Can Exercise Lower Your Milk Supply?

If you're a breastfeeding mom who loves to move, you might be worried that starting to exercise again could cause a dip in your milk supply.

What Science Says

Good news—moderate exercise, itself, won’t hurt your milk supply!

Here are the facts:

💧 Milk Supply is Demand-Driven – Your body makes milk based on how often your baby nurses/you pump and how effective the milk withdrawal is. Exercise alone won’t change that unless feedings decrease.

🥛 Lactic Acid and Taste Changes – Super intense workouts may temporarily raise lactic acid levels in breastmilk, but it should not affect your baby wanting to breastfeed.

🚰 Hydration is Key – Dehydration could impact supply. You need fluid to make fluid. This is where drinking plenty of liquids and repleting your electrolytes is super important!

What CAN Lower Milk Supply?

❌ Not Eating Enough Calories – Breastfeeding burns energy. If you’re not eating enough, your supply could drop.

❌ Dehydration – Your body needs fluids to produce milk. No wonder breastfeeding makes moms so thirsy!

❌ Mineral Imbalances – Magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium support milk production. If you sweat a lot, replenish with mineral-rich foods like sea salt, coconut water, and nutrient dense meals/snacks. This is another reason we love and encourage moms to drink mineral mocktails daily!!! Works way better than a lactation cookie :) If you are already noticing a dip (or low) supply in general, we highly recommend you have your minerals tested with anHTMA test.

❌ Skipping Feeds or Pumping – Less demand signals your body to make less milk.

❌ Stress & Lack of Sleep – These can disrupt hormones that support milk production.

❌ Thyroid Imbalances – The thyroid plays a key role in milk production. Hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) can cause low supply, fatigue, and slow letdown. Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) can sometimes lead to oversupply or, in prolonged cases, sometimes supply can dip. If you're struggling with supply and have symptoms like fatigue, weight changes, or mood shifts, checking your TSH, Free T3, Free T4, and thyroid antibodies can be super helpful! We check these labs on all of our 1:1 clients because thyroid issues are SO common postpartum.

Tips for Exercising While Breastfeeding

✔ Hydrate well with minerals and water! Not sure how to make a mineral mocktail — download our free mineral guide

✔ Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods – You need energy to create energy!

✔ Wear a Supportive Bra – But not one that is super tight.

✔ Pump or Nurse Before Workouts – This can help avoid any discomfort or extra leaking.

✔ Listen to Your Body – Slowly add in exercise and notice how you feel during and after. If you are feeling overly tired, not recovering well, or notice your supply starts to dip, decrease the intensity, duration, or frequency of exercise.

Bottom Line

Exercise is safe—and beneficial! It can boost energy, mood, and health without negatively affecting your milk supply. As long as you care for yourself well by staying hydrated, eating enough food, and replenishing lost minerals, you can absolutely add movement back in without losing your milk supply.

So go ahead, take that walk, hit the yoga mat, or start your strength training back up! 💪✨

Struggling with your milk supply and want to schedule a 1:1 consult with us where we do the detective work to figure out what’s really happening? Email us at hello@savorli.co

Have you noticed changes in your milk supply when working out? Share in the comments!