breastfeeding

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kiyama3
kiyama3 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
i have not lost in the last few weeks. i started by only eating the minimum calories mfp sets up before i figured out how to add in breastfeeding calories. thats when i was losing. every since i have added in those calories i havent dropped any. frustrated. other breastfeeding moms please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • flitabout
    flitabout Posts: 200 Member
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    I never lost weight while breastfeeding. I mean I lost in the first month or 2 but nothing after that until I weaned my babies. After talking to a bunch of moms I found out that it's pretty common. The really weird part for me was how fast I dropped that weight when I weaned. I dropped 38lbs in 3 months! I wasn't eating any different, so and this is just my theory but I think that for us unlucky women that our bodies hold on to that extra weight to protect breastfeeding. When it isn't needed anymore then it just lets it go. My aunt's theory was that you lose for the first 6 weeks then not again until 6 months. Basically we are all different! I think your best bet is to figure out your TDEE and eat that. Not a TDEE including breastfeeding. The whole point is to use the weight you gained during pregnancy. Use that breastfeeding. Don't eat under your TDEE that will maintain your weight. So again in theory you will maintain your weight but lose the pregnancy weight with your breastfeeding.
    so let's say your TDEE is 2000 and breastfeeding burns 300 calories a day if you eat that 2000 calories a day then you will still burn that 300 calories a day, and not be left feeling starved. It gives you adequate calories to maintain your macros hence giving you everything you need to maintain good milk production and to hopefully if your not like me to lose the baby weight!
  • T0FatToB3S1ck
    T0FatToB3S1ck Posts: 192 Member
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    I was losing a pound a day while breastfeeding. As soon as I stopped my weight loss stopped for about 3 weeks. I never once logged the breastfeeding as calorie loss. I just ate my calorie goal for the day and acted as though I wasn't breastfeeding. If you want to track breastfeeding, there's about 20 calories per ounce pumped.
  • belle_of_the_bar
    belle_of_the_bar Posts: 474 Member
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    My best piece of advice is to get lots of protein with each meal. I'm still breastfeeding my daughter, and I didn't lose much until I started upping my protein and spreading it out throughout the day. I try to net 1800 calories right now, but I still log 300 calories a day for breastfeeding. My daughter nurses 4-5 times a day. Good luck sweetie! Every body is different and you will figure out what works for you.
  • uwsmama
    uwsmama Posts: 31 Member
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    I never lost weight while breastfeeding. I mean I lost in the first month or 2 but nothing after that until I weaned my babies. After talking to a bunch of moms I found out that it's pretty common. The really weird part for me was how fast I dropped that weight when I weaned. I dropped 38lbs in 3 months! I wasn't eating any different, so and this is just my theory but I think that for us unlucky women that our bodies hold on to that extra weight to protect breastfeeding. When it isn't needed anymore then it just lets it go. My aunt's theory was that you lose for the first 6 weeks then not again until 6 months. Basically we are all different! I think your best bet is to figure out your TDEE and eat that. Not a TDEE including breastfeeding. The whole point is to use the weight you gained during pregnancy. Use that breastfeeding. Don't eat under your TDEE that will maintain your weight. So again in theory you will maintain your weight but lose the pregnancy weight with your breastfeeding.
    so let's say your TDEE is 2000 and breastfeeding burns 300 calories a day if you eat that 2000 calories a day then you will still burn that 300 calories a day, and not be left feeling starved. It gives you adequate calories to maintain your macros hence giving you everything you need to maintain good milk production and to hopefully if your not like me to lose the baby weight!

    This is so interesting to me because I am 12 weeks postpartum now and some weight did initially fall off and now it is getting really hard. I wonder if the weight will be easier to come off once I'm done nursing. I'm so afraid to reduce my calories too much because I don't want to decrease my milk production.

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