Quick note before we start. This one is long because it's a full plan, so save it. And as always, this is coaching and education, not a prescription. Bring anything lab or supplement related to your own provider.

Last month a woman on X posted this: "65 months of being pregnant or breastfeeding or both and still counting. How do I recover from this? I want to be strong, active, energetic and healthy as soon as possible."

65 months. That is more than 5 years of her body growing, feeding, and nurturing other humans with barely a break.

​I replied with where I'd start, and almost 600 people saved it. So clearly she is not the only one asking. Here is the fuller version.

Back-to-back pregnancies deplete the body. Pregnancy and breastfeeding pull a lot from your reserves, and when one baby follows another, you rarely get the chance to refill in between. Recovery does not happen by accident. You have to be intentional about it.

And most women are told they are "fine." Normal labs, cleared for exercise, and off you go. But normal is not optimal, and "fine" is not the same as rebuilding.

So let's rebuild.

1. Calories first

Underfueling is the most common mistake postpartum women make. “Bounce back" sounds cool in theory. Who doesn’t want to get their body back postpartum? But if it comes at the cost of your healing and long-term health, is it really that cool?

I eat 3000+ calories a day because I'm active. If you're more sedentary, I'd still aim for 2000 to 2500 at minimum. Postpartum bodies need more calories than pre-pregnancy bodies, especially if you're breastfeeding. Each ounce of milk requires 20 cals so if you’re making 20-30 ounces a day, you do the math.

The most common objection I get is “no way, I’d gain a ton of weight.” Well, I’ve met women eating 1,300 calories who were still gaining weight postpartum. So explain that to me. Metabolism is a lot more than just calories in and calories out. Your goal should be to be able to eat well and maintain your physique. Not to starve yourself and grind your metabolism to a halt.

If weight gain is a concern, lift weights 2-4x a week and get 10,000 steps a day. Give that fuel something to do.

2. Protein at every meal

Aim for 100g+ per day. Protein is necessary for tissue repair, muscle rebuilding, and hormones. The easiest way to get there is 30-40g at each meal. If you only get serious protein at dinner, you are not getting there.

3. Nutrient dense foods

This is the most important part. Here is what I'd eat on repeat:

Dairy: as much as you can humanly tolerate.

Liver: beef, calf, or chicken liver once a week. If you can't stomach it, desiccated liver capsules work.

Oysters or clams: every other week.

Wild caught salmon or sardines: 2x per week.

Egg yolks: daily, 2+ eggs, for choline. One large egg has about 147mg of choline, and the recommended intake while breastfeeding is 550mg a day. 2 eggs + a choline supplement or 3 eggs gets you most of the way there.

Bone broth: especially if you're newly postpartum.

Cooked leafy greens: cooked with fat, always.

4. The supplements I consider non-negotiable postpartum

A high quality prenatal. If you want to go deeper on choosing a prenatal, I covered that in my Sep 18 email.

Creatine, which I’ve already written 2 full emails about. I took 10g through pregnancy and until 4 months postpartum, and I’m doing 5g now. I take this one: https://fertasupplements.com​

Choline. The majority of women are deficient. I have a free guide coming out on this soon

Vitamin D.

Magnesium glycinate.

The rest should be personalized based on labs. Feel free to schedule a one-time consultation with us at Ferta: https://joinferta.com/pricing/

5. Test your labs

Do not guess. Here is what I'd ask your provider to run:

Full iron panel (not just hemoglobin)

Vitamin D

B12 and folate

Full thyroid panel: TSH, free T3, free T4, and thyroid antibodies

Comprehensive metabolic panel

Why the full thyroid panel? Postpartum thyroiditis affects 5-10% of women in the US. And beyond a diagnosis, so many postpartum women have subclinical hypothyroidism and nutrient depletion that they’ve normalized as "being a tired mom." If only TSH gets checked and it lands in range, you get told you're fine. Normal is not optimal.

6. Move, but don't overdo it

Walking and strength training 2-4x per week are enough for the first few months postpartum. Add intense cardio back once you're sleeping enough. Hard training on 4 hours of sleep and too little food is not discipline. It's more stress on a body that is already depleted.

Give your body some grace

You can absolutely rebuild strong, energetic, and healthy. But this takes 6 to 12 months of consistent inputs, not 6 weeks.

Women who come to me after a baby are under-eating, not getting enough high-quality protein and carbs for healing, and feeling brain fog and low energy while assuming that is just what postpartum is supposed to feel like (it does not have to be that way).

And if you want another baby someday, this matters even more. The rebuild you do now is the foundation your next pregnancy starts from.

So if you're postpartum, whether it's been 6 weeks or 6 years, start with 2 things this week: eat more, and get your labs. Everything else builds from there.

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Quick Ferta note while I'm here.

I’m hosting a 12-week group coaching program. It’s a small group with me for women with missing, irregular, or painful periods, and postpartum women recovering or working on cycle issues are a fit. If you’ve weaned and your cycle still hasn’t come back, or it came back different than before, this is exactly the kind of thing we dig into. Beta pricing for this first round.

If your body hasn't felt like yours since baby and your cycle is telling you something, learn more and apply here: https://joinferta.com/cycle

More soon,

Preethi

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