Breastfeeding

aubreytennisgirl

Hello! I am new here and hoping this will help me reach some weight goals. I have been pregnant or breastfeeding the past 9 years almost and it's finally just all caught up with me. I have no energy or motivation. I need to change something! But I always get nervous doing any counting of calories bc I am still currently breastfeeding. How can I make sure I am getting what I need to support my body producing milk and I don't lose weight too fast and lose my milk?
Is there something with this app that we can tailor the information to fit that in there? I just didn't see any questions or guidance along those lines.

Lietchi

I don't think there is a particular setting. But I have seen recommendations from people here a few times: to set your goal at weight maintenance and then let breastfeeding create the calorie deficit to lose weight.
I've seen numbers from 250 to 500 kcal per day for breastfeeding. It will obviously vary depending on your production etc. But 500 calories per day is the equivalent of 1lb loss a week and 250 is 0.5lb per week.

I would try setting your goal at maintenance and see what happens. Not only is your milk production an unknown variable, but your calorie goal in general is based on population averages, which may or may not fit you. The best thing is to follow your calorie goal for 4 weeks/1 menstrual cycle and then adjust upwards or downwards depending on how your weight loss is going. Obviously, if you have trouble with your milk production or other pressing issues, don't wait weeks to increase your calories, but generally speaking it's best to wait that long before making changes because our weight fluctuates naturally and you need a longer period to determine your true weight trend.

AlexEllaK

@aubreytennisgirl hey! I’m bf my little one at the moment and using the app. You can add breastfeeding under food. It basically sets it as a good with negative calories so you can eat the extra. The options vary when you type it in the food search go how much/ how old your little one is. I currently select the 4-6 month old option which adds 400 cals to my original goal.