Breastfeeding During the HCG Diet

Our youngest little one is 14 months old. I still breastfeed him in the morning and at night before bed. These feeding probably total about 4 ounces of breast milk in a 24 hour period. I did not want to put the HCG Diet on hold any longer because it won't be long before we invite another little one into our family and I want to be 30 pound lighter and healthier before that happens. However, starting the diet was not an easy decision for me and I felt very torn between what was right and what was wrong.

Breastfeeding during the HCG Diet is not recommended. That is the standard answer that a woman will receive when doing research about the subject. There are many reasons for this. The first reason is that there are many degrees or levels of breastfeeding. There is the mother who nurses her baby exclusively and is the baby's soul source of nutrients. The mother who breastfeeds her baby occasionally throughout the day as the baby supplements with other foods. Then there is the mother like me who is breastfeeding her toddler as a source of bonding and comfort for her growing toddler, not as a source of the baby's nutrients and calorie intake. Finally, there are countless other situations that would fall under breastfeeding. So, as a blanket approach, breastfeeding is not recommended while doing the HCG Diet.

Now, with that said, I will try to give a few reasons why it is a good idea to take this precaution seriously. Then I advise every mother to take in the facts and evaluate her own personal situation, just as I have done. Then make the decision on her own with the baby's best interest in mind.

The body burns calories when producing breast milk. The body also requires nutrients from the mother to make breast milk. These calories and nutrients come from the mother's fat source. If a mother is limiting her calorie and nutrient intake and also losing her fat stores extremely fast, it is reasonable to say that the breast milk could either be eliminated all together or be short on the proper nutrients to sustain a nursing baby's nutritional needs. If a baby is even close to exclusively breastfeeding, this is a risk to take very seriously!

There are many things that are stored in the fat cells of the human body. There are nutrients and hormones, as well as harmful toxins. The HCG that is used in the HCG Diet helps the body in a way to sift up those stagnant fat cells, which releases everything that is within those cells. If this happens very quickly (which is common with the HCG Diet) then there will be toxins floating around in the blood and the body that will take time to be eliminated. If a woman is breastfeeding then it is possible for these toxins to get into the breast milk. Another reason to take breastfeeding while on the HCG Diet very seriously.

With that all said, I will wish all of the women out there who have been, or are in my shoes right now Good Luck. Listen to your Mother Heart and follow it!