Breast feeding..?

polkadotty88

I hear breast feeding uses up 500 calories per day. Is this true?

logg1e

A quick Google shows that's the figure used by the NHS as one of the (many) benefits of breast feeding.

sirena192005

Breastfeeding CAN use up to 500 calories a day, with some caveats. First, it's only using that much if you're exclusively breastfeeding. Once you introduce other foods(around 4-6 months), your body stops making as much milk, and there's less fat content in the milk you're making, so the calories are less.

A guide I've heard is figure 500 calories for the first 6 months, or as long as you're EBF. Figure 300 calories for 6-12 months, and after 12 months, the burn from breastfeeding is really nil because the composition of the milk is not nearly as fat heavy, regardless of how often baby is nursing. Also, while breastfeeding and trying to lose weight, it is imperative to monitor your calcium intake because your body will care for baby first, even going so far as to leech the calcium from your bones if there isn't enough coming in through your diet.

Hydration is also paramount. You can't produce enough milk if you're dehydrated, so increase your water intake by 25-50%. Remember, you're producing an ounce of milk an hour(at least) and that takes a lot of water to do above and beyond what you need for your body to be hydrated normally. I think I also read somewhere that it's also recommended that a BFing woman not take in any less than 1500-1800 calories per day while EBFing because it could impede milk supply.

I know it's frustrating trying to lose the baby weight. I've been there. I'm still trying to get mine off, but if breastfeeding is something you want to do, then you have to prioritize it. It's hard enough without diet things getting in your way.

Hope this helped!

annpatalexa

My sister breast fed her oldest daughter to 1 year and her son to 15 months (doctor recommended due to baby allergies). That plus eating healthy and walking/running has gotten her back to her prepreg weight pretty easily. She had a healthy life style going into having kids. She opted for breast feeding for multiple reasons, healthier for baby, losing weight easier, reduce risks of different health issues and so on. While this was not a factor for her, it is a factor for some people, breast feeding is MASSIVELY cheaper then formula. Breast pumps often pay for themselves cause the milk freezes.

kristydi

I've lost all my weight while nursing. But I've never tried to actively lose weight during the first 6 months. With my first I paid no attention to what I ate and maintained approximately my pre pregnancy weight, then, at around 6 months started gaining and put on about 30 lbs before leveling off and deciding to get it under control. Hubby and I joined MFP and started eating better and exercising and I lost about 25 lbs. Then I got pregnant with our 2nd. After she was born I dropped back to my prepregnancy weight and maintained it for about a year and a half before deciding to lose some more.

Now, nursing a 2 year old, MFP tells me I should eat 1440 cals to lose pound a week. Since it's so hard to tell how many cals to count for nursing I just upped my goal to 1500 and don't worry too much if I go over by 50-100 a day. I figure that puts me losing between a half a pound and a pound a week and I can ignore counting breastfeeding. Seems to be working. I'm losing pretty slowly, buts that's OK with me.

I do think you burn more when you are exclusivity breastfeeding, but that it drops off pretty sharply as the baby starts to nurse less, but its so hard to put a number on it. The 500-300 is a good guess. I really think that during the first 6 months out so it's too much to worry about to try to actively lose weight. You have a newborn you're most likely sleep deprived, just maintain. Eat healthy food, don't go nuts on the junk food and take care of the baby. Then when things level out and you find your new normal, worry about your weight.

polkadotty88

Thanks for all your replies, learnt a lot

ldrosophila

It levels out I easily lost 40lbs after my pregnancy, but have gained back 30 of it. I ate like a wild woman though so the calories and pounds quickly came back.