Breastfeeding Mom help

lyssnelson

Hi there,
Is there a way to figure in additional calories needed while breastfeeding? I know I need an extra 500 cal. a day for that but this service doesn't ask if I'm nursing or not...and I know I need more than 1200 cal./day.

Thanks!

trachnurse

If you want to lose 2 pounds per week, put in as if you want to lose 1 pound per week, that should increase your calories by 500 per day. If you want to lose 1 pound per week, try setting it to maintenance, and see if that gives you a more appropriate calorie allowance. It takes a decrease of 3500 calories per week to lose 1 pound. Good luck!

Panda86

There is an entry in the food database for breastfeeding. If you know about how much your baby takes in at each feeding, then you can use that entry to figure in how many more calories you need to consume for breastfeeding

Alleghany

Congratulations on your new baby! :flowerforyou:

I am currently breastfeeding my 9 month old (where's my little baby gone!!!) and I finally joined MFP in late April when the weight wasn't coming off. When I started, I didn't know how to log breastfeeding so I wanted to share my knowledge incase you need it. When I started, I went into my exercise tab and put in 141 minutes of breastfeeding (burning 400 cals) in the cardio section. It then gave me those extra 400 cals for my food log. Or, you can also log your BF cals by going into your food log directly (not going into the exercise tab). To do that, 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 (which you probably know already). 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 was 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. You will probably want to try something like this and see if it works for you. The most important thing is to keep that milk flowing for your little one.

You'll find this site is TONS of FUN and people give you amazing support! Seriously, it's absolute MAGIC as long as you are honest with yourself, log everything and stay in the correct calorie zone that works for you. Again, you'll probably have to play around to see what works best. Don't get too frustrated if you don't lose every week because there were times with me that I would lose every other week but the weightloss was significant enough to cover both weeks. Be careful to eat enough cals otherwise you'll screw up your metab and stop losing. Please read the following links/threads which have invaluable info. I wish I had read these sooner!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/55796-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

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