Please help me figure out deficit

Care76

Hello, I have only been back to counting my calories with MFP for 10 days, but I am still steadily gaining weight. First off I had a baby October 31 last year and was 198 when I gave birth. I went down to 165 within a month of having him (I am 185 now). A few months later I started to gain it back. I was still breastfeeding but the only difference was I started a medication for my milk supply (domperidone 16/day) that made me feel starving all the time. After I started realizing how much weight I was gaining I started being careful with what I ate. I also worried about food allergies for my son so I gave up dairy and wheat for a month.

10 days ago I started tracking what I ate with MFP. I was 181, the past few days I have been 185. I will open my diary if somebody needs to look. I eat whatever I feel like but stay within my calories. I breastfeed 4-5 times a day so I add that in and I started 30ds and today is day 8. One thing I will mention is I will add to what I ate. Example; if I ate half a chicken parm breast and veg and potato and then ate the other half in two hours I don't add it in twice I just double the portions because it is easier that way. I try to eat every 2 hours as I have milk supply issues. So most of my meals are split into two.

Also, I occasionally weigh or measure (about half the time), but I work weighing and packaging and measuring herbs for my business and I am really good guessing because that is what I do.

MFP tells me to eat 1360 calories a day, then I try to eat back my breastfeeding and exercise calories but I don't always succeed. I am not sure if I should be going up our down in my calories. Should I give something up like ice cream or wheat? Sometimes I eat ice cream because I need 800-400 calories and I don't feel like eating a meal. That's what I did last night.

Please ignore this past Monday as it was my anniversary and I ate whatever I wanted. :-) I went way over that day.

psuLemon

You definitely need to open your diary. Also, you just started an exercise routine, so you will experience water retention. Second, you aren't at a plateau yet as that has to persist for 4-6 weeks. Next, what is your account set to (1 lb per week, 2 lbs per week). And do you weigh (food scale) and measure your foods?


PS - how tall are you?

4legsRbetterthan2

I am not any sort of expert on this but I would think to expect weight gain if you started a medicine to up your milk supply. If you are carrying more milk then you should have more weight. I feel like if I were you I would just try to maintain for the time being and once you are off the breastfeeding and medication to start looking towards weight loss when you find out where your body really is? Obviously that just me though so it is up to you to do whatever your want.

General advice is are you sure you are logging accurately (measuring portions our and not missing anything)? That is where most people have problems in the beginning, and MFP is only as useful as what you put into it. Also most of the exercises in the database are overestimated so most people log about 3/4 of their exercise into it.

SezxyStef

Typically if you are staying under or on the calories set by MFP and you are still not losing or gaining one of two things is going on

Underestimating intake and/or over estimating calories burned.

That being said you may measure herbs and know that but that is different then measuring other food...look different feel different.

No need to give up foods from what i can see on your diary you are not eating enough most days.

I see lots of days under 1200 or hovering just above it...as a breast feeding mom you should be eating a lot more then that esp if you are low milk supply and are exercising.

And you have a calorie goal as 1360...really????:noway: :noway: :noway:

psuLemon

A few things I see in your diary to tag onto Stephanie. I would also replace some of the carbs with protein and fats. Protein is essential for the growth and sustainment of muscle, which I am sure would be beneficial for your child. Also, both fats and protein increase satiety. Second, for a breast feeding mother, 1360 is even too low, at least in my opinion, probably should be closer to 1700-1900. Add in exercise and add another 200 calories.

I just ran some preliminary numbers assuming you were 5'5. With doing 30DS and breast feeding, i would think 1900-2000 calories is a more suitable range. That incorporates your exercise, so no need to eat back exercise calories. I would also recommend doing 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fats for your macro's.

kdiamond

A few things I see in your diary to tag onto Stephanie. I would also replace some of the carbs with protein and fats. Protein is essential for the growth and sustainment of muscle, which I am sure would be beneficial for your child. Also, both fats and protein increase satiety. Second, for a breast feeding mother, 1360 is even too low, at least in my opinion, probably should be closer to 1700-1900. Add in exercise and add another 200 calories.

I agree, also for what its worth I had a very hard time losing weight when I was breastfeeding, within 2-3 months of stopping the weight just fell off. I'm definitely not advocating stopping (I bf both of mine until they were a year), just giving you a little encouragement that it WILL come off. Just focus on being healthy for baby right now. :flowerforyou:

Care76

PSUlemon, I am 5'4". My settings are set to lose 1lb per week. I opened my diary right after posting this. I don't always measure my food, only sometimes, but I am to start doing it more.

