Plus a one day sample meal plan to get you started
At one time I was very overweight at 200 lbs. Slimming down and losing those pounds was an emotional process for me as I was also, as part of that, figuring out what was wrong with my hormones and creating the protocol that has become the foundation of the Flo sisterhood.
When I got pregnant I was absolutely overjoyed that my 17-year-long investment in eating a pro-hormonal diet allowed me to beat the prognosis of infertility and naturally conceive on the third try! However, when the second trimester hit and my scales started edging higher and higher towards those bigger numbers and my previous weight, I must admit that I got triggered.
Even though I knew the science, I’ll be honest, I got really worried that my body wouldn’t bounce back.
Losing the baby weight without losing out
A few days before I gave birth I hit 210 lbs. That was more than I’d weighed at my heaviest before I changed my lifestyle and my life. By that time I had made peace with the process and I trusted my body to do what it needed to do to give me a healthy baby girl and keep me healthy too.
Post-baby girl, at the end of the fourth trimester (3 months after I’d given birth), I was 40 lbs lighter already. And now, six months after giving birth, I have lost all of the baby weight – all without having to deprive myself of good and tasty foods (or do any significant exercise!). I’ve been feeding my hormones well and the weight has just melted off.
The same diet that got me pregnant is the one that has helped me recover post-partum. I love the elegance and simplicity of that!
If you’re breastfeeding as I have done you’ll find you burn 300-500 calories a day as a consequence, which certainly supports the weight loss.
My first six months with baby were spent in the very snow and very cold New York city and so I had the best excuse to create quality time and not worry too much about working out. Cuddling and carrying your baby is really the best strength training you’ll ever need at this time!
Right after you’ve had a baby is the worst time to try and deprive yourself of food or force yourself to workout. Why? Because those choices spike up cortisol and program your fat cells to stick around. Instead, you need to be nourishing your body, your baby, and enjoying your time together. By following the Flo living meal plan you can trust in the innate process of your hormones and know your body will bounce back.
A Pro-Hormonal Sample Meal Plan post-baby for easy and healthy weight loss
Remember that when you’re breastfeeding you won’t be having your period, especially if you also nurse at night, but you will still be able to ovulate and so you are fertile. So, at this time you’ll be less focused on eating for your hormonal phase and more focused on just getting in lots of super nourishing foods that are rich in amino acids, vitamins and EFAs. Everything you put together should be cooked and warming and organic.
Breakfast – Steel cut oats with black sesame seeds, coconut oil, goji berries
Snack – Hard boiled egg
Lunch – Salmon and quinoa with steamed kale and olive oil
Snack – Avocado on black rice bread
Dinner – Bison burger with broccoli and sweet potato baked ‘fries’
Snack – 2 Dates with 3 Squares Dark Chocolate with Mother’s Milk Tea
Good things come in threes:
I want to hear from you!
First, have you struggled with baby weight? What diets have you tried?
Second, try out our meal plan suggestions, send us your photos, and let us know if you come up with any tasty recipes using our core Flo foods.
Third, you know every one you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social by clicking the buttons below 
Need more Hormone Help?
If you’re needing some health upgrading, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones.
I’ve designed a 4 day hormone detox and evaluation to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer have to suffer.
Click here to get your FREE detox and evaluation!
Thanks for this! I just had a baby 2 weeks ago so this came at a perfect time. I eat a vegan diet though. I’m wondering what modifications you would recommend to replace the egg, fish and bison above? Thanks!!
Hi Sarah, it’s hard because you really do need amino acids from protein, but if you are strict vegan, then investigate moringa and hemp for protein. xo Alisa
Thank you for the sample meal plan! I will definitely try it out. I loved your Woman Code book it helped me to balance out my body. Almost a year later I have a beautiful baby boy 🙂 now I need to shed 55 pounds total. I’ve lost 15 lbs so far, 8 weeks postpartum.
