Dieting + breast feeding ... what considerations should I be

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goatstew
goatstew Posts: 50
in Health and Weight Loss
I just got started on this site, and I like it a lot, but I am breast feeding and I wanted to know how that should figure into my plan? A lot of places I've read say that you should take in 500 calories a day for the baby. Does this mean that I should add that 500 to the goal the site sets for me, or just leave it what it is? Adding 500 puts me at 2100 a day, which seems like a lot, but reducing the 500 from what my goal is makes it 1100, if the baby really is consuming 500 of my calories, which seems pretty low end, but I don't know. Any thoughts or suggestions? I do know this, I need to DRINK MORE WATER! I'm terrible about that. Is there a safe way to lose the weight I want to lose while making considerations for breast feeding?

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  • prencesskl
    prencesskl Posts: 123
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    add in the 500 calories, otherwise you won't have enough to produce milk anymore. And definitely keep track of what your eating, because I never did, and I was eating everything to get those calories when I was breastfeeding, and losing weight I thought it was great, then I stopped and gained 20lbs in 2 months : ( not so great... now I'm working harder to get it off
  • brookewoods
    brookewoods Posts: 2
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    i also breast feed and diet i keep my cal. consumption at around 1500 and that seems to be working!!!! my baby is 5 months old so my milk supply is pretty well set so im not worried about it dropping idk how old your baby is but if you are still establishing your supply i would add a couple hundred to your goal everyday!!! good luck!!! i just found that this is what is working for me!!
  • MissMessVaness
    MissMessVaness Posts: 24 Member
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    of course drink a ton of water for you and the baby. The way that I've been logging my breastfeeding calories is go under snacks and add breastfeeding nursing mother to your snacks or one of your meals and estimate the amount in ozs that you feed your baby a day. It calculates it for you. This so far has been successful for me. Also though let me point out to continue to take your prenatal vitamins. I stopped taking mine and my iron shot way down. Iron is lost from your body to give your baby iron and also lost when you have vigorous workouts so you should supplement through prenatal vitamins.
  • givprayz
    givprayz Posts: 328
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    You need to add those 500 calories for the baby's milk to your intake each day. You also need to set your weight-loss goal to about half a pound a week. Because toxins are stored in our fat, you don't want to lose too rapidly and release massive amounts of bad stuff that will be pulled into your milk. Try setting your calories to the 2100 for 2 weeks and see how it goes. From there you can adjust up or down by a hundred to two-hundred calories at a time to get the loss you want.
    Your baby actually takes in different amounts of calories as it grows, so if you are nursing a 3-week-old you may need 500 calories extra, but if you are nursing an 8 month old who takes very little other food, you may need closer to 800 calories extra. Keep that in mind as time passes, or as you add other foods to the baby's diet.
    (I'm a retired Nurse-Midwife.)
  • goatstew
    goatstew Posts: 50
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    Thanks for all of your help, everyone! I had both my children with wonderful nurse midwives, so it feels good to hear from one on this topic. My baby girl is almost 4 months, still exclusively breast fed. I haven't decided yet whether to start her on rice cereal at 4 months like they tell you at the pediatrician, or wait until 6 months, which is what I've heard other places is best. Either way, I will take your suggestions into mind while I'm figuring out this weight loss while breast feeding business. Thanks.

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