CDFlinn, I don't think milk can increase my weight that much my body would be continually making it. It's not like I have a whole days worth stored at once. The medication is known for weight gain because it empties the stomach soon after eating as it is for people who get sick when they eat but lactation is a side effect. I would be fine to maintain but as you can see if I don't do something I am going to be heavier than when I was at the end of my pregnancy. I try to eat well and I just keep gaining.

StephanieWort, is 1360 low or high? Please keep in mind I add in breastfeeding as a minus, so I eat 400 more. But I don't always eat all my calories so I probably eat 1600-1700 calories every day. I read not to go under 1800-1500 when breastfeeding so I always try to eat between that.

I will start measuring more. I do measure and weigh other things with my work like butters, oils, waxes, etc... But yes, I should start being more accurate.

I use another site to figure out how many calories burned and I don't eat them all back because I know they can be over estimated.

Thanks so much for all the help so far. I am still not sure if I should be eating more or less though. I should also add that I log everything that has calories. I do not log water which is all I drink. No coffee, tea, pop, or juice. Just plain water. I drink minimum 2 liters a day.

Care76

I just saw the other replies. I do easy more than the 1360 because I add in breastfeeding and for 3-5 times a day gives me 400 more calories. But I don't always eat them all.

I was told when breastfeeding to eat 150-200 carbs a day. I am not sure where that fits into percentages. I have been trying to eat more meat. It just doesn't fill me and honestly it gets expensive. I tried eating some nuts to up my protein and fat, but I was still hungry. Maybe I will try again.

SezxyStef

More food.

As I mentioned I looked at your diary and a lot of days you are netting less then 1200...somedays just over it. To maintain your weight most things I have read said 2000 without breast feeding and add 500 if you are....so if you want a deficet while breast feeding I would go as high as 1800 net...and Yes I know you want to lose weight but you will at any deficet just maybe not 1lb a week. I am not breast feeding and I eat 1600 net to lose .5lb a week...

Your goal of 1360 is too low for a breast feeding mom. It's not just about the calories burned while exercising and producing the milk it's about having good food to help the milk be nutrious.

When I was breast feeding my son I ate a lot of food just to give him the rich milk he needed and you could tell when I pumped it...lots and lots of rich fatty milk.

SezxyStef

I just saw the other replies. I do easy more than the 1360 because I add in breastfeeding and for 3-5 times a day gives me 400 more calories. But I don't always eat them all.

I was told when breastfeeding to eat 150-200 carbs a day. I am not sure where that fits into percentages. I have been trying to eat more meat. It just doesn't fill me and honestly it gets expensive. I tried eating some nuts to up my protein and fat, but I was still hungry. Maybe I will try again.

Protien can come from other sources as well. Like cheese, dairy, greek yogurt, plain yogurt, nuts, peanut butter<<<fave, Tuna/salmon/crab/shrimp are great sources of protien.

Yes lots of protien can be expensive but that being said it's your health and the health of the baby.

Things that are dense like avocadoes help as well.

fbmandy55

I lost 50lbs using MFP's calorie goal for me. It came off fast but didn't take long for me to plateau, fall of the wagon and gain back most of the weight. For the past year, I have been lifting and struggling to find a calorie goal the lets me lose. I calculated my TDEE, which was about 2500 ate that for about 6 weeks and dropped it to 2200. Was still gaining there so I dropped it to 2000, where I was maintaining. Finally dropped to 1800 and for a few weeks I have been seeing fat loss and recorded my first weight loss in a LONG time today.

I would strongly recommend calculating your TDEE and dropping by 100 or 200 every month or so until you find that number that makes you lose 1-2lbs a week.

From what I have read, breastfeeding requires you to consume an additional 400-500 calories or so each day.

Care76

I agree, also for what its worth I had a very hard time losing weight when I was breastfeeding, within 2-3 months of stopping the weight just fell off. I'm definitely not advocating stopping (I bf both of mine until they were a year), just giving you a little encouragement that it WILL come off. Just focus on being healthy for baby right now. :flowerforyou:

Thank you. I plan to breastfeed until he is at least 2 and I feel if I do something I will be well over my highest pregnancy weight by the time I am finished. But I will not sacrifice my son's health for my own, so I won't give up breastfeeding. I will just try to work around it. I know nobody is suggesting to give it up, I just putting it out there because I have family members that suggest it because we have had a lot of issues (tongue and lip tie, supply issues, etc...)

