We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Newbie!! Hello-question on Breastfeeding Calories

oliveoil87
oliveoil87 Posts: 141 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone! I am new on this site and I am loving it so far!. Anyway, I am a mother of an 8 week old and three year old. Currently, I am nursing my 8 week old and have a question about the calorie intake.

Pre-pregnancy- to maintain my weight I needed to consume 1900 calories and 1500 to lose weight.

Since breastfeeding burns 500 cal, do I add the 500 on top of the 1900 calories which would give me 2400 in total?

I am also exercising 30min daily burning 250-300 calories. Anyway when I subtract the 2400-300(exercise)- 500(breastfeeding) I am down at 1600. Is that ok? I believe it's a 300 calorie deficit so I will be losing less than one pound a week? --Help. Thanks.

Replies

  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    Your math is a little confusing to me, but I don't think it's entirely right.

    The site is saying you need to eat 1900 calories a day to maintain your weight without factoring exercise or breast feeding. Adding breastfeeding and exercise would be 1900+500+(250 or 300), so that means your actually maintenance calories when you factor in breastfeeding and exercise is 2650-2700 calories. Anything you eat less than that is a deficit. So if you want to lose one pound a week, you would need a 500 calorie a day deficit. That means on days that you breastfed and exercised, you would lose 1 pound a week if you ate 2150-2200 calories a day.

    That make sense?
  • oliveoil87
    oliveoil87 Posts: 141 Member
    Sorry, my mind is a bit out of place! Anyway, I understood in a way up until you added my exercise calories. To maintain my weight pre-pregnancy it was 1900 . Now that I am breastfeeding it's 2400. Since 500 is burned already from breastfeeding, I am down to 1900, and since I exercise burning 300 calories, I am down to 1600.


    But how am I losing one pound a week on your strategy when eating 2200 calories a day. Because look--pre-preggo 1900 now I must eat 2400--since I am burning the 500 anyway it will bring me back to 1900---same thing. Therefore, with exercise I will be making a deficit. I hope I am making sense, lol. Sorry.
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    How many calories are you planning on eating a day? I am getting a little confused. If you tell me that I can help you figure out what your deficit will be, and how much you will lose per week based on your currently lifestyle.
  • oliveoil87
    oliveoil87 Posts: 141 Member
    I am eating 2400 and exercising everyday for 30min burning 300 calories. Sorry for the confusion! I think I am making it more complicated then it is!
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    Okay, if you are eating 2400 and burning 300 through exercise, then your daily deficit is 300 calories per day. This means that you should burn 2100 calories a week, which means that you will lose 0.6 pounds a week at that pace.
  • oliveoil87
    oliveoil87 Posts: 141 Member
    I guess I will go for 2200 calories a day then for a a 500 deficit, which brings me down to 1400 calories. I wonder if that is OK since I am breastfeeding?
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    I'd say a 500 calorie deficit is safe. You are already eating extra calories because you are breastfeeding, so you are taking that into account.
  • marber
    marber Posts: 118 Member
    The calories you need to stay the same is 1900 + any extra from exercise and breast feeding.

    1900 + 500 + 300 = 2700

    To lose weight you need a 500 deficit so

    2700 - 500 = 2200

    It might be easier to just put everything in your profile and let mfp do the working out :)
  • oliveoil87
    oliveoil87 Posts: 141 Member
    Never mind, i got it now!!! lol. Thanks.
This discussion has been closed.