Breastfeeding and Exercise?

Since this IS a post-pregnancy blog, not just a fitness blog, my friend Paola recently brought up a pretty important point that I have yet to mention here: Breastfeeding. Why is this relevant? Well, you may or may not know that a mother who exclusively breastfeeds her infant can burn 500-800 calories a day by just doing that!! It's pretty amazing. So why not just do that? Well, in my experience as a second time mother, breastfeeding expedites the shrinking of the uterus immediately after birth. I'm talking PAINFUL (but necessary) contractions while you are feeding your baby for about the first week. But this helps ensure that you won't continue to look pregnant forever. Thank God for that!! It also makes you trapped-in-a-desert-for-weeks THIRSTY. So I drink a ridiculous amount of water all day long. In a way, it's like working out! So if you can just breastfeed, why work out at all? Breastfeeding does not tone your butt, legs, arms, tummy. It doesn't get rid of the belly fat you develop during pregnancy. I think that by breastfeeding and doing nothing else, you can lose all your pregnancy weight, but you will look untoned. Unless you have ridiculous genetics (I do not), you will not look bikini-ready by breastfeeding alone. Also, it's important to mention that it makes you HUNGRY! You are burning a ton of calories, your body will crave those calories back. I know plenty of women who actually GAIN weight while breastfeeding because they are so hungry and eat more than they should, thinking they have a get-out-of-jail-free card. Now comes another question: Won't exercise reduce my milk supply? I can only speak from my own personal experience, but no, it has not. I am working out like a freak right now, and my little girl is exclusively breastfed (on demand). At almost 11 weeks old, she is a whopping 13 lbs and in the 90th % for weight. However, I want to stress the importance of NOT DIETING! I am not counting my calories and I eat when I am hungry. It doesn't mean I eat cake all day (wouldn't that be nice?). It doesn't hurt anyone to eat healthier. But cutting down? No. I am continuing to eat enough and drink a ton of water while still exercising and toning/losing weight, and I am not having milk supply issues. I think it's all a fine balance and everyone's body is different, but I have found a way to make it work for me and for my baby. Now after I had Ashton, I DID have supply issues because the doctor left a freaking piece of the placenta in there, which didn't come out for 9 weeks and my body thought I was still a little pregnant, I guess? Also, birth control pills really reduced my supply. This time around, I'm in good shape placenta-wise and my husband got snipped, so everything is going so much better in the milk department. :)