breast feeding and dieting

916mom

Im not sure how many calories I should be eating my MFP says 1380 but my Dr says I need to eat at least 2000 I need to lose weight but cant stop pumping ( FEEDING MY 2 1/2 MONTH OLD) breastmilk due to his health

cressievargo

I think I'd go with the doctor's advice for now and see how you do.

1380 and BF does not sound like enough, since that's like 300-500 calories burned all by itself (varies from person to person).

If you go to low, it may affect your supply, too.

sar123bear

Here's the most sound advice I can give you- The average female needs 2000 calories to survive, typical breastfeeding burns 500 calories for the first 6 months of baby's life (or until solids begin) because it takes 20 calories to produce 1 oz of milk and the average baby takes roughly 24-30 oz/ day. If you're pumping and storing in excess of what you're feeding your babe *note: and not feeding it back to them that day*, then you may want to think about adding those calories back. I've been losing anywhere from 1-2 lbs or more consistently by following the advice I'm giving. (total of 66 lbs lost in about 4 months from my highest pregnancy weight).

What I'm getting at here is you could do nothing more than get your maintenance calories in for the day (2000 consumed) and breastfeed (-500) and lose PLENTY of weight. If you want to add exercise, it's important to not get a further deficit in your calories, otherwise your body may shift into a lower gear of metabolism to keep you "alive" - your vital organs need energy to function properly and if your body doesn't get enough fuel, it needs to slow down so it's not burning so much fuel. (who wants a slower metabolism?? Not me!) So... let's say you burned 300 calories walking 3 miles - that 2000 calories just turned to 2300 calories to eat. It doesn't seem possible because we've always been told to cut calories to extremes to lose weight, but if you think about it, you don't want to risk losing your milk, and who wouldn't want to lose at least 1 lb a week by doing nothing more than nourishing your new baby! Furthermore, yes, you will lose weight on a very low calorie diet like 1200, but you'll be sorry you did in the long run because your metabolism will catch up to what you're doing and will protest greatly after say anywhere from 5-30 lbs... then you'll get frustrated and likely give up, and then because your metabolism is so slow, you'd put all or most of the weight back on again, or even more! It's a vicious cycle. Don't do it... get off the roller coaster. A slow and steady path is more sustainable long term and you'll keep the weight off by learning how to eat right and learn how to maintain those good habits. AND, you'll be able to eat more at your "goal weight" because you haven't abused your metabolism!

Getting enough healthy food is really hard sometimes. I really struggle to get 2000 calories in / day because it's just so much food (when you cut out a lot of processed crap), and it's even harder to replace my exercise calories too, so I'm careful to keep my activity light at this point (either short weight lifting sessions or walks usually... and the occasional workout DVD or calisthenics.

I'm very mindful to get enough of each "macro-nutrient"... what this means is I try to balance those (40% carb, 30% protein, 30% fat) and get carb / protein / healthy fat / veggie or fruit at EVERY meal. Healthy fats help you absorb the vitamins and minerals that you need from the food you're consuming, and they also help flush your body of toxins, so don't skip the fats! One suggestion I have is 1/2 tbsp olive oil on veggies w/ some Mrs. Dash original seasoning. Spices can be incredibly flavorful and nutritious surprisingly vs. salt.

I have more info on my blog if you care to read my logic and who has influenced my way of thinking. :-)
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/sar123bear - there's at least 3 posts - click on April Archives if they don't all show up by going to that link.

I do run a free facebook group too for moms and have seen some incredible results from a great deal of women who've started eating more.... even the ladies who were at a standstill have started losing again.

I hope this info helps! :happy:

Oh, and the slower you lose (ideally 1-2 lbs a week), the better chance you have of not getting "loose skin" - that's a bonus too!