Running without compromising milk supply

[maestramommy]

DD just turned 6 months this past Saturday. I had put off any kind of rigorous exercise till the because 1) I didn't have the energy, and 2) I didn't want to compromise my milk supply. But there's a 5k race in May that I'd like to run. Well, more like jog. So I've started running (actually started last week!) to get ready. My plan was to run 2-3 times a week, for 15 minutes, then racheting up to an hour.

What can I do to make sure my milk supply doesn't go down. I've already had to go on milk tea (which I'm dropping; doesn't really work for me) and brewers yeast to up my supply. I've had my period twice now, which always seems to make my supply lessen, and it gets pretty stressful. I'm still 10 pounds above PP weight, which I don't care much about right now. I'm just trying to get in shape for running again. I also have a wound on one side, but I'll put that in another post. Any suggestions from runners out there? Still trying to get to 1 year without supplementing. Any EBFing runners out there with suggestions? Thanks!

[JulieL]

I read that if you workout to consume 100 calories after your workout to help with supply. I did that last time and still lost weight while working out and had no supply issues. I am doing the same now - and no problems either. I wish I could give you a firm source where I got that info, but I'm not sure where I got it - so many books and pregnancy magazines!

[nd93]

Another thing is to make sure you are drinking tons of water. Hydrating while working out is important, and hydrating while BF is important. Combine the two, and you will likely need tons of water. When my kids were babies and not on solids yet, I could definitely tell if I had not had enough water.

[maestramommy]

Great! Now, what contains only 100 calories? :-)

[JulieL]

I would often eat an Eddies Ice Pop - Natural made of fruit juice - I think it was 90 calories, or I would eat a granola bar, or a banana or a cup of Dannan Yogurt - some good places to start :)

[psophia17]

An egg would do the job, and would give you a shot of fat and protein, too, which you'd need after a workout. Also, a spoonful of peanut butter, a small container of plain yogurt (the fruit on the bottom kind is less tart, and much lower in calories if you don't eat the fruit), or avocado and salsa on a rice cake.

Those are what I had after my workouts, although I wasn't BF at the time. They usually did the trick, too.

[maestramommy]

This is great! Thanks for all the suggestions!