For breastfeeding mamas, 1,200 cal a daysafe?

littlebabekitty

Hi i am a young wife and mama of two . My youngest is 10 months old and i am breastfeeding him partime as he eats solids. I wanted to know is it okay if I do the 1,200 calories a day i order to accelerate my weight loss? Will that be kay will it harm my milk supply or not give him enough nutrients? I am doing the two protein shakes and one meal a day diet. I am currently overweight at 160 lbs and i am 5'4". Thank you

tiptoethruthetulips

No that isn't likely to be enough and probably wouldn't be enough even if you wasn't breastfeeding.

You don't have a lot of weight to lose to get into the healthy weight range, you don't need to accelerate your weight loss. You should be aiming for up to an average of 1 lb per week and possibly while breastfeeding a little less than that.

VintageFeline

For mums who are exclusively breastfeeding the recommendation is 400 extra calories a day or as many as you need to keep your supply up. Some mums can't create a deficit at all until baby is weaned. So while you don't need as many as that, you do need extra, plus you're a mum! That's hard work, you should definitely be eating more than the bare minimum (which is what 1200 is). Also, in switching out two meals with protein shakes, on so few calories you are going to struggle to meet basic nutritional needs. Protein shakes generally only have protein with few other nutrients.

TavistockToad

Even without breastfeeding you don't need to eat so little to lose, so no, it's not safe

crackpotbaby

If you can access a lactation consultant or dietitian they would be able to offer appropriate guidance with that.

Not sure which country you are in, but the nursing mothers or breastfeeding association local to you would have trained counsellors to help with this kind of question too. They are usually free.

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HeliumIsNoble

I would have ended up rampaging through the city like Godzilla if I'd gone down to 1200 while breastfeeding, even partway through weaning. It's too little to eat.

Plan to eat more.

Lolalikeslolagets

At 10 months you're likely only burning 200-250 cal from breastfeeding since your little one is eating and it's not exclusive. I saw a nutritionist about that and they put me at 1430 cal to loose a pound a week (I'm 5'5" but in my 40's, and my little guy was around 1.5/2 years old still nursing). You can use an online calculator to get your tdee (like this one https://tdeecalculator.net) and then account for the breastfeeding cals.. or MFP has some entries for breastfeeding at 500 cal, I would just half that number... if you're younger though you'll need more energy, and depending how active you are? 1200 is like, bare minimum, it's going to make you feel like crap eating that little I would think!

deputy_randolph

When my kids were 10 months old, I was eating 300 calories extra a day to support bfing. I would estimate abou 1800-1900 calories a day (5'3 and around 130-135lbs).

I don't think 2 protein shakes and 1 meal is a great idea. See if your local hospital has a lactation consultant and nutrionist. Usually those services are free or cheap.

4legsRbetterthan2

Most likely that will hurt your supply. Since it sounds like continuing to breast feed is important to you, the best way for you to apprach it is to go slow. Figure out your tdee as guided above ^^^^^. Add 300 to that, that is your maintenenace while breastfeeding, eat that for a week and see how your supply does. Then cut out 100 calories, see how your supply does. If that works cut another hundred a week later. If you notice your supply diminish then you went to far, eat maintenance for a couple days to help get supply back up, and slowly return to the number where you did not lose supply. That is the most you can lose while breastfeeding.

Make sure to have supplimental nutrition for baby on hand so if you do lose supply they have enough still.

Good luck!

zlagv

I eat around 1200 calories a day, some days up to 1600 but usually around 1200. I am breastfeeding an older infant (almost 10 months) and have had no drop in my supply or ill effects. I think it depends how many times a day you are breastfeeding. In the beginning, when she was nursing every two hours, I NEVER would have considered a caloric deficit. She is only nursing 4x a day now and it's no problem, though.

zlagv

To add to my post above, I think it also depends on your supply as it is. I never had any problems with low supply. If that's something you've struggled with at any point in your breastfeeding journey, I wouldn't recommend cutting calories, it's too risky.

sardelsa

1200 is low.. considering you are burning at least some of the cals what are you left with for yourself? Food = Fuel. Keep an eye on your supply and energy levels.

I don't think I would ever go below 2000 for a toddler personally. I am 5'7" and my child is 13 months. When I cut in a month I am going to stay around 2500 cals which is on the low side for me.

victoria_1024

I lost weight while breastfeeding (90 lbs total, started losing when he was 1 month old and had met my goal by the time he was just over 1 year old). When he was 10 months old, I was losing (quickly and easily) eating 1800-2000 a day. And I'm super short! That amount was with exercise. So a lot will depend on your activity level, how much you have to lose, and your height. But I can almost guarantee that 1200 is way too low.

