Calories and breastfeeding

gregem13
gregem13 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am wanting to know how many calories to eat without decreasing my supply. Also will start working out next week. Looking to lose 40 pounds.

Replies

  • klr1981
    klr1981 Posts: 46 Member


    https://kellymom.com/nutrition/mothers-diet/mom-calories-fluids/

    This website was a really great resource when I was nursing. Good luck!
  • megs_1985
    megs_1985 Posts: 199 Member
    I found to start on the lower side. Maybe adding 200 calories to your maintenance TDEE. Add more if you feel your supply is low. Nutrient balance is very important. Make sure you are getting enough vitamins, healthy fats, etc. I lost 30 pounds while breastfeeding my son and he was a big boy (born 10 lbs). My calories were net 1300-1500 and I exercised a lot. Trained for a sprint triathlon even. Also drank tons of water!!
  • squeeeyk
    squeeeyk Posts: 165 Member
    I'm eating at maintenance and still losing weight. I found that eating at even a slight deficit really impacted my supply.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    When I was breastfeeding I would set my calorie goal to “maintenance” and then With the calories that I burned nursing, I lost weight quite easily. Another option is to set your diary to lose 1lb a week and then add breastfeeding in as “exercise” but I found that I prefer to keep things simple. I would definitely take it easy, don’t be too aggressive with your weight loss. No more than 1lb a week.
  • ARGriffy
    ARGriffy Posts: 1,002 Member
    I used the above calculator and it told me 2200 to maintain so I'm eating 1800-2000 a day. I've only been logging a few days as I only have birth 29th November and I sure as hell wasn't missing out on Christmas cheese and pate! But I didn't gain over Christmas so breast feeding clearly helped!
  • ashleyminnich1
    ashleyminnich1 Posts: 60 Member
    I have mine set to lose .5 pound a week, and then add lactation on daily in the food log. The one I use is 475 calories a day. However, if I feel shaky, I eat. The amount you need varies day to day based on how much the baby nurses. I lose just fine doing this. Not fast, but I will worry more about weight when nursing is done.

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