I had my second baby in November 2023. A few months later I realized how large I’d gotten (5’5” and 227lbs) after 3 pregnancy losses, 2 rounds of IVF, 2 kids, and several surgeries since 2019. I started to feel scared for my health due to family history and got my cholesterol and other metrics tested in February of this year. 

The cholesterol results were bad and despite being told it would be impossible to do while breastfeeding and crazy to try while caring for a 3 month old, I decided I wanted to work on my health. For me, I wanted to follow a (mostly) whole foods plant based diet with few exceptions. I eat 50-60g of fiber a day, sometimes more. I eat <10g saturated fat a day, averaging about 5. The only exceptions I make are 1) sugared soy creamer in my coffee, which I measure to the gram, 2) pea protein when I make a smoothie, and 3) when I need a middle of the night snack after feeding my daughter I eat multi-grain cheerios. There are “better” options but this gives me a quick rush of carbs that I find I need after feeding the baby. 

I have read that cholesterol is raised while pregnant and breastfeeding, although I haven’t been able to figure out just how much. My daughter still feeds 10-13 times a day around the clock, so I’m assuming that whatever the effect is, it is still maximal. 

I’ve also been losing weight pretty rapidly eating plant based, and at first it was a struggle to get up to 2000 calories a day. I use Cronometer to track and it allowed me to input that I’m being breastfeeding to adjust my intake needs. Despite setting the app to losing 1/2 pound a week, I have lost 32 pounds over 12 weeks. I don’t have time to exercise with a clingy newborn and autistic 3yo, so I’ve relied entirely on diet at this point to improve my health, but I do hope to improve it in the future. 

Questions:
- does continuing the same heart friendly diet usually result in more improvements over time? Or have I gotten all the LDL benefit I’m going to get and now I’m just maintaining?
- does anyone know how much of a decrease in cholesterol is usually seen after weaning? I plan to let my daughter decide when she wants to wean but I’m curious how much of a drop people usually see when they stop breastfeeding. 

Partial success while breastfeeding + questions