And maybe you get lucky and are able to maintain your milk supply eating 1200 a day. But why risk it when you can more than likely still lose weight eating more than that? There's no rush with any of this.

sodaceratops

For me, it would be safe to eat 1200 calories a day and not have my milk supply hindered by it. Every woman is different and I can't say the same for you. I definitely don't believe people when they say that you need an extra 500 calories a day if you're overweight and breastfeeding.

SierraFatToSkinny

I think dieting as severally as 1200 calories while breastfeeding isn't very smart.

Of course your milk is going to be altered.... The quality and quantity won't be the same as a woman who is eating 2200 calories. How could it not? Dieting is a stressor besides. Best to avoid low calorie diets.

Edited to temper my tone.

lbride

I did WW when my son was 8 months old, you add "points" for BF. In total, I was eating approx. 1800-1900 per day and the weight literally fell off. (My 8 month old still nursed A LOT). 1200 I would think is too low and I would have been miserable. I would start at 1800 or so, see if you are losing weight after a few weeks and if not, then slowly reduce.

4legsRbetterthan2

Came back to add:

This is a great post that covers calorie counting while breastfeeding. You may find it useful.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10176233/gaining-weight-during-pregnancy-and-losing-it-post-partum

~Best wishes

AgidGirl

I breast fed my 3 boys for the first year of their lives. Please make sure you are eating enough! I made the mistake of trying to go on a 'diet' with my 2nd kiddo and cut my calories WAY down and I could actually see the difference in my milk. It became thinner and more blue in color (crazy right!). Once I went back up to 2000 calories a day it went back to the thick, creamier consistency. You can totally lose weight while breast feeding though, just choose your calories well! Have oatmeal for breakfast and half a light beer at dinner (treat yo-self mama, you earned it)!

Move4Abs

I know some people say that breastfeeding did wonders for their post baby weight loss. I wasn't so fortunate. I continued to eat healthily though and worked out as able. My weight was stable but no loss. To try and tone up, I cut my calories to 1500. I didn't see a difference in my supply until the 3rd day...when every session gave me only half of the norm. Day 4 and 5 were the same and I had to go into my frozen stash to keep the baby fed. I stopped the diet on Day 6. I pumped so I actually saw this happen...it was pretty amazing. I imagine if you are breastfeeding directly, you may not be able to tell as clearly. If your supply goes down and you are not aware of it, you may be setting yourself up for baby's food/sleep regression, fussiness, tears and headache. I decided to maintain my 1800 calorie healthy died, feel good, have a happy and content baby and diet when she no longer needed me. For yourself and your baby...just eat healthy. All those veggies, fruit, meat acids and tastes are in your milk...the sooner and longer the baby is exposed to a healthy diet, the more likely the baby will be ok eating healthily as a toddler. Look at the science behind taste development through breast milk, it's really interested and really encourages the mama to eat those greens, yellows, oranges, and reds!!

VeryKatie

Nope, you'll lose your milk. Plus starve your baby of nutrition while losing it.

Nothing under 1800 will do, and you'll want to eat back exercise calories. Depending how tall you are, even that may not be enough.

kshama2001

rodsteph777 wrote: »

Hi i am a young wife and mama of two . My youngest is 10 months old and i am breastfeeding him partime as he eats solids. I wanted to know is it okay if I do the 1,200 calories a day i order to accelerate my weight loss? Will that be kay will it harm my milk supply or not give him enough nutrients? I am doing the two protein shakes and one meal a day diet. I am currently overweight at 160 lbs and i am 5'4". Thank you

What's your weekly weight loss goal? At 160 lbs and 5'4", anything over a pound a week creates too aggressive a deficit. 1200 calories per day is only appropriate for women considerably shorter or older than you.

tiffinijo

I always stayed around 1600 cals. And lost weight and never lost milk supply. So it depends on the person. Maybe you can try 1200 cal for a week and see. But read your body for signals to see if you need more calories... although it seems kind of low bc lets just say BF burns 300. Then you are only consuming 800cals. That isnt sufficient for day to day long term weight loss. You wanna stay healtht n strong for that child

tmoneyag99

You need to eat enought to breast feed. When I nursed I couldn't diet because it *killed* my supply levels. I hope the same is not true for you.

