Breastfeeding and Calorie intake ( Need advice)

lovemy4boys79

Hi! I was just wondering if anyone else is lactating and trying to count calories? I've read several articles that are telling me to consume more calories then what mfp is telling me according to my settings. I want to continue losing weight but I don't want to hurt my milk supply so any advice would be greatly appreciated. According to mfp I should consume 1360 calories a day and I am reading that I should consume 1800 plus. My advantage other then it being wonderful for my baby I burn an extra 500 calories daily. The disadvantage is I am confused to how many calories I should really be consuming in order to keep my supply up and my weight down. Thanks in advance = )

ElviraCross

Add 300-500 calories to whatever MFP tells you to eat. I eat 1800ish calories a day. I'm 5'9" at 142 on maintenance.

Ademann1

When you are tracking food each day, add "breast feeding" and it will give you a calorie deficit. Each ounce you produce takes 20 calories from your body.

I am 5'10" and I am supposed to eat 1600ish (not trying to lose fast) and with the breast feeding I should eat over 2000 calories a day. I was surprised how easy MFP makes this to calculate.

ElviraCross

Also I've been breastfeeding for about 9 months now so I haven't lost my supply. Just make sure you eat a lot of healthy and nutritious foods. I don't deny myself "unhealthy" either. I eat desserts and whatnot all in moderation and that has worked well for me.

I have also lost 3 pounds since increasing to 1800 calories so I would go to 1600-1800 for you and see what that does for you!

Juliane_

I started off consuming 200-250 calories than what is recommended for me. See how your weight loss goes for that week and adjust accordingly as the weeks go by. If you are losing weight keep those calories if you are not losing weight lower your calories a bit. With breastfeeding you have to tweak it until you reach the numbers that will work for you. Experts say many things but if I went by what I'm supposed to eat I would not be losing weight. I tried it.

julieh391

I set my goal to lose two pounds per week and added 500 calories from the food database for breast feeding. After I saw the my supply didn't drop, I decreases my added calories to 300 extra. I found one in the database that also adds extra fat/protein/etc too. I've been losing 1.5-2lbs/week consistently, and my supply hasn't been effected. Good luck!

lovemy4boys79

thanks so much I didn't know that mfp even took breastfeeding into consideration...I will take all the info you've given me into consideration..thanks again = )