Confused calories, eat more to weigh less, etc....

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saadia3877
saadia3877 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,

I am exclusively breastfeeding and trying to figure out how many calories I should be eating. I have heard that you need at least 300-500 calories just for breastfeeding, but there are women in third world countries that just don't have that much and still are able to produce milk. I have also been reading about eating more to weigh less. I am so confused as to what to set my calorie intake to. I have just started insanity and that just confuses me more. Can someone please point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

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  • ThriceBlessed
    ThriceBlessed Posts: 499 Member
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    I would allow the extra calories for breastfeeding, even though women in third world countries don't get the extra calories and still make milk, it probably does take a toll on their bodies.

    What I would do is see what MFP suggests for your height and weight, and weight loss goals, and then add the 300-500 for the breastfeeding. Stick with that for a month, and then assess how its going and adjust if you need to.
  • Boogage
    Boogage Posts: 739 Member
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    Eating more to weigh less is about not cutting calories harshly. If you don't give your body enough calories to use for fuel then your body will panic and hold on to all the fat because its not sure if more food is coming. I would start by working out your TDEE - the total amount of calories you burn in a day and this will give you an idea of what you need to maintain taking into account your activity level. You do need more calories if you are breast feeding and I guess you would have to add this on to your TDEE figure and then cut the total amount of cals by maybe just 10% to give you a small deficit. Eating well and providing your baby with nourishment and keeping your milk supply up should be your main concern at the moment. Yes third world mums may have milk but do they or their children look healthy or are their bodies/growth being hampered due to poor nutrition? I'd say they are.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
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    LoL and you have seen their children right in third world countries??


    Get a TDEE estimate as mentioned above, add in your extra calories, then take a cut..
  • saadia3877
    saadia3877 Posts: 4 Member
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    You guys are absolutely right. I definitely do want to make sure I am providing my baby with the best that is why I was concerned about the calories. I had started insanity and felt hungrier and wasn't sure how much I should be eating. I will look up my tdee and do what you guys have suggested.
  • timberowl
    timberowl Posts: 331 Member
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    You should be able to look up "breastfeeding" under food, and it'll automatically deduct the appropriate number of calories. =)

    There is even one that says "breastfeeding exclusively"

    The general consensus seems to be 500 cals/day, gradually reducing to approx 120 cals/feed.

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