If it were me I would cut back ***slowly*** Log your food for a week or 2 to see where your calories are coming from and see if there are places where you can cut 100 here and there and then increase movement. See what it does to your supply (drink plenty of water) Keep logging to see what your kCal is.

Just cut slowly to see what your optimal supply/weight loss/kCal ratio is.

tmoneyag99

VintageFeline wrote: »

For mums who are exclusively breastfeeding the recommendation is 400 extra calories a day or as many as you need to keep your supply up. Some mums can't create a deficit at all until baby is weaned. So while you don't need as many as that, you do need extra, plus you're a mum! That's hard work, you should definitely be eating more than the bare minimum (which is what 1200 is). Also, in switching out two meals with protein shakes, on so few calories you are going to struggle to meet basic nutritional needs. Protein shakes generally only have protein with few other nutrients.

Also I would be careful drinking protein shakes and the quality. Some shakes can have a high metal content that can be passed through to your baby. I would also worry about mercury concentrations. Please make sure that you talk to your doctor and your child's pediatrician about your diet. I will never understand why the medical community doesn't treat a nursing mother and child as one symbiotic unit.

JacquiH73

rodsteph777 wrote: »

I am doing the two protein shakes and one meal a day diet.

Breastfeeding or not I wouldn't recommend the "slimfast" diet plan to anyone. It's simply not sustainable over the long term and it's a sure way to gain weight back quickly even if you reach your goal weight on it. A sensible balanced diet consisting mainly of healthy wholefoods. Shakes are just a bunch of processed sugars and proteins and added vitamins.

If you want to deprive yourself so badly why don't you try depriving yourself of excessive meat and dairy by eating two plant-based meals a day and having a small amount of meat and/or dairy once a day? That would be much more nutritionally beneficial for you and your breastfeeding little one. Just some food for thought.

RGv2

sodaceratops wrote: »

For me, it would be safe to eat 1200 calories a day and not have my milk supply hindered by it. Every woman is different and I can't say the same for you. I definitely don't believe people when they say that you need an extra 500 calories a day if you're overweight and breastfeeding.

1200 calories alone is cutting at TDEE -50% for you already. To think that's enough for you to sustain yourself, plus a solid milk supply I find highly questionable...

Katiebear_81

VeryKatie wrote: »

Nope, you'll lose your milk. Plus starve your baby of nutrition while losing it.

Nothing under 1800 will do, and you'll want to eat back exercise calories. Depending how tall you are, even that may not be enough.

This is not true. What WILL happen, though, is that your body will give EVERYTHING it has to produce good milk. It will literally pull calcium out of your bones, etc. Your health will suffer a lot if you are not eating nutrient dense food at an appropriate calorie level. Your baby will be fine... but you will not be. It's not worth risking issues with your own body just to be thin.

I agree with at least 1800 calories, and eating back your exercise calories. If nursing is important to you, consider waiting until your baby is weaned before getting really serious about trying to lose weight. It's totally ok if nursing is not that important, and you want to supplement your baby with formula and you can cut down on feedings so you can lose a bit more aggressively. But you have to decide that.

This is a short season of long days... soon your baby will be eating food and not needing to nurse, and then you can get more aggressive in your weight loss.

Anyway - I'm a stranger on the internet, and what is important to me might not be the same for you, and that's ok. I did try to diet aggressively when I was exclusively nursing, and my milk dried up within a week. I was able to relactate through extra pumping, fenugreek, and crap tons of oatmeal. But it was very frustrating experience. I decided after that to focus on good nutrition for myself, and to cut back on the excess treats, etc. until my baby was eating more solids. Then I went and lost 50+ lbs

inertiastrength

1200 is the minimum for someone who isn't breastfeeding, I would think you'd need about 400 more than that at least but I'm not sure. Best to speak to a physician who knows your medical history.

mrsmeteor

fascha wrote: »

1200 is the minimum for someone who isn't breastfeeding, I would think you'd need about 400 more than that at least but I'm not sure. Best to speak to a physician who knows your medical history.

Agree, your doctor is the one who should be advising you on this.

I nursed all my children and there's no way I would have been able to do it on 1200 calories a day, but we're all different.

emilygduran

I had almost your exact stats when I started using mfp in November except my nursing toddler was slightly older. I was able to lose weight quite easily around 1600 calories, shakes and restricting to 1200 isn't necessary and might be harmful.