Catherine Saint Louis reports for the New York Times, “For those incredibly shrinking women, the time they nurse is precious not only for its skin-on-skin cuddling, but also for the Get Out of Dieting Jail Free card that comes with it.” And as one nursing mom validates the observation, “Nobody wants to admit I’m doing it to help myself look hot again. It’s tough to admit to other people that everything isn’t about the baby.”

Breastfeeding has become today’s ‘in’ slimming tactic for some moms. In fact, a study shows that ‘breastfeeding women slim faster.’ The study also adds to the conversation ‘that suggests that weight loss through breast-feeding is not a myth.’

One successful woman’s secret was ‘breastfeeding her newborn on demand, and using a breast pump to take milk home to him.’ According to Jessica Jochim, a mother of three, “All the ladies at work started joking they were going to go in back and pump so they could start losing weight like I was. I had a baby suckling 600 calories a day out of me.” Mrs. Jochim gained a hefty 40 pounds while carrying her first child, but gradually whittled back to size 4.

Even celebrity mothers have jumped on the breastfeeding-as-dieting-tool bandwagon, attributing ‘their postpartum slimming to nursing, bringing this age-old topic back into the spotlight.’ Among these celebrity moms are Rebecca Romijn and Angelina Jolie.

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Via The New York Times