How to Find the Best Protein Powder for Breastfeeding and Weight Loss

📌 Overview and Key Takeaways

This is a Dietitian’s guide on how to find the best protein powder for breastfeeding and weight loss.

Discover how protein powder can help you lose weight while breastfeeding.

Last Updated
Feb 2, 2026

Author and Medical Reviewer

Written by Kayla Kamen, MS, RD

Kayla Kamen is a Registered Dietitian with a MS in Nutrition.

Medically reviewed by Jennifer Fossett, PA-C

Jennifer Fossett is a Physician Assistant with a BA in Nutritional Sciences.

Protein Powder for Breastfeeding and Weight Loss

How Much Protein Do Breastfeeding Moms Need?

Breastfeeding moms need extra nutrients to support postpartum recovery and milk production.

Current recommendations propose an additional 20-25 grams of protein above non-pregnant requirements (Annu Rev Nutr, 1997).

For an average-sized woman (approximately 70 kg), this would equate to roughly 90 grams of protein per day.

Should Breastfeeding Moms Add Protein Powder to their Diets?

Meeting your daily dietary protein needs while breastfeeding can be really hard, especially if you have dietary restrictions.

This is where protein powder can help.

Adding a scoop of protein powder to your diet is an easy way to ensure you are eating enough protein for both you and your baby.

That said, protein powder should only be used to supplement your dietary protein intake and fill in nutritional gaps.

It should not replace other forms of dietary protein.

Can Protein Powder Support Weight Loss While Breastfeeding?

Eating more protein can help you lose weight for several reasons:

• Protein is the most satiating macronutrient, meaning it keeps you feeling full for longer than nutrients like fats and carbs (Am J Clin Nutr, 2008). This can help prevent cravings and overeating.
• Protein increases thermogenesis, or your energy expenditure (J Am Coll Nutr, 2004).
• Eating protein can help you build muscle if you also lift weights (Nutrients, 2019), and women with more muscle mass have faster metabolisms.

In short, a high-protein diet can help with weight loss as it helps increase satiety and metabolism.

Protein powder not only offers a quick and easy way to eat more protein, but also an efficient way to increase the percentage of your calories that come from protein.

Compared to most foods, even high protein foods, protein powder contains a lot of protein and only a few fats, carbs, etc.

Just keep in mind that your calorie needs are also higher while breastfeeding, so you should not drastically cut calories.

Instead, use protein powder to make you feel full for longer and build muscle.

What Is the Best Protein Powder for Breastfeeding and Weight Loss?

Many protein powders contain ingredients known to cause painful side effects and even long-term health problems for both mothers and infants.

Among these ingredients are food additives and protein concentrates and isolates.

🚫 Avoid Food Additives

Regularly eating emulsifiers, thickeners and other additives can not only upset your stomach, but also alter the composition and function of your gut microbiome (North Clin Istanb, 2019).

These shifts, known as gut dysbiosis, are associated with poor infant gut health (Can J Infect Dis Med Microbiol, 2021).

Poor infant gut health, in turn, increases the risk of metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes (Front Microbiol, 2023).

⚠️ Here is a list of the most common food additives in protein supplements:

• acacia fiber
• acacia gum
• acesulfame potassium
• artificial flavors
• ascorbic acid
• aspartame
• calcium carbonate
• carrageenan
• cellulose gum
• dextrin
• dicalcium phosphate
• dipotassium phosphate
• erythritol
• gellan gum
• guar gum
• gum arabic
• inulin
• locust bean gum
• maltitol
• maltodextrin
• mono- and diglycerides
• ‘natural’ flavors
• rice bran extract
• rice dextrin
• rice hulls
• rosemary extract
• silica
• silicon dioxide
• sodium alginate
• soluble corn fiber
• sorbitol
• soy lecithin
• sucralose
• sunflower lecithin
• tocopherols
• tricalcium phosphate
• xanthan gum
• xylitol
• zinc oxide

As a rule of thumb, if you cannot find it in nature or make it at home, it is probably a food additive.

🚫 Avoid Protein Concentrates and Isolates

If you have a sensitive stomach, you might also want to avoid ultra-processed protein concentrates and isolates.

Most protein supplements are made from one or both of these ultra-processed protein sources, which have been mechanically and/or chemically stripped of everything but the protein.

This includes the enzymes, fiber, and other natural digestive aids that help your gut break them down.

You therefore do not digest them in the same way that you do whole foods, which could affect your gut health.

Studies show that regularly eating protein concentrates and isolates might disrupt your gut microbiome and cause the formation of toxic byproducts in your gut (Nutrients, 2018; Mol Nutr Food Res, 2024).

You should therefore look for protein supplements made from whole food protein sources like egg whites and almonds, which are easier to digest and absorb.

Order Samples to see for yourself.

Sources

1. Annual Review of Nutrition (Annu Rev Nutr). Energy and protein requirements during lactation. 1997.
2. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Am J Clin Nutr). Protein, weight management, and satiety. 2008.
3. Journal of the American College of Nutrition (J Am Coll Nutr). The effects of high protein diets on thermogenesis, satiety and weight loss: a critical review. 2004.
4. Nutrients (Nutrients). Dietary Protein and Muscle Mass: Translating Science to Application and Health Benefit. 2019.
5. Northern Clinics of Istanbul (North Clin Istanb). Food additives and microbiota. 2019.
6. The Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases & Medical Microbiology = Journal Canadien des Maladies Infectieuses et de la Microbiologie Médicale (Can J Infect Dis Med Microbiol). The Intestinal Dysbiosis of Mothers with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) and Its Impact on the Gut Microbiota of Their Newborns. 2021.
7. Frontiers in Microbiology (Front Microbiol). Infant gut microbiota colonization: influence of prenatal and postnatal factors, focusing on diet. 2023.
8. Nutrients (Nutrients). Effect of a Protein Supplement on the Gut Microbiota of Endurance Athletes: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Pilot Study. 2018.
9. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (Mol Nutr Food Res). In Vitro Fermentation of Animal and Plant Protein Isolates by the Human Gut Microbiota Under High and Low Carbohydrate Conditions. 2024.

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This article was written by a Registered Dietitian and reviewed by a Physician Assistant. We rely on peer-reviewed research and trusted medical sources, and regularly update our content to ensure accuracy and clarity.