MFP & Breastfeeding

JaeckelSykoraNC

Hi all, I am not new to MFP, however, I am new the community aspect of it. I am six months postpartum and am looking to get serious about losing the baby weight. I have about 60 lbs that I want to lose. Does anyone have any advice on how to use MFP while breastfeeding? What are some good snacks for nursing moms? I would love to hear some success stories from other moms.

jessiefrancine

If you're breastfeeding, you don't want to make your goal too aggressive or it could affect your supply. I would set your weight loss goal to something manageable like 1/2 lb per week. Is baby exclusively breastfed or are you incorporating baby foods and cereals? If baby was a newborn and getting all nutrition from you, I would say you might want to add some extra calories to compensate for the energy required to produce all that milk, however in my experience (yours might be different!) the amount of breastmilk consumed by my baby started to level off and then decrease around 6 months as that's when we started adding solid foods to her diet. I believe Kelly Mom's website has an estimate of how many calories are used to create each ounce of breastmilk. You could add that back in as a custom "exercise" if you think you need it, but you'll make progress faster if you can go without adding those calories back to your bank. You may need to experiment and see what works for you.

As far as snacks, anything that makes you feel satisfied while staying within your calorie goal is a good snack. I tend to choose things that are high in protein and/or fiber. Protein bars (Quest, Kirkland brand, Combat Crunch, ThinkThin), low calorie greek yogurt (Oikos Triple Zero or Chobani Simply 100 are my faves), string cheese, raw almonds and mixed nuts, and lots and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Make sure you are staying hydrated, both for milk production and because thirst is commonly mistaken for hunger and may encourage you to overeat.

Best of luck to you!

crackpotbaby

Talk to a lactation consultant or infant health nurse about the calories you need to nourish yourself as well as nourish your baby. They should be able to help you calculate how many extra calories intake you need for the baby based on how much they feed etc.

Use their professional advice to guide any intake goals you set here.