Breastfeeding calories
dippy_duck
Posts: 18 Member
Hi everyone! I am breastfeeding an 8 month old and also wanting to lose weight. How are you factoring the breastfeeding into your calories for the day? I want to lose weight slowly and am worried about my milk supply suffering. Any tips more than welcome! Thanks :-)
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Replies
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Hello, I'm just restarting mfp and breatsfeeding my 10 months old. I just set mfp on very active. It gives me around 2000 Cals.
I have about 10 lbs left to lose.4 -
I just use trial and error to set my calories to a level where i see weight loss but no milk supply reduction... start around 2000 and see how it goes. Never below 1800 a day.
Usually part time breastfeeding since baby is eating some solids is around 250-300 cals a day.4 -
you can add breastfeeding as a cardiovascular excersize...it figures in your weight and how long you breastfeed for total in that day!3
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I tried adding breastfeeding as cardio but nothing came up for me. @birdfish00 did you have to manually enter it?0
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Hi everyone, just starting back on my journey of weight loss. I have a 10 week old little lady that I’m breastfeeding, so don’t want to lose my supply for her or my freezer stash but not really sure where to start with calories. I’m 5’10, 37 Year’s and around 18 stone (I guess). Could anyone be so kind and show me how to work out my daily allowance please?2
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Breastfeeding full time is about 450 extra calories a day. Add that to your original goal. And its wise to stay above 1800 cals a day. But i find it best to decrease my calories slowly till i see a reasonable weekly loss. @Ianzi82 id start at 2500 cals a day and adjust from there. Thats plenty to maintain your milk and give you some weight loss, though it would depend a bit on your exercise/general activity level. I used the scooby calculator to get it. It said with 1 to 3 hrs of actovity a week which i suspect most people get just through daily living that you would maintain at 2600 cals a day PLUS breastfeeding so 3050 a day. Then take off approx 500 a day to lose a pound a week is how i got 2500 a day. Im 30, 138lbs, ebfing, and 5ft6in and lose on 2100 a day... at least when im actually consistent.1
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I'm breastfeeding my 5 month old exclusively. Everybody is different. And your basal metabolic rate is different based on height weight and age. I would put in your goals to MFP and see what they recommend to lose 0.5 or 1 lb a week for you. Then add 450-500 calories to account for breastfeeding. I eat around 1600 calories a day when I don't exercise at all and lose about 1 lb a week. I doubt eating 2500 calories is going to help you lose weight unless you need to eat 2000 calories to maintain your weight without breastfeeding. You could also set MFP goal to maintain weight and then lose whatever breastfeeding accounts for in calories which would be about 500 calories a day about 1 lb a week.0
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monicauebbing7 wrote: »I'm breastfeeding my 5 month old exclusively. Everybody is different. And your basal metabolic rate is different based on height weight and age. I would put in your goals to MFP and see what they recommend to lose 0.5 or 1 lb a week for you. Then add 450-500 calories to account for breastfeeding. I eat around 1600 calories a day when I don't exercise at all and lose about 1 lb a week. I doubt eating 2500 calories is going to help you lose weight unless you need to eat 2000 calories to maintain your weight without breastfeeding. You could also set MFP goal to maintain weight and then lose whatever breastfeeding accounts for in calories which would be about 500 calories a day about 1 lb a week.
It depends on ones starting weight. My assumptions were that she is 18 stone and that she does some equivalent of exercise through the day. I dont think anyone under 350 lbs should set mfp to sedentary, as simple daily activities like cooking, bathing, getting the mail would put you in the lightly active category. And we know she is rocking/walking/caring for a baby all day lol so she is at least lightly active.
I lose 0.5 to 1 lb a week eating 2100 a day with breastfeeding and no additional exercise (since 2017 lol) and im weigh 10 stone and am 4" shorter than her. Im a few years younger but not significantly. Thats why i suggested starting at 2500 and adjusting from there based on results. That way she doesnt risk her milk supply and can then take 2 or 3 weeks to adjust from there land on a good number for her. Its not recommended to lose more than 1 lb a week while breastfeeding. Plus one should never eat less than 1500 a day while nursing and 1800 is the minimum typical recommendation to maintain good vitamin levels etc in the milk, based on the research ive done. Plus most women DO maintain a normal bmi at about 2000 a day without breastfeeding (so 2450 if theyre bfing to maintain). Thats what the averages say. And she is taller than average by a pretty good amount. Average is 5'3". Also one should use tdee not bmr to get maintenance calories.
