Breast feeding and dieting

momie0205

I am new to breast feeding and I want to lose weight now that my baby is here. I was wondering if there was anyone else that was going through this. I find myself always hungry and thirsty. I

birgithooker

I was in the same boat. I read somewhere that you shouldn't go below 1800 calories if you don't want to lose your milk. So I manually set my calories to 1800 and then I added as an exercise breastfeeding. I also read that you burn between 500-600 calories a day breastfeeding provided that you breastfeed exclusively. So I added my exercize- breastfeeding and then figured out that I was feeding every three hours so about 8 times a day-my son was still getting up in the night to feed, so I put in that I breastfed about 160 minutes out of every day. He only fed about 15 minutes at a time. So then when I would feed him, I would just choose the exercize and adjust the time for how long he actually fed. Amazingly, I still lost some pounds. Now is another story. I have since gained it all back and even though I exercise and watch my calories, I am not losing weight. I am more fit, just not skinny.

motherwombat

Oooooo! I hadn't thought of adding breastfeeding as an exercise! That's awesome. If you're thirsty, keep a 20oz bottle of water with you and make it a daily goal to finish it off. It's the only way I get it done. You NEED to make sure you are getting enough water to make your milk. And drink more when you exercise. No less that 1800 cal is what I have read too.
And when you're out shopping wear your baby! Carrying around the extra 12+lbs really helps!

itsmenatalie

I'm not BF'ing now, but have twice in the past. You do need about 500 - 600 additional calories per day and you MUST drink a TON of water. Oatmeal is really good for your milk supply and very good for you. Good Luck!

MercuryBlue

I'm currently BFing, and I haven't manually adjusted my calories at all. What I've done is set breastfeeding as an exercise, as PP mentioned. Since you're exclusively BFing, I'd set 500 calories. It doesn't really matter how much time you enter, so long as you're consistent in adding the specific 'exercise' each day. For example, my breastfeeding 'exercise' is set at 100 calories per hour. I give myself 200 calories per day for bf-ing, so I set that at two hours. EVERY DAY, I add that bf-ing exercise to my exercise log. Since we're supposed to eat our exercise calories, when you enter in your food, MFP will tell you to eat those calories (no different than if you were doing any other form of exercise).

So if MFP is telling you to eat 1240 calorie per day (for example) and you've logged in 500 calories of breastfeeding exercise, MFP will tell you to eat 1740 that day. While some people say you should never duck below 1800 calories per day, that's really just a guideline. Pay attention to your body. If you notice your milk supply is being affected, add an extra 100 calories or so to and see if that makes a difference. Don't forget to stay super-hydrated! That's really the most critical factor.

I've lost between 1-2 pounds every week since joining MFP using this method, and my milk supply hasn't been affected at all.

Lizabeansicle

I enter breastfeeding as 300 calories. I dont want to overcompensate. My daughter is 10 months, but still almost exclusively breastfed. I never lost any weight while nursing me other kids, so I'm suprised this is working!

lisawest

I didn't know about this site while I was BFing, but I can tell you that you need to drink a LOT of water. That 20oz bottle that was mentioned earlier, I would carry one of those with me, but I had a goal of emptying one per HOUR.:noway: I know, lots of water. I had issues with keeping a decent supply with my first, so I was extra careful with my second. If you have supply issues and live near your hospital, I would recommend visiting with a lactation consultant. With my first I thought my problems were calorie related, only to find that I had other issues that were playing a bigger part.:ohwell: My second one went MUCH more smoothly because I upped my water, took a suppliment (fenugreek), and got a better pump.

Good luck! Congrats on you new baby!

birgithooker

Originally, I just did what MercuryBlue said, just put in the 500 calories, but as my son started eating solid foods, I then adjusted to actually log the time I breastfed because I wasn't losing weight and I was never sure if I was actually burning as many calories as I thought. And when I went back to work, I had to supplement with formula after a couple of months so he wasn't just getting breastmilk. The important thing is to make sure you drink lots of water like oeople said and make healthy choices when you eat. I think it was easier losing the weight when I was breastfeeding because I was always conscious that I was eating for two. Its a lot easier for me to make conscientious choices about food when I have that weighing on my mind.

Fancy_Nancy2

I am BF right now to and have lost 31 pd since having my little and I eat about 1700 to 1800 calories. I also work out every day to on top of that. Working out is like a drug to me if I don't get my workout in I am no good for anyone. I drink a ton of water and also the Mother Milk Tea to not sure if it helps but in MN something hot is a must right now.

momie0205

Thanks for all the help. I am so new to it all that all the suggestions really helped. I started working out on sunday and I am trying to be really conscious of what I eat. I am trying to not eat too little and not eat too much and eat the right things. He seems really happy with my milk so far.