Breastfeeding Calories Plus Working Out

MamaOne13
MamaOne13 Posts: 66 Member
edited July 2020 in Food and Nutrition
Okay so I used this calculator to see what my breastfeeding calories should be at:

https://www.freedieting.com/breastfeeding-calorie-calculator

I'm 21, 5"2, 129 lbs and I workout 5 days a week.
It put me at 2008 calories.
But right before I got pregnant, I was eating about 2150 and maintaining. At the end of pregnancy I was eating 2450-2500 calories and gaining .25-.5 lbs a week, but also wasn't exercising.

For the past week I've been eating about 2350 calories and I went from 131 to now 129...

Should I up my calories to 2450? It's suggested that when breastfeeding to not lose more than a lb a week and I've lost 2, but it's only been a week since I've started dieting so I don't know if I should wait and see if I lose more and then raise it a bit?

Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited July 2020
    All a calculator can do is estimate based on demographic averages. If you already have your own personal data, you are better off working with that.

    I am not a professional and I've never had a baby, so feel free to take this with a grain of salt. But I'd bet you are better off erring on the high side to protect your milk supply, then if after 3-4 weeks you are still maintaining or gaining, start slowly subtracting calories until you find the sweet spot where you feel good and your supply is good but your weight is trending down. :smile:

    If your supply is fine where you are, I doubt there's much harm though in giving it another couple of weeks where you are and seeing if your loss settles into a more moderate pace or if maybe you need to eat a little more.

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