SezxyStef

could your supply issues be due to low calorie intake????

Mokey41

Weigh and measure everything that passes your lips. I thought I was great at guessing how much things were until I started actually weighing them. Also, how much is your son actually nursing? You may not be burning as much as you think if he isn't exclusively breastfed. The numbers they banter around are usually for a younger baby that is only breastfeeding many times a day.

It's not a popular idea around here but you don't gain weight out of thin air. Your body has to be receiving enough energy to have some left to put into fat stores. Except for some minimal water weight from too much sodium or muscle repair there is no way you gain weight without giving your body a source.

Care76

I just saw the other replies. I do easy more than the 1360 because I add in breastfeeding and for 3-5 times a day gives me 400 more calories. But I don't always eat them all.

I was told when breastfeeding to eat 150-200 carbs a day. I am not sure where that fits into percentages. I have been trying to eat more meat. It just doesn't fill me and honestly it gets expensive. I tried eating some nuts to up my protein and fat, but I was still hungry. Maybe I will try again.

Protien can come from other sources as well. Like cheese, dairy, greek yogurt, plain yogurt, nuts, peanut butter<<<fave, Tuna/salmon/crab/shrimp are great sources of protien.

Yes lots of protien can be expensive but that being said it's your health and the health of the baby.

Things that are dense like avocadoes help as well.

Yes, in the summer I ate a ton fish. I am a bit sick of it though but I am going to try to eat more. I have been eating a lot of peanut butter and adding cheese and yogurt to dishes. I don't like yogurt, but I have cooked with it or added it to smoothies to up my calories. Quinoa is also a good protein source and I go in spurts with it. I made some stew last night and I was thinking to make quinoa to add to my portions (my husband hates it).

The pediatrician (Jack Newman who is a breastfeeding guru) said my supply issues are all linked to my sons latch. He was severely tongue tied and it was released but re attached. He is also lip tied and we are going to drive about 4 hours next month to see a dentist that specializes in pediatric laser release of the ties.

I feel like I am eating all the time and the doctors all told me try to eat often but smaller portions so that is what I did. I am thinking they just don't know how much I eat?

So if I eat 1800 calories a day, I just don't add in my breastfeeding? Then maybe eat 1900 when I exercise (6 days a week)?

Mischievous_Rascal

These two links are amazing. The first talks about how you can do it and SUSTAIN it forever, and the second is the best calculator I've found to set my calorie intake (it's surprisingly high - YAY!!!) The TDEE from here has my exercise calories built in, so I just have a set amount to eat daily. I find it way easier to deal with just one, constant number.

My macros are set to 35% carbs, 35% protein and 30% fat because I lift weights, but 40/30/30 may be a good place to start since you're breastfeeding. And you'll need an extra 500 cals on top of your TDEE for the little one, too. (So awesome of you to go so long, btw!)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

Best of luck!

SezxyStef

I just saw the other replies. I do easy more than the 1360 because I add in breastfeeding and for 3-5 times a day gives me 400 more calories. But I don't always eat them all.

I was told when breastfeeding to eat 150-200 carbs a day. I am not sure where that fits into percentages. I have been trying to eat more meat. It just doesn't fill me and honestly it gets expensive. I tried eating some nuts to up my protein and fat, but I was still hungry. Maybe I will try again.

Protien can come from other sources as well. Like cheese, dairy, greek yogurt, plain yogurt, nuts, peanut butter<<<fave, Tuna/salmon/crab/shrimp are great sources of protien.

Yes lots of protien can be expensive but that being said it's your health and the health of the baby.

Things that are dense like avocadoes help as well.

Yes, in the summer I ate a ton fish. I am a bit sick of it though but I am going to try to eat more. I have been eating a lot of peanut butter and adding cheese and yogurt to dishes. I don't like yogurt, but I have cooked with it or added it to smoothies to up my calories. Quinoa is also a good protein source and I go in spurts with it. I made some stew last night and I was thinking to make quinoa to add to my portions (my husband hates it).

The pediatrician (Jack Newman who is a breastfeeding guru) said my supply issues are all linked to my sons latch. He was severely tongue tied and it was released but re attached. He is also lip tied and we are going to drive about 4 hours next month to see a dentist that specializes in pediatric laser release of the ties.