Im curious if you are quite petite. Because if you lose 1 lb a week on 1600, that means your maintenance without breastfeeding is only 1650 where most women are 2000. I also suspect youve set mfp to sedentary.2 -
monicauebbing7 wrote: »I'm breastfeeding my 5 month old exclusively. Everybody is different. And your basal metabolic rate is different based on height weight and age. I would put in your goals to MFP and see what they recommend to lose 0.5 or 1 lb a week for you. Then add 450-500 calories to account for breastfeeding. I eat around 1600 calories a day when I don't exercise at all and lose about 1 lb a week. I doubt eating 2500 calories is going to help you lose weight unless you need to eat 2000 calories to maintain your weight without breastfeeding. You could also set MFP goal to maintain weight and then lose whatever breastfeeding accounts for in calories which would be about 500 calories a day about 1 lb a week.
It depends on ones starting weight. My assumptions were that she is 18 stone and that she does some equivalent of exercise through the day. I dont think anyone under 350 lbs should set mfp to sedentary, as simple daily activities like cooking, bathing, getting the mail would put you in the lightly active category. And we know she is rocking/walking/caring for a baby all day lol so she is at least lightly active.
I lose 0.5 to 1 lb a week eating 2100 a day with breastfeeding and no additional exercise (since 2017 lol) and im weigh 10 stone and am 4" shorter than her. Im a few years younger but not significantly. Thats why i suggested starting at 2500 and adjusting from there based on results. That way she doesnt risk her milk supply and can then take 2 or 3 weeks to adjust from there land on a good number for her. Its not recommended to lose more than 1 lb a week while breastfeeding. Plus one should never eat less than 1500 a day while nursing and 1800 is the minimum typical recommendation to maintain good vitamin levels etc in the milk, based on the research ive done. Plus most women DO maintain a normal bmi at about 2000 a day without breastfeeding (so 2450 if theyre bfing to maintain). Thats what the averages say. And she is taller than average by a pretty good amount. Average is 5'3". Also one should use tdee not bmr to get maintenance calories.
Im curious if you are quite petite. Because if you lose 1 lb a week on 1600, that means your maintenance without breastfeeding is only 1650 where most women are 2000. I also suspect youve set mfp to sedentary.
Oh and i punched her stats into the scooby calculator which is similar to mfp's and thats what i got. Actually i got 2600 and approximated.0 -
monicauebbing7 wrote: »I'm breastfeeding my 5 month old exclusively. Everybody is different. And your basal metabolic rate is different based on height weight and age. I would put in your goals to MFP and see what they recommend to lose 0.5 or 1 lb a week for you. Then add 450-500 calories to account for breastfeeding. I eat around 1600 calories a day when I don't exercise at all and lose about 1 lb a week. I doubt eating 2500 calories is going to help you lose weight unless you need to eat 2000 calories to maintain your weight without breastfeeding. You could also set MFP goal to maintain weight and then lose whatever breastfeeding accounts for in calories which would be about 500 calories a day about 1 lb a week.
It depends on ones starting weight. My assumptions were that she is 18 stone and that she does some equivalent of exercise through the day. I dont think anyone under 350 lbs should set mfp to sedentary, as simple daily activities like cooking, bathing, getting the mail would put you in the lightly active category. And we know she is rocking/walking/caring for a baby all day lol so she is at least lightly active.
I lose 0.5 to 1 lb a week eating 2100 a day with breastfeeding and no additional exercise (since 2017 lol) and im weigh 10 stone and am 4" shorter than her. Im a few years younger but not significantly. Thats why i suggested starting at 2500 and adjusting from there based on results. That way she doesnt risk her milk supply and can then take 2 or 3 weeks to adjust from there land on a good number for her. Its not recommended to lose more than 1 lb a week while breastfeeding. Plus one should never eat less than 1500 a day while nursing and 1800 is the minimum typical recommendation to maintain good vitamin levels etc in the milk, based on the research ive done. Plus most women DO maintain a normal bmi at about 2000 a day without breastfeeding (so 2450 if theyre bfing to maintain). Thats what the averages say. And she is taller than average by a pretty good amount. Average is 5'3". Also one should use tdee not bmr to get maintenance calories.
Im curious if you are quite petite. Because if you lose 1 lb a week on 1600, that means your maintenance without breastfeeding is only 1650 where most women are 2000. I also suspect youve set mfp to sedentary.
Oh and i punched her stats into the scooby calculator which is similar to mfp's and thats what i got. Actually i got 2600 and approximated.
And the 2500 already accounts for breastfeeding, it should not be added again.1 -
Thanks so much for the help. I’ve set my goal to 2000 and then add 500 for bf but am trying my best to keep below. So then at the weekend I can have a little treat if out with family.1
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