Day 4 - Carbs and Breastmilk

Since I didn't think to start this right away, I am now on Day 4 of the Challenge.

Me:
I actually have pretty good energy considering I've pretty much eliminated carbs from my diet.  I have been eating 1 piece of fruit/day.  I've stayed on track with my workouts and have done 3 Crossfit style workouts so far.

The Milk:
So far, so good!  Actually, on Day 1, I had to pump EARLY at work because I was so full!  It has been a really long time since that has happened.  I think this is due to the extra water I've been drinking (aiming for 150 oz/day).  The evening of Day 2, I had much more milk than I typically do in the evenings, when my supply seems to be at its lowest.  Day 4, I feel a slight dip in supply - typically I pump 16 oz during the day - today I was able to pump 15.

The Baby:
Night 3 was rough.  She was very bloated and gassy and did not sleep well.  She also has not had a bowel movement in 3 days, when typically she has a BM every 1 or 2 days.  This could either be because of the diet change or because I introduced yogurt to her this week.  It's hard to tell what's causing the back-up, but I'm really nervous for the release. (yikes!)

The Lesson:
Today I read an article called Crack vs Carbs - it talked about how today's society is addicted to carbs.  An interesting thing that the author said was "people could live their entire life without eating a single carb except for the carbs consumed from their mother's milk."  Interesting statement - and also piqued my curiosity.  So, if mother's milk is made up of 37% carbs, does the mother need to intake carbs to produce that?  Or can her body "create" carbs from fats and/or protein?  How did our ancestors feed their babies during the winter months when fruit would not have been abundant? Here's what I learned.  The carbs in breastmilk are primarily lactose.  Lactose is made up of two sugars - Glucose and Galactose.  If you do not intake these sugars, in order to feed your baby, your body will 1. find them from bodily stores 2. create carbs from protein with the help of the liver.

Since I am trying to stick to the diet as much as possible (without sacrificing my milk supply to my beautiful girl) I researched foods highest in Glucose and Galactose and found that there are several vegetables high in these simple sugars. I'm aiming for the most bang for my buck here - so if I'm filling up on veggies, I might as well be filling up on the ones that can provide nutrients to my baby.  So, summer squash, tomatoes, celery, and blueberries  and cherries it is! (I know, blueberries & cherries are not a veg - but these will be my "daily serving of fruit" - perhaps nibbled on throughout the day.)

So, really, how did our ancestors live without carbs?  I'm thinking that the makeup of breastmilk at the macronutrient level must have been much different than it is with today's breastfeeding mamas....


Here's my food log for the day:

[5:45] 2 hard boiled eggs, coffee w/ 1/4 c coconut milk, 1 tsp coconut oil [7:00] it's a 2-cup of coffee morning [10:00] apple w/ 2T almond butter, superfood drink [12:00] 2 oz turkey breast [12:30] 2 c. mixed greens, 8 oz chicken breast, handful mushrooms and tomatoes, 1 boiled egg, 2 T olive oil, 1/4 c. cashews [3:00] handful of mixed nuts [7:00] 1/3 lb burger, 2 slices of bacon, a few mushrooms, large handful carrot sticks [8:00] decaf coffee w/ 1/2 scoop protein, 2 sticks celery, handful blueberries						Water intake (Oz)	Sleep (hrs)
						145 oz	8 hrs - 3 nursings (lilah slept much better last night)