Tanishia – I am so happy to hear I helped you get pregnant! Please email your story to support@floliving.com so I can send you a thank you gift! Use the protocol to help you lose the weight! xo Alisa
Good stuff. Great food plan! One thing, though. It may not be the norm, but some of us actually do menstruate while nursing, even while nursing through the night. I started having periods four months after my first baby, who was still exclusively nursing on-demand. After my second baby, who was very challenging and up all the time, I started my period exactly three months from his birth. I cried. There are a few of us who will menstruate regardless of our dedicated, day and night nursing. My pregnancies (7) have all been between 7 and 18 months apart, and I was always nursing. I am not the only one in this situation, so people need to know that there is a genetic component that is different for some people. I’m not complaining. I love my children and I always wanted a houseful. I have four living children, and would happily have more.
thank you Sarah for this – it’s true, some of this is genetic. The key in any post partum situation is to nourish yourself EXTREMELY well. You are AMAZING mama of four!! xoxo Alisa
I read always your blog. Congrats. You helped me to lose weight and feeling more confident after the born of my baby. I was able to lose weight also thanks the support of a friend, that I want to help in the publishing of her blog. It’s a little site but she’s working hard to share with all who want to visit her her weight loss. Here’s her site: die-lard.com feel free to check it out!
Alisa, do you have any advice or suggestions for the post-nursing diet? I just weaned my 2.5-year-old. What I have found is that I’m experiencing post partum anxiety and maybe a little depression. Very similar to how I felt after I had given birth, except this time I’m struggling with the fact that I am no longer breastfeeding. Are there any foods that will help me combat what I’m going through?
Hi Allison, SO common and NOT discussed – but you are having post natal depletion from breastfeeding for 2.5 years. Food and supplements are key – please set up a session with me so I can give you my post partum protocol! email support@floliving.com. xo Alisa
Thanks for the great info!! I hope to soon to be using this approach after I pop 😉 as I am in my first trimester with my second child, with my first I was not sick at all. Nothing. Wonderful pregnancy. Now I don’t even want to walk into the kitchen for fear of SMELLS. Odors coming from spices, our compost container, the fridge etc. Prior to becoming pregnant my diet consisted of whole vegetarian organic foods while also being gluten free. I loved cooking, we never ate out. Now I want MEAT, bagels, and mexican. Please help! I need nutritious yet very basic meal options.
Abby – EAT MEAT. There is a reason that your body is craving this food – it’s not random, it’s what your body and your baby need. I know that it’s hard to make such a dramatic switch given your history of being vegetarian, but your pregnant body’s demands for micronutrients is MASSIVE and red meat, fish, eggs, and poultry are wonderful ways to boost micronutrient stores of key B vitamins, amino acids, iodine, iron, and fats needed for your baby’s brain development. This is likely compounded because it is your SECOND pregnancy, and all of those micronutrient stores were drained with baby #1 and breastfeeding. Mom diets are notoriously low in adequate supply of foods that restock our nutrient stores and so here you are needing a different diet during a different set of circumstances. All I ever ask women to do is to be willing to be experimental and try a food and without judgement see how you physically feel after having it. Wanna do a meat experiment? 😉 xoxo Alisa
I am newly pregnant (just beginning month 2 of my first trimester) and wondering if you recommend eating a particular way during pregnancy. Does the Flo cycle-syncing diet apply to women who are currently pregnant or do you suggest modifications? I have read that it’s important to consume dairy for the calcium, but I have been indoctrinated to think that dairy is bad. I have also read to avoid eating fats (for morning sickness) but until now I thought that fat was an important part of every meal (avocado, coconut oil, etc). Do you have any resources for how pregnant women should eat? I can only find advice for boosting fertility or losing weight post-partum. Thanks!!
My baby is 10 months old now & I still look like I’m in my second trimester. I’ve just stopped breastfeeding & I’ve noticed that this has helped a little with my weight loss. I’m pretty devastated that my body is holding on to all this weight after being a dedicated crossfitter throughout my pregnancy, then returning at 10wks post baby. It’s so frustrating that my once athletic body is not responding to my clean eating & exercise.
I’ve just read the Womancode & I see that cortisol & lack of sleep are likely playing into my weight but sleep is something I can’t control right now. I go back to work in 2 months & no longer fit any of my work wardrobe.
