Breastfeeding question

gibbsgirl
gibbsgirl Posts: 72 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am still breastfeeding my 9 month old daughter but I'm not sure how many calories to give myself. She does eat 3 solid meals a day, but still nurses pretty frequently. So I'm not sure if I still need the whole 500 extra calories, or of I should lower it to 300. I don't want to give myself extra calories but I definitely don't want to hurt my milk supply! Any advice?

Replies

  • Laurie1267
    Laurie1267 Posts: 169 Member
    I looked at your profile and for the amount of weight you want to lose, I would suggest you keep the 500 calories and not jeopardize your milk supply. Drink lots of water and maybe up your exercise a little if you're concerned the extra calories. Your baby is only going to need you in that way for a very short time so keep up the great benefit to your precious little one.

    Good luck
  • MommaKit79
    MommaKit79 Posts: 852
    ^^^^Agree!
  • ashleyh3156
    ashleyh3156 Posts: 177 Member
    I definitely agree with the post above. You are only going to be nursing for a short amount of time, I know when my daughter turned one she decided to wean herself :( I am currently nursing a newborn and have the extra 500 cals, but am not too worried about getting the weight off too fast. good luck! before you know it nursing will be a past time, enjoy it now :)
  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
    Are you losing weight at your current number of calories or are you maintaining? Are you currently exercising? How many calories I eating now?
  • NewChristina
    NewChristina Posts: 250 Member
    I also agree. :flowerforyou:
  • Halie_Bird
    Halie_Bird Posts: 47 Member
    I haven't added any extra calories for breastfeeding and my milk supply has still been good, however we are all different. I'd try only doing 300 and see how that goes if you notice a drop in supply at all you can just up your calories. I've also noticed that taking a multivitamin helps a lot! Good Luck!
  • gibbsgirl
    gibbsgirl Posts: 72 Member
    That's kind of what I was thinking too. I started insanity yesterday so as long as I keep that up, I won't have any problems burning calories! I absolutely love breastfeeding and don't plan to stop anytime soon so I don't want to jeopardize it in any way.
  • Better_Balance_2011
    Better_Balance_2011 Posts: 3,711 Member
    I have a 6 month old I'm still nursing and I quit giving myself a 500 calorie defecit each day and instead just stick between 1800-2000 calories a day regardless of exercise. My milk supply is fine and I lost all my baby weight and then a couple pounds where I have been hovering for about a month or so now. I would say find a number you're comfortable at and stick with it! Good luck.
  • rumandreason
    rumandreason Posts: 32 Member
    You wont jeapordise your milk supply, you body will look after baby before you! The more she feeds the more you'll make.
  • tjk71
    tjk71 Posts: 167
    Agreed stick w/ the 500!
  • gibbsgirl
    gibbsgirl Posts: 72 Member
    I just started tracking calories again. I gained 62 pounds while pregnant and lost all but 10 without exercising or counting calories. These last 10 have been stubborn!
  • luvlyjanny
    luvlyjanny Posts: 85 Member
    as a midwife i'd just like to say well done for breastfeeding this long in the first place :D... i think it would better for you and your body... the extra calories are not just for your milk supply... breastfeeding burns up a lot of energy.. hence the weight loss in that period... if you reduce your intake you will burn more than you take in and find yourself run down or burned out if you are not lucky...
  • tjk71
    tjk71 Posts: 167
    I think if you just track the calories & workout you'll drop it. It took 9 mo. to gain it they say it takes that long to loss it. When I was breastfeeding if I didn't eat or drink enough I didn't make much milk. But as someone else said we are all different so you need to find what works for you!
  • kaotik26
    kaotik26 Posts: 590 Member
    I looked at your profile and for the amount of weight you want to lose, I would suggest you keep the 500 calories and not jeopardize your milk supply. Drink lots of water and maybe up your exercise a little if you're concerned the extra calories. Your baby is only going to need you in that way for a very short time so keep up the great benefit to your precious little one.

    Good luck

    ^^Best advice! I only got to breastfeed for 3 months. When I went back to work I barely had enough time during my breaks to pump or feed her, so I never was able to eat anything until dinner and my supply dwindled. Went on vacation for Christmas, ate everything I wanted and ended up with extra milk. So I think the amount of food you eat has a lot to do with it.
  • RunnerBlonde808
    RunnerBlonde808 Posts: 257 Member
    I breastfed all 4 of my children for 1 1/2 years. I always found that if I tried lower my calories too much, I just wouldn't lose anymore while breastfeeding. My milk supply didn't really suffer but my body did. Keep the calories until baby is only nursing like once a day, then cut them back. My kids nursed around 3 times a day all the way up until I weaned them so I kept the extra calories.

    Great job on nursing so long! Don't see as many women nursing anymore. I am so glad that I did. My kids are never sick.
  • gibbsgirl
    gibbsgirl Posts: 72 Member
    Thank you for all the replies! Since I'm just starting out and really have no clue how many calories I've been taking in, I may go with the extra 500 for a week and see how it goes. That still puts me at less than 2000 calories a day. If that doesn't work then I can lower it to maybe 400 and see what happens.
  • lindseyckelly
    lindseyckelly Posts: 1
    I dropped to 400, then 300 or so cal as I cut back on nursing and my kiddo started eating more solids, and I just stopped adding nursing calories at all. He's also 9 months and is nursing about 2-3 times a day still, but eats a ton of solids and is getting formula bottles during the day at daycare (I stopped pumping a week or two ago). I'm still losing pretty slowly and still seem to have a fine supply for the amount I'm nursing. (That said, I eat all my calories, plus exercise calories, and often go a bit over that, even.)
  • staceface519
    staceface519 Posts: 167
    I looked at your profile and for the amount of weight you want to lose, I would suggest you keep the 500 calories and not jeopardize your milk supply. Drink lots of water and maybe up your exercise a little if you're concerned the extra calories. Your baby is only going to need you in that way for a very short time so keep up the great benefit to your precious little one.

