Article: It may seem counterintuitive, but it is important to eat regularly to lose weight. While nursing, you should never eat fewer than 1,500-1,800 calories daily, and most women require much more than this. Starving yourself is never a good idea, and is particularly dangerous when recovering from childbirth and nursing your baby. Too few calories can also be counterproductive to your weight loss goals. Breastfeeding burns an additional 300-500 calories per day, and has been shown to reduce postpartum weight retention overall for most women even without caloric restriction. You should eat enough to satisfy that calorie requirement in addition to that of a healthy diet. While studies have not shown that there is a significant relationship between reduced maternal intake of calories and milk production, eating too few calories can put your health at risk and increase fatigue. Eating regular meals and snacks will take the edge off of your hunger and allow you to more easily manage what you eat. If you allow yourself to get too hungry, you will end up reaching for the most convenient food available, rather than the healthiest option. When you don't take in enough calories, your body enters a "starvation mode" known as adaptive thermogenesis in order to reduce the amount of energy you are expending, including burning calories. This can function as a type of weight loss sabotage. Eating a treat such as nuts, apple slices, or carrot sticks between meals is an excellent way to keep hunger at bay. Whether working at home or outside of it, nursing moms don't have a lot of free time. Prepare healthy snacks in advance when you have a spare moment. Keep healthy snacks within reach while you are nursing your baby. Nursing forces you to sit still for a moment and rest, the perfect time to grab a bite. Try keeping nonperishable snacks, like nuts or dried fruit, in your purse or diaper bag, or in your car for easy access on the go. Make sure to wash all fruits and vegetables. The FDA recommends washing fresh produce under running water just before eating, cutting or cooking. Using soap or commercial produce washes is unnecessary. It's advisable to wait a minimum of a full 2 months after childbearing prior to actively attempting to slim down. But during this time, you can be eating healthy and avoid junk food as much as possible. After that period has passed, try to lose weight at a slow, but steady, pace, rather than all at once. A pound and a half a week is a reasonable goal. Avoid trend diet plans, cleanses, promises of rapid weight loss, fat burning medicines, diet plan tablets and natural supplements. These things might possibly be risky for anybody, and are especially high-risk while nursing. Studies show that losing weight too quickly puts additional stress on your cardiovascular system. Childbirth and nursing put enough stress on your body, you don't need to add more. When you go on a crash diet, your body tends to burn muscle and lose water weight, instead of burning fat. This makes keeping the weight off a lot more difficult than if you had lost weight over a more extended period of time. Not all women experience postpartum weight loss during breastfeeding the same way. You should think about your weight loss plan as a long term, healthy lifestyle, rather than an immediate goal. Don't get discouraged if your weight loss doesn't go exactly as you hoped. You may drop some weight quickly in the first few weeks after you deliver, but keep in mind that it will not all come off that quickly. Don't expect results overnight. It might take a year or more to lose the additional weight you have acquired while pregnant. Unless you're a celebrity with a personal trainer, nutritionist, and live-in nanny, losing your baby weight takes time. Some women find it very difficult to lose weight while breastfeeding and experience a greater loss in weight after they wean their baby. This may be due to lack of routine and sleep, which can contribute to overeating. Your body also releases the hormone prolactin during pregnancy and breastfeeding, which triggers milk production. Some research suggests that if you have a higher level of prolactin, it can suppress your metabolism. When taking stock of your weight loss goals, remember that you will usually keep about three pounds of extra tissue in your breasts as long as you are nursing.

What is a summary?
Try to eat every three hours. Keep healthy snacks handy. Aim to lose the weight slowly. Give it time.