i need help figuring out calories

AJM127

I'm pumping milk to donate & I nurse my 14 month old usually twice overnight. She's almost weaned, doesn't nurse at all during the day. I'm 30yrs, 5'2, and weigh 170 pounds. I've never been good at losing weight while nursing. My pre pregnancy weight was 127 pounds. I'm feeling pretty bad about myself at 170. I'm trying to figure out calories with BMR, TDEE and my head is spinning. For exercise I've been walking outside I think its about 2 miles. Sometimes I walk, sometimes I push the double stroller (with about 50 pounds of kids! Lol) other times I go to the gym & use the ellicptal for 45 mins. Right now i'm pumping maybe 12oz a day which i hope to increase. Since exercise and milk production are always changing & I don't always get to workout I really need to understand this calorie thing so I can change as needed.

I've thought about eat BMR plus breastfeeding calories (20 calories per oz pumped)
or eating to TDEE light activity and allowing breast feeding calories to be the "minus 20%"

What do I eat on a breastfeeding day no exercise?
What about a walk?
What about burning 400+ calories at the gym?

Help, please!

Amandawith3kids

"eating to TDEE light activity and allowing breast feeding calories to be the "minus 20%"

i would do that.

i nurse my 2 yr old 2-3 times a day (usually before he sleeps and once during the night) and i eat tdee -20% with NO breastfeeding cals, BUT i dont need top quality milk, because its more for his comfort than anything else at this point. when he was a newbie i didnt try to lose weight.

since you are donating, you want really good milk, so i would make sure you eat those cals. or do tdee -10% or 5%.

kcasey155

You could just use MFP as it's meant to be used. Set your calories to lose half a pound or a pound a week, set your activity to lightly active and enter exercise and feeding/pumping as and when you do it. Let MFP workout the calories for you. It's soooo much easier. If after four weeks you find you're not losing decrease your activity setting to sedentary, if you find you're losing too much then up your activity setting. If you give MFP the right info it will work.