Am I eating enough calories?

mommacxjx

Background:

I have a six month old that I am exclusively breastfeeding. I am on day 11 of Insanity. Looking to lose 1.5 to 2 lbs per week. I am 5'7 and 160 pounds, I have lost 18 pounds since starting MFP at the end of June. Currently MFP has my goal at 1200 and then I add in 300 calories for breastfeeding and log my Insanity exercise and eat those calories too. A usual Insanity session for me according to MFP burns between 275 and 300 calories. So at most I'm eating 1800 calories a day. My weight loss has stalled though since starting Insanity and I'm wondering if I'm eating too few calories.

ETA: freedieting.com says I need to be eating 2500. Surely that is way too many?

PercivalHackworth

Hi mommacxjx,
1800 calories could be around your maintenance, explaining why the weight has stalled. You could give a shot on 1500 calories, make sure to have a strong diet which would support both the trainings and the breastfeeding - especially omega 3 intakes (EPA and DHA) fatty fishes provide.

What are your macros right now ?

erickirb

With so little to lose your goal should be 0.5 to 1lb per week at the most. So you should eat more 250-500 more/day

ebony__

Hi mommacxjx,
1800 calories could be around your maintenance, explaining why the weight has stalled. You could give a shot on 1500 calories, make sure to have a strong diet which would support both the trainings and the breastfeeding - especially omega 3 intakes (EPA and DHA) fatty fishes provide.

What are your macros right now ?

I wouldn't drop that low while breast feeding. Anni agree with setting targets a little lower but everyone's different

PercivalHackworth

Yes I may be wrong, I based such intakes on the activity level. Would be interesting to have feedbacks from active mothers

ebony__

Just my experience, I breast fed for 13 months and needed to eat a lot more than I usually would .

mommacxjx

I have no idea what a macro even is I've seen it written about here a lot but I'm not sure what it is. I also need to change my goal, the closer I get the more I'm realizing I'd really like to be at 145 instead of 150, so I have about 15 pounds to lose instead of 10. Some doctors say that exclusive breastfeeding burns an extra 500 calories a day, another told me 800. I do know that for every ounce of milk you produce you burn 20 calories, but since I don't pump, I can't be for sure exactly how much I am producing over the course of a day. Between the Insanity and breastfeeding I don't want to go to low, but I'd also like to begin losing weight again.

PercivalHackworth

Just my experience, I breast fed for 13 months and needed to eat a lot more than I usually would .

Thanks for that feeback ebony__
Were you more tired through the breastfeeding along your trainings ?

PercivalHackworth

I have no idea what a macro even is I've seen it written about here a lot but I'm not sure what it is. I also need to change my goal, the closer I get the more I'm realizing I'd really like to be at 145 instead of 150, so I have about 15 pounds to lose instead of 10. Some doctors say that exclusive breastfeeding burns an extra 500 calories a day, another told me 800. I do know that for every ounce of milk you produce you burn 20 calories, but since I don't pump, I can't be for sure exactly how much I am producing over the course of a day. Between the Insanity and breastfeeding I don't want to go to low, but I'd also like to begin losing weight again.

Take your time, you should be able to drop those in two around or so.
Even if the scale is not the best indicator, target a lose of 1,5 lbs every two weeks to make sure deficiency doesn't interfere with feeding.
No matter what we say, a deficit in its nature prevents the body of several things (vitamins, minerals, and so on). There are chances the quality of milk would be altered by a deficit.
Don't worry then too much for the macros, but make sure at least to have enough fat intakes (from fishes and oils such as colza, flaxseed) along a "complete" diet of course

Poods71

You are doing a lot of exercise and breastfeeding I would say upping your calories is the way to go. I upped my cals and eat back my exercise cals and when from the scale not moving to losing around 1lb a week.

RickyKruize

Well done for breastfeeding and working out, the main concern for breastfeeding mothers that are trying to lose weight is that dropping your calories too low will affect your energy levels, but if you are feeling ok energywise with the amount you are eating then perhaps it is just a plateau, or perhaps you are building some muscle, or baby is having a bit of a growth spurt so your body is holding onto fluid/fat while your milk supply adjusts. I would give it a few weeks, and remember that as baby grows you will produce more milk and therefore burn/need more calories.

PapaDunx

Go speak to a doctor! Simple

mommacxjx

Go speak to a doctor! Simple

You can see from my post above that I've been to two who are not in agreement.

evanesco

Nope, you need 2050 just to fuel your body and feed your baby and work out 3 days a week. You should aim for 2110 which is your TDEE (+ 500 for BF - 20%) try increasing to this, give it 4-6 weeks for your body to adjust. Focus on inches/fat loss rather than the numbers on the scales.

ebony__

Go speak to a doctor! Simple

You can see from my post above that I've been to two who are not in agreement.

If it were me I'd take in what they both had to say, and listen to how your body feels. If something doesn't feel right change it until your find what works for you

Sorry about how vague that sounded

myofibril

My weight loss has stalled though since starting Insanity

It's quite common for weight loss to stall or even go up when you start a new exercise programme for a number of reasons but mostly due to water retention for muscle repair etc. If you are maintaining a calorie deficit then fat loss will not have stopped however which is the key thing.

Give it a couple of weeks. if your weight still does not go down then take a close look at your diet and how accurately you are tracking your intake. The most common cause of plateaus is simply underestimating the number of calories you are taking in through food intake and over estimating the amount of calories burned through exercise.

Patience is your friend.

mommacxjx

Thank you for your responses everyone. Since starting Insanity I have felt less energy, hungry more often, so I think especially because of the nursing, I need to listen to my body. I'm going to set my base at 1300, add 400 for breastfeeding and eat my exercise calories too for a month and see where that gets me. I am still tracking measurements so I need to not get so caught up in the scale.

sahara836

I'd up your calories a bit, I think, though not too high. I'd also focus on getting as many of those calories as possible from protein and healthy fats instead of carbs. I'm not advocating a low-carb diet, necessariy, but the protein and fat are what your body needs most for BFing, I think.

melissarose921

Hey, I am breastfeeding (exc. pumping) and have been doing insanity. I kinda of took it day by day. At first I did what MFP recommended (1200) and added 200 for BFing and 300 for insanity. I was starving. So then I adjusted with 100 extra calories, then 150 (350 total for BFing). If I eat good foods, no junk, then I have energy. If I eat junk, then I do get more tired throughout the day. If I don't exercise, then I am usually okay with just adding 250 for BFing and eating good, nutrient rich food. I do EP, so I produce about 26-27 oz/day. My LO eats 20-26/day.

mommacxjx

Awesome Melissa that really helps!