Dieting while nursing???

eburritt

Hi everyone! I just started logging my foods and exercise this morning and have a goal of celebrating a lighter me for my 34th b.day in October! I'm still nursing my 3-month-old... Any suggestions on how or if I need to alter my caloric intake with that in mind? I'm concerned about my snacking b/c my appetite is so big with the nursing. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

lilchino4af

Stick with the daily goals MFP gives you and add breast feeding to your exercise page (from everything I've heard from nursing mom's here it burns upwards of 500 calories, which explains why you feel hungrier). This will allow you to eat up to 500 additional calories Hope this helps!

abricklin

ditto the above.
Drastically reducing consumption/being under 1600 calories while breast feeding will drastically reduce your supply. Unless you plan on weaning or supplementing soon, I would recommend eating 1200+ 500 from breast feeding most days.

kmulhollen

Congratulations on your new baby!

Nursing my two was such a joy - not always easy or convenient but a wonderful thing for me. If you are primarily nursing (versus supplementing with formula) you are burning lots of calories. I lost most of my pregnancy weight each time by just eating what I normally would and nursing. Here is a link that might be helpful for you: http://www.babycenter.com/0_diet-for-a-healthy-breastfeeding-mom_3565.bc

Blessings to you and your little one!

ABetterAmber

I was also concerned about my frequent snacking, nibbling, sometimes scarfing . I was told "You need to be eating 500 extra calories a day while nursing". I took that advice to heart and ate anything I wanted... but amazingly didn't gain weight. Well, I weaned my son 4 months ago, and that's when my weight started creeping back up (proof that my body really had been burning tons of calories!). I was still eating like I was nursing. Thus the reason I'm on here now, logging everything and trying to be a good girl! )

So... since you're body is hard at work right now providing for your little one, I wouldn't try to restrict your calories. You're already burning lots, and your body really does need extra right now. I recommend just trying to stay at your daily calorie goal this site provided, work in some good exercise, and I think you'll definitely still get some good results! AND... get plenty of rest, whenever you can! I know that's difficult with an itty bitty, but your body needs it!

Good luck and Congratulations on your new baby!

Alleghany

Congratulations on your new baby! :flowerforyou:

I am currently breastfeeding my 5 month old and I just joined MFP in late April. In my exercise folder, I put in 141 minutes of breastfeeding (burning 400 cals) in the cardio section. It then gives me those extra 400 cals for my food log. Or, you can also log your BF cals in your food log. You just enter "Breastfeeding" in the food search and it'll pop up. You then select the ounces (if I'm remembering correctly) and once you hit enter, it'll show up as a calorie deficit on your food log. I prefer to log mine in the exercise log, though. Either one will work.

If you're breastfeeding, you burn anywhere from 300 to 600 calories a day. Every ounce of breastmilk you make/expel burns 20 calories so if you know how much you're producing, you'll know how many cals to add to your diet. Everyone is different so this is just a rough estimate. If I feel hungry, I'll eat more as long as it's a smart choice. I've been doing great on around 1600 cals per day & I'm 5' 4.5" and currently 116 lbs. Everyone is different but this should give you some idea.

I hope this helps, Mama! Congrats again! Enjoy that little one!!

eburritt

Thank you for all of the kind responses and suggestions... This was all very helpful to me as I get started. After day one I see that I need to do a better job with my sweets.. They sent me over my goal for the day. I'll do better tomorrow!