybeans, and olives. It's much easier to overdo isolated fats (like margarine and oil) than whole foods, because whole foods fill you up with protein and fiber too.
Go easy on foods that pack a lot of calories, but may not be that filling or nutritious, such as white bread, refined breakfast cereals (it's very easy to overdo breakfast cereal-especially the sweet type), baked goods, and sweets.
Eat a relatively large breakfast, and moderate-sized lunch, dinner, and snacks.
Avoid sweetened beverages like punch or lemonade, whose calories add up quick but don't have much to offer nutritionally. Even juice is easy to overdo; opt for whole fruit over fruit juice.
Be aware of mindless eating, like nighttime munchies in front of the computer.
A "snack" doesn't have to be a "snack" food like chips or cookies. Try a small bowl of bean chili or leftover tofu scrambles for a nutritious snack.
Stretch your meals with vegetables, so you're eating lots of volume but with relatively fewer calories.

Remember, your calorie needs are unique to your current weight, goal weight, height, activity level, and frequency of breast feeding; see a dietitian to get a more detailed plan specific to your unique needs.

Disclaimer: The advice given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

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