Breastfeeding mothers need to be somewhat careful with their diet.

• Production of breastmilk requires you to spend an extra 500-800 calories a day.
• Part of this extra energy comes from fat stores laid down during pregnancy. This is why breastfeeding helps you return to your pre-pregnancy weight and shape sooner (or at all!).
• The rest comes from extra foods that you should eat.
• Breastmilk is ideally your baby's only food for about half a year, a major source of nutrition for a year, and still a good source of nutrition for as long as you continue breastfeeding (see the page on how long to breastfeed and the page on introducing solid foods).
• This means breastmilk contains all the necessary fats, proteins, sugars, vitamins, and minerals that a young baby needs, and most that an older baby needs.
• Your body needs to produce milk that contains all these nutrients. The nutrients have to come out of your body.
• If your diet is deficient in some of these nutrients, your breastmilk will still contain reasonable amounts of them. That means your own body will be robbed of them.
• If you are seriously malnourished, then your breastmilk may be deficient in some nutrients too. This is generally not a problem for mothers in industrialized nation, but it is a problem in many less fortunate areas of the world.
• Don't panic! All you need to do is to eat a reasonable variety of foods (which you should be doing anyway). Just eat a little extra of everything. Trust your hunger. Eat to satisfy hunger, not habit.

Important: It is not a good idea to go on a weight-loss diet while you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Well, most diets are never a good idea, but this is particularly important now because of the extra work your body needs to do. And remember: breastfeeding is helping you lose weight anyway. Just eat well and all will be fine.