Making healthy food choices along with regular physical activity will keep you healthy while you breastfeed.

Find Your Healthy Eating Style

Choose a variety of foods and beverages to build your own healthy eating style. Include foods from all food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein foods.
The amount and types of food you eat is an important part of a healthy eating style. Before you eat, think about what and how much food goes on your plate or in your cup, bowl, or glass.

Making Healthy Food Choices

• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables. Choose fresh, frozen, canned, dried, and 100% juice. Include dark-green, red, and orange vegetables; beans and peas; and starchy vegetables.
• Make at least half your grains whole grains. Try oatmeal, popcorn, whole-grain bread, and brown rice.
• Move to low-fat or fat-free milk, yogurt, or cheese. Fortified soy beverages also count.
• Vary your protein routine. Choose seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, beans and peas, soy products, and unsalted nuts and seeds.
• Use the Nutrition Facts label and ingredients list to limit items higher in sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars. Drink water instead of sugary drinks. Choose vegetable oils instead of butter.

Your Baby’s First Food

• Doctors recommend feeding only human milk (commonly referred to as breast milk) for the first 6 months. Continue breastfeeding in addition to solid foods until your baby is at least 1 year old.
• Breastfeeding helps form a special bond with your baby.
• Human milk helps protect your baby from illness.
• Breastfeeding is also good for you. It may help lower your risk for type 2 diabetes, and breast and ovarian cancers.

What About…?

• Talk with your doctor before taking any medicine (both over-the-counter and prescriptions), herbal or dietary supplements, or drinking alcohol or caffeine.
• Keep your baby away from smoke. Don’t let anyone smoke around your baby.

Daily Food Checklist

[Source: ChooseMyPlate.gov]