For breastfeeding moms!

jessicahopemegargle

How do breastfeeding mamas log the calories burned for an accurate net calorie number?

frhaberl

It's been a while for me, but when I first started MFP I was breastfeeding and took the 500 cal/day estimate for extra calories burned when breastfeeding. You can either pick some exercise that equals 500 calories per day and log that, or set your activity level at a level high enough to add in 500 calories more per day than your "actual" activity level. I would go with option 2 because it removes the requirement to do something extra every day. So if you are otherwise sedentary (getting less than 3000 steps a day) then bump your activity level up to lightly active or active, whichever adds approximately 500 calories to your base calorie goal vs sedentary.

Another option is to just know that you can go over the target calories by approximately 500. No adjustment to anything in the app needed, just the mindset of not seeing "below target" numbers.

Two things I would watch for
- Under/overestimating the calories burned as your baby grows and starts getting nutrition from other sources. You may want to reevaluate your calorie target periodically by comparing your actual weight loss to what you "should" be losing based on your calorie deficit. If you're losing faster than expected, you may be underestimating the energy expenditure of breastfeeding (or some other component) and should probably up your calories. If you're losing slower than expected, you may be overestimating the calorie expenditure for breastfeeding. In this case, I would advise not further reducing your calories because.....
- Milk supply and overall health suffering because of calorie restriction. I enjoyed the "jumpstart" that the extra breastfeeding calorie burn gave me, but I also struggled a lot more with milk supply when trying to lose weight than when I wasn't restricting calories. I probably also took a hit on energy level and overall health. In the larger scheme of things, I would prioritize the breastfeeding and time with my new baby over losing weight as quickly as I did.

AnnPT77

FWIW, some other women who've commented here in the past have chosen to eat at estimated maintenance calories, and let milk production create the deficit.