I feel like I am eating all the time and the doctors all told me try to eat often but smaller portions so that is what I did. I am thinking they just don't know how much I eat?

So if I eat 1800 calories a day, I just don't add in my breastfeeding? Then maybe eat 1900 when I exercise (6 days a week)?

If your son isn't latching properly and that is causing the issues try pumping to keep the supply up...my sister had to do that and it helps if someone else wants to feed him...mind you my son refused breast milk from a bottle the little bugger...As for the 1800 that is net meaning you eat 1800 in total...so if you breast feed -400 you are down to 1400....eat another 400.

Bottom line is regardless of what you do in a day the calorie count at the bottom of your food diary should say 1800 consumed.

But that is an arbitary number as well...it all depends on what your maintenance calories are...I am 40 and my maintenace is around 1900 and my intake is 1550 to lose .5lb a week (regardless of exercise) you being younger and breast feeding I suspect your maintenance is higher then mine regardless of exercise.

ETA: I use TDEE as mentioned above but I use actual numbers not a calculator from a website and I weigh/measure all my food intake to ensure accurarcy.

Care76

Weigh and measure everything that passes your lips. I thought I was great at guessing how much things were until I started actually weighing them. Also, how much is your son actually nursing? You may not be burning as much as you think if he isn't exclusively breastfed. The numbers they banter around are usually for a younger baby that is only breastfeeding many times a day.

It's not a popular idea around here but you don't gain weight out of thin air. Your body has to be receiving enough energy to have some left to put into fat stores. Except for some minimal water weight from too much sodium or muscle repair there is no way you gain weight without giving your body a source.

I started weighing everything. Even my orange this morning.

As for breastfeeding, I really don't know how many calories I am burning. He eats minimum 4 times a day for 10-15 mins. And he is getting milk as I learned how to tell if he is drinking or not. I just used what was already posted on MFP app for breastfeeding 3-5 times a day.

Stephanie, 1800 net sounds like so many calories. It is hard to wrap my head around eating that much!

I am 37, so not that young, lol. It took us 13 years to have our miracle baby. I pumped for months but Dr. Newman suggested I stop as it was causing stress and it turned out was causing my nipple pain. We were told not to give my son a bottle or sippy cup because it doesn't teach him latch properly. We tried giving him breast milk out of a regular cup and he does drink it but a lot ends up down his front. It's OK. I have enough supply when I eat enough (over 1200) and take my supplements and meds. I waited for so many years to do this, I love our nursing relationship and I am so grateful to have been able to breastfeed (I was told I might not have enough milk because of all our interventions then his ties).

Thanks so much for the help. I will make sure I up my calories. Maybe I will do it gradually. Like start at 1500. And I will eat back my breastfeeding calories but maybe not all my exercise because I don't trust it is accurate.

Stupid auto correct! I am using my tablet so sorry about the typos.

Care76

Is there a way to change my macros into percentages instead of grams? I really don't want to figure out every day if I am eating 40/30/30, I want to glance and look to see where I am at.

Care76

These two links are amazing. The first talks about how you can do it and SUSTAIN it forever, and the second is the best calculator I've found to set my calorie intake (it's surprisingly high - YAY!!!) The TDEE from here has my exercise calories built in, so I just have a set amount to eat daily. I find it way easier to deal with just one, constant number.

My macros are set to 35% carbs, 35% protein and 30% fat because I lift weights, but 40/30/30 may be a good place to start since you're breastfeeding. And you'll need an extra 500 cals on top of your TDEE for the little one, too. (So awesome of you to go so long, btw!)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

Best of luck!

Thanks! The first link kind of intimidated me. I used the second to find out how many calories I should eat and it has me at almost what MFP does when I check .5 lbs per week.

SezxyStef

Is there a way to change my macros into percentages instead of grams? I really don't want to figure out every day if I am eating 40/30/30, I want to glance and look to see where I am at.

If you go to your goals and enter custom you enter them as a % and it matches them to grams per your calorie goal.

As for the 1800 yes it's a lot...I eat 1550 right now to lose .5lbs a week and I am lifting weights but I am not nursing...

On that note Congrats on the miracle and most definately stay with the breast feeding...I never had issues with latch (lucky me) but I did it as long as I could as did my sister with her miracle (she was older as well) and she had issues and pain but stuck it out for the good of her boy.