So confused about calorie intake... breastfeeding too

5ladybugs

Ok some things I read says you should up your intake to lose, some say to decrease. Here's my stats...
I'm 32, 5'5" 193.8 lbs. MFP has me at 1650 calories. I run 3-4 times a week, burn about 250 calories each. I always eat back those. I breastfeed my 17 month old, she still nurses often. I'd guess at least 1/2 her intake is from me.
Some weeks I lose 1 pound, some weeks nothing, some 0.4 lb etc.
Should I eat less? More? Should I add on breastfeeding calories?
I'd really like to lose 10 lbs a week LOL I know that's not healthy, but really.. I'd like to lose 2 lbs a week. I'm so confused.

714rah714

Sounds like what your doing is working fine, remember slow and steady wins the race

melaniecheeks

I've just posted this in another thread!

Weight doesn't come off evenly. As long as it's still coming off, it doesn't matter if its more one week than the next.

Keep on doing what you're doing - its working!

rockerbabyy

i know we all want to lose as quick as possible - but the best is slow and steady
i would factor in your breastfeeding calories still - it would probably be about 250/day.. maybe less but there are multiple entries in the food database, you could pick whichever is most accurate for you.
also, most people dont lose the same each week.. thats partly why i switched to weighing in once a month lol
1650 sounds good to me, but if youre really worried about it, you could set your daily goal at BMR + breastfeeding, and still eat your exercise calories. you probably wont lose 2 lbs a week, but you might hit 1.5 or 1..

Pebble321

If you're losing weight and breastfeeding is going well... then I wouldn't change a thing. It might seem like slow weight loss but it you look at it over a longer period of time, you'll see a steady decrease which is just about right.
I know we all want to lose weight FAST!!!! but it's just not something that you can rush - especially when you are responsible for another little person's health and nutrition too.

Solko1983

I created a cardio on my profile for breastfeeding. My daughter is only 5 months old so she nurses exclusively, they say that burns 500 calories/day. I chart my "cardio" daily and set it as 400 calories. Your baby will take from you what she needs through milk but YOU will be very malnurished if you do not compensate and we all know that does not aide in weight loss :-)
Good luck!

andrearaquel48

You're losing weight! About a half pound a week is great and is a pace that you can maintain for the long haul. 2lbs a week is not a very reasonable expectation. I say keep doing what you're doing since it's working

Solko1983

Actually if you type breastfeeding into the foods category, there is a wide range of options!

5ladybugs

Thanks everyone!
Sarah, my problem is I just don't know how much she would take from me.