Hi Renee,
I can’t stress enough how much stress and lack of sleep will effect weight loss! Pushing through fatigue to work will not get you the results you want right now! If you want more info on this please pick up a copy of WomanCode and/or schedule a free consult with one of my counselors!
Alisa
If I am menstruating and still nursing (I started my period after about 4 mos PP), is the recommended meal plan above the same? My LO is 18mos old and I find myself about 10 pounds heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight. Within a month I lost all of my baby weight and an additional 5 pounds beyond that, but have slowly gained ten pounds back.
I”m almost 5 months postpartum and GAINING weight. I know this is because I feel like I’m starving almost all of the time, which leads to poor choices and constant eating. I’m a vegan who changed to vegetarian during my pregnancy, so I’m wondering how to change your plan to suit veggies (I know you mentioned moringa). What can I do to help with the feeling of ravenous hunger? I know it must be abnormal because I’m gaining weight while breastfeeding. Any advice is welcomed. Thanks!
Hi Alisa,
This meal plan looks lovely! Do you have any recommendations for moms nursing older babies? My daughter is 14 months old, I’m still breastfeeding her, and I’m still quite hungry all of the time! I had gained 40 lbs during pregnancy. To date, I have dropped the pregnancy weight and an additional 10 lbs, but I still need to lose about 20 lbs (I was 30 lbs overweight when I got pregnant). So far, I shed the weight by eating clean (lots of protein, veggies, and fats) and exercising 5-6 days a week. I also have hypothyroidism so I know that contributes to holding on to weight. I’m currently reading your book and finding it very interesting! Thanks for your work!
Hi Samantha,
Focus on blood sugar and adrenal fatigue if you are hypothyroid! These are linked.
Alisa
Here is my dilemma- I had a still birth at 24 weeks. I am postpartum, but I also have had my flow return. How should I be eating?
HI Alissa, I am 6 weeks pregnant and just found out I have a small fibroid. Is it safe to do your 4 day reset plan whilst pregnant, or is there any other measures I can take to help keep my oestrogen levels down and avoid fibroid growth in pregnancy?
Hi Alisa,
Reading your book, on step one, and I also had a baby 7 weeks ago and I see the sample menu but I thought I couldn’t have any carbs at night is sweet potatoes a carb?
Hi Alisa! I just discovered your book and have not been able to put it down! I am breastfeeding now (my cycle has not yet returned), but I had many cycle symptoms my whole time cycling ever since my first period (probably too much estrogen–heavy and painful periods, with clotting). I also have severe eczema which I’m just now thinking could be related to this. I’d like to do your 4-day cleanse but since I’m breastfeeding I feel I really would need to eat more (especially at breakfast). Any tips on adapting the cleanse, or any other ways to detox while breastfeeding?
Hi Isabel,
Please do not detox while breast feeding. Support your body instead by eating a balanced diet with lots of greens and drink plenty of water!
Alisa
Hi Alisa,
This is exactly what I’ve been searching for, as i’m anxious to begin shedding some of this additional weight. thank you for posting this! 🙂
I loved the woman code book. After a year of trying and being diagnosed with unexplained infertility, a friend referred Woman Code to me. Months after reading the book and sticking to the program, I finally became pregnant with my baby girl who’s now 1 month old. I can’t thank you enough for opening up your story and sharing it with women around the world.
I am so thrilled for you! Thank you so much for sharing your story!
Alisa
Thanks for this. I’m nursing two children right now. I got my period back at 3 mo postpartum with both of them. My 3 month old only drinks milk and cluster feeds. My first was also EBF. I lost the weight really easily with my first, but this time I’m hovering at 180lb for the last few months and I’m usually 145. It took me 6 months with my first and I was already down to 165 at 3 months postpartum with him. It’s been a struggle! I also have this thing where I feel like I’m starving or that I’m going to pass out. I had to cut my toddler’s nursing down to 3x a day, which triggered ovulation and now here I am menstruating again. I honestly feel better & more balanced having my period back. I know some women experience the opposite because I cannot find anything online about the benefits of your period returning after pregnancy!