Breastfeeding

crystalbluewolf13

Hey all have a random question. Does anyone know the nutritional values for breastfeeding? Like how much carbs, protein etc? Trying to taylor my diary to be a bit more breastfeeding friendly as I need more of certain things and it isn't liking it at all. I know it can also burn between 250-500 calories a day, is there any point in me clocking this down as "exercise" or just leave it for now?

LKArgh

There are no special nutritional needs for breastfeeding. Unless your diet is extremely unbalanced, very low in calories or poor in nutrients, you will be fine.

jorinya

It does help in weight loss. I breastfed two of my four. Would have done it with my first and second but too many of my husband friends were around, I was in my early 20s and shy about someone seeing me. My third child I couldn't care less who saw me. I did it for his health and signs on it he is doing well 8 years later. My little girl, my fourth child, with her I was in my parents house for 6 weeks after she was born which annoyed my mum but later moved to Nigeria with my husband and kids. I lost tons of weight after she was born and till she was almost two kept it off. It piled on so now am serious about losing weight. She deserves the best mum she can get. You can ask your doctor if they can find out how many calories you burn or a breast feeding consultant.
Clock it if you wish, its calories burnt after all. Best of luck!!!

Crisseyda

Consider lutein/zeaxanthin and dha supplements. Don't skimp on your fat, cholesterol, and protein.

tlflag1620

The macro-nutrient content of breastmilk is pretty standard regardless of mom's diet. The micro-nutrient content can (and does) vary, so continue to take your prenatal vitamin and try to eat plenty of nutrient dense foods. Drink lots of water! (that's probably more important to supply than anything else). Don't lower your calories below 1800 per day (milk production can suffer below that level, tho if you are eating 1800/day and not losing, you may be able to slowly cut back (100 cal at a time) to find what works for you).

I wouldn't bother logging the calories burned from breastfeeding - those calories are "designed" to come from the maternal stores you gained during pregnancy, so unless you didn't gain enough while pregnant, you already have those calories on your body! Just be sure to eat what MFP suggests (again - no lower than 1800/day) and to eat back any other exercise calories. If the scale doesn't move for a few weeks, start cutting back (again - gradually; a sudden drop can impact supply).

Lots of women find the weight comes off easily when they breastfeed; others find those last 5-10 lbs don't want to budge until they either wean or AF returns. But breastfeeding will help with most (if not all) of the pregnancy weight.

Clovermoth

ooo and I found this really cool site for how many calories to take in if you are exercising while breastfeeding, so your milk supply doesn't get afffected...
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/breastfeeding_calorie_calculator.htm
and a great blog post about exercising and the ratio of protein, carbs and fat while breastfeeding
http://www.milkfriendly.com/2012/10/exercise-routine-for-breastfeeding.html
Good Luck!

Crisseyda

Yes, the lutein /zeaxanthin is more for you because your body will give your stores to the baby, but as for dha, it does increase what's in the milk.

Lutein/zeaxanthin are carotenoids important for vision and reaction time. They just recently started adding them to the more expensive baby formulas because they realized bottle fed babies had poorer vision due to deficiency. Eggs are also a great source.

DHA is an omega 3 essential fatty acid that can only be attained from diet. Your body doesn't make them. Important for mood and neural development.

sistrsprkl

Also kellymom.com is super helpful.