    Good luck

    this is the best advice ever!!!!. . . i never breastfed so i wouldnt know. . . i formula fed because my eating habits after birth were BAD and my immune system couldnt support it. . .:/
  • impyimpyaj
    impyimpyaj Posts: 1,073 Member
    I am still breastfeeding my 9 month old daughter but I'm not sure how many calories to give myself. She does eat 3 solid meals a day, but still nurses pretty frequently. So I'm not sure if I still need the whole 500 extra calories, or of I should lower it to 300. I don't want to give myself extra calories but I definitely don't want to hurt my milk supply! Any advice?

    Go with 500. If you find that it's too much, lower by 100 at a time for a couple of weeks at a time until you find what works.

    As long as you're not eating over your TDEE, which you probably won't be even with adding 500, you're not going to gain weight. "Extra calories" means extra nutrition, and that's important, ESPECIALLY while you're nursing. Remember, when you're producing milk, any nutrition you consume (calcium and other minerals, vitamins, etc.) will go into your milk FIRST and then be distributed to your body. Your body's first priority is the baby right now, so your nutritional needs will come second. So unless the 500-calorie allotment makes you gain weight, which I doubt, use all the calories you can get. Your health needs to be your priority, so while it's perfectly ok to lose weight right now, you certainly don't want to over-restrict your calories. Just restrict enough to see a downward trend on the scale, but don't go looking for huge numbers.

    ETA: I just saw that you started Insanity. Please eat your exercise calories. I would suggest getting a heart rate monitor if you're afraid of overestimating your burns. For nursing moms, it's important to keep your deficit small, for the reasons I stated above, and Insanity burns a LOT of calories. If you don't eat all of what you burn through exercise, at least eat a significant portion of them.
  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
    Nursing your baby will be over in the blink of an eye. I thought it was a long period, but now that my "babies" are 6 & 12. . . well, it really is just a short season of life. The extra cardio you're going to do should make a dent in those stubborn 10 lbs. You'll make your goal without any trouble!!
  • SalamanderMeg
    SalamanderMeg Posts: 16 Member
    I was stuck at the same weight when my LO was 9 months old so I dropped my bf calories from 500 to 300 and I started losing again. Now she's 13 months and I only give myself 150 calories. I had no problems with my milk supply when I did this. Just make sure you drink lots of water (I aim for 64 oz a day) and if you are worried about your supply eating oatmeal seemed to boost mine up a bit. Congrats on continuing bfing!
  • MeanSophieCat
    MeanSophieCat Posts: 200 Member
    Agree with many of the PPs who said keep the cals.

    In general, I love this discussion and it is very motivational for me. I am exclusively breastfeeding a 4.5 month old. Some days I long to have a little more freedom but y'all are right...it is a very special time for me and my baby and it will be over before I know it.

    Anyone looking for a breastfeeding MFP friend, feel free to add me!
  • gibbsgirl
    gibbsgirl Posts: 72 Member
    Oh I have no problem eating all my calories! Lol. I definitely plan to eat all my exercise calories as well. And I actually have a heart rate monitor that I forgot about. Need to dig it up.
  • HeidiHoMom
    HeidiHoMom Posts: 1,393 Member
    You wont jeapordise your milk supply, you body will look after baby before you! The more she feeds the more you'll make.

    Really, interesting that my milk supply was almost nothing and then when I finally upped my calories it came back full force (at the suggestion of a lactation consultant). My baby wasn't growing at an appropriate rate until I upped my calories and he was able to get more.

    I am nursing a 9 month old who eats 3 meals a day too and I eat 300 additional nursing calories. I am eating about 2300 calories a day with the breatfeeding calories and I'm losing.
  • HeidiHoMom
    HeidiHoMom Posts: 1,393 Member
    I breastfed all 4 of my children for 1 1/2 years. I always found that if I tried lower my calories too much, I just wouldn't lose anymore while breastfeeding. My milk supply didn't really suffer but my body did. Keep the calories until baby is only nursing like once a day, then cut them back. My kids nursed around 3 times a day all the way up until I weaned them so I kept the extra calories.

    Great job on nursing so long! Don't see as many women nursing anymore. I am so glad that I did. My kids are never sick.

    This happened to me too. As soon as I upped my calories I started losing again.
  • JenniferNoll
    JenniferNoll Posts: 367 Member
    Congrats for having breastfed for 9 months, and kudos for continuing! I nursed my first for a year, and my youngest until her second birthday. I absolutely loved nursing my babies. They are healthy and beautiful children.

    Make sure you eat throughout the day, little bits like minimeals or snacks, and drink lots of fluids. Pamper yourself a bit with a bubblebath, and maybe drink some Mother's Milk Tea to encourage your milk supply. Oatmeal is a wonderful galactogogue, so eat lots of that. No sage. It can make your milk dry up if you eat too much of it.

    You're doing great!

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