fbpx

Keto While Breastfeeding—Critical Info Before Starting Your Diet

Keto while breastfeeding

Adopting a ketogenic diet while breastfeeding is something that women may wonder about. However, there are also some apprehensions about this diet’s safety and how it will affect their breast milk supply.  

It would do well for women intending to lose weight through a low-carb diet, such as a keto diet while breastfeeding, to research its safety. 

Weight loss is, for many women, a huge goal after childbirth. Doing so by controlling carbohydrate intake through a keto diet has become quite popular.

In this article, we will discuss if going on keto while breastfeeding is safe, which activities should breastfeeding moms have to be careful about engaging in, and how much milk they can produce based on their diets. 

What is keto?

The ketogenic diet, or keto diet for short, may seem like just another quick fad in the diet to burn fat stores. 

However, many people are surprised to learn that the keto diet, or a form of it, actually started about a hundred years ago.

Low-carb diets have been around for ages, but the keto diet, a particular low-carb diet, was originally developed to help treat epilepsy. It was surmised in the 1920s that a strict ketogenic diet could help slow the frequency of epileptic seizures in patients, as well as fasting.

Keto while breastfeeding

What can you eat on a keto diet?

Unlike many weight loss diets that focus on eating less or fasting, the keto diet is more about changing how you ingest food by forcing the body to work through stored fat and eating only specific food groups to lose weight.

With the keto diet, you focus on eating high-fat food, moderate protein levels, and as little carbohydrate intake as possible.

What do we know about carbs? Carbs often come from starchy foods like potatoes, bread, rice, and pasta. When we ingest carbs, they turn to sugar in our bodies. Sugary food then turns into fat in the body because we don’t quickly use the energy the sugar gives.

Carbs are good in a limited capacity, but they make it difficult to lose weight. So by eating healthy fats, restricting how much carbs you eat, and eating more protein, you’re essentially starting a keto diet.

Ketones and Ketosis

When people talk about being on a keto diet, you will hear a few terms used repeatedly. Two of these terms are “ketones” and “ketosis.” 

The problem with these terms is that unless you have really done your research or are in the medical field, you probably don’t know what these terms mean.

The following is a very brief explanation of these terms used frequently by those who engage in this diet lifestyle. 

Consider it a bit of a crash course into the nature of this diet.

Ketone bodies

Ketones are naturally produced by your liver. If we eat what most of us consider a “regular” diet that is not restrictive, our liver works fairly slowly at producing ketones.

However, if we reduce or restrict the amount of carbs and protein consumed daily, the process of producing ketones increases significantly.

Ketosis

Being in a state of ketosis means your body has so few carbs to make glucose and get the energy it needs. Instead, unhealthy fats stored in your body are used to provide energy.

Your body goes into this state where you’re basically in overdrive. You’re using up your stored fat to turn it into energy.

This is the state that many women try to get into for postpartum weight loss

Discover the ultimate on-demand breastfeeding classes designed to help you overcome common breastfeeding hurdles and challenges. Learn everything you need to know about breastfeeding, from latching and positioning to low milk supply and nipple soreness and so much more! 


Stacy Stewart’s expert guidance will help you enjoy breastfeeding and navigate your journey with confidence. Join now and give your baby a great start to life.

Keto while breastfeeding

Starting a keto diet while breastfeeding can affect your milk supply if you aren’t careful. There are precautions that you should take in every diet, especially if you don’t want your breast milk supply to be affected negatively.

Very few actual studies indicate with certainty whether or not the milk supply or breast milk is safe when on a keto diet. However, when asked if keto diet is safe while breastfeeding, most doctors and experts agree that it probably doesn’t lead to any harmful consequences.

Precautions to take when doing keto while breastfeeding

As stated before, it’s important to remain cautious when engaging in any diet while breastfeeding. You don’t want to compromise milk production or supply, and you certainly don’t want to compromise your or your baby’s health.

That being said, the following are tips for avoiding weight gain while breastfeeding and maintaining a keto diet safely.

1. Start before pregnancy

You need to consume adequate calories while you are pregnant and while you are breastfeeding. You cannot expect milk supply or production to remain healthy if you do not eat a balanced diet while lactating or pregnant.

Suppose you are interested in a keto diet. In that case, it’s suggested that you begin this diet and lifestyle before becoming pregnant so that you know what to expect and can also figure out how to maintain the diet without compromising your required daily caloric intake.

2. Stay hydrated

Hydration is incredibly important when you are producing milk. Just as important as getting enough calories, you have to be hydrated to maintain a milk supply.

Don’t focus so much on a high-fat diet while breastfeeding that you pay no attention to how much water you drink.

3. Remember increased nutritional demands

Breastfeeding women need to maintain normal ketone levels by eating a balanced diet before they should ever worry about weight loss.

You must ensure you are getting enough calories to keep up your energy and maintain a healthy body. Only then can you think about trying to lose weight.

Keto while breastfeeding

Keto flu

There is more to keto than avoiding carbs and whole grains. There are also specific “side effects” you should watch out for when you are on a diet, such as keto.

One such issue is that many people who start a keto diet experience a flu-like period after they start the diet. 

You may feel ill, lose your appetite for solid food, and experience weakness, abdominal pain, and body aches.

You may also experience smelly urine, muscle loss, and sometimes even hair loss when cutting carb-based calories.

Your breastmilk production may also seem a bit odd for a little while. Some women claim that their milk production around the time of ketosis is sometimes thinner, smells a bit odd, or is slightly less than what they were getting when regularly ingesting more carbs.

Keto vs Ketoacidosis

You may have heard about diabetic ketoacidosis and what that may have to do with a keto diet.

The short answer is that they have little to do with each other. However, the two terms are similar enough that many people get confused.

Ketoacidosis is dangerous and can even be fatal. It occurs when your blood ketone levels are so low that your pH is lowered to dangerous levels. Life-threatening lactation ketoacidosis is a genuine concern for those who take a keto diet too seriously or are too extreme with the limitations that this diet demands.

Certain groups of people should not engage in a ketogenic diet for their health and safety. These people include uncontrolled diabetics, malnourished, alcoholics, and some pregnant women.

Alcoholic ketoacidosis is also a dangerous issue that can cause serious illness.

Be sure that you always check with your doctor or healthcare provider before you start any sort of diet, especially keto.

Low carb while breastfeeding

If you want to cut carbs and are breastfeeding, there are many ways that you can do it, even without adopting the full scale of the keto diet.

Eat lots of fatty fish, butter, cheese, and eggs, and avoid alcohol, mayo, vegetable oils, processed foods, grain bread, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

Most keto foods make you feel full quickly, so ensure you are still getting enough calories in your diet so your milk production or supply level does not decrease.

Keto while lactating

If you are a non-diabetic lactating woman, you are most likely okay to engage in a keto diet. Make sure, however, that you ask your doctor first. 

Your blood sugar needs to be regulated to not compromise your health, and you must ensure that you are ingesting enough calories daily to continue making enough milk for your baby.

Your metabolic demands can throw you into what is known as ketosis, where your liver goes into overdrive to turn fats into energy or fuel for your body. That is the entire idea behind this sort of diet. 

Just be sure that as a breastfeeding mother, you get all the nourishment needed to engage in safe dieting rather than crash dieting.

You might Also like...

Subscribe to
receive your FREE
"58 Newborn Essentials"
Registry Guide