Breastfeeding and starving!!!!

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  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
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    Make time to track your food and make sure you are eating enough. If not, fill it in with healthy lean meats, fish, veggies, and fruit. Try to not buy junk food or keep it in the house so you don't get tempted.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
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    Protein is supposed to help curb cravings for sweetness.

    You can have fruit and juice; those are sweet.

    Try to establish meals and get out of the habit of eating between meals. It's a bad-bad habit; I should know - it's what I struggle with the most. You can have as many small meals as you want, the discipline is in sticking to the plan.
  • tkiefe01
    tkiefe01 Posts: 72 Member
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    I too am breastfeeding! I lost all my baby weight and my son is now 5 months. I am now working aon losing some extra lbs! I eat when hungry but its important to eat fruits and veggies. I read up on all the healthy foods that increase milk supply like oatmeal and carrots! I eat all that stuff and it helps me keep on track too! If I dont eat enough my milk suffers, so eat up but eat healthy! I tracked all my calories so I was not overeating! I take in an extra 300 cals a day since I am breastfeeding.
  • GCLyds
    GCLyds Posts: 206 Member
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    If you do not eat enough, your body will hold onto to the fat to keep it for the baby in case of famine. Thousands of years have made women that way, to ensure their young survive hard times. You need the right balance of calories in vs. calories out. Make good choices, and add an extra 500 cal to your BMR for nursing. Nutrient dense foods, with healthy fats, like avocado, walnuts, flax, olive oil, and yes butter! I ate like a teenage boy, and when she was about 8 months old, the weight just started falling off. It takes time to lose the weight, you took 9 months to gain it, expect 9 months for it to come off.
  • lady_jessi
    lady_jessi Posts: 77 Member
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    Lactation cookies. lol
  • DesireeLovesOrganic
    DesireeLovesOrganic Posts: 456 Member
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    I lost a lot while nursing my daughter (now almost 7 years old but I lost 118 pounds in one year after I had her) but I accounted 500 calories for exclusively breastfeeding (I started when she was only 4 weeks old so I didn't want my milk supply affected.) Granted, if you are craving sugary things, I would not give in to that because that has no nutritional value to you or your milk supply, ykwim? I would eat fruit if you are craving something sweet so you at least get the fiber and antioxidants that go a long with it.

    I did 1200 cal + 500 for nursing so 1700. Granted that might have been too low because I dropped fast, too fast. My skin is a wreck STILL, almost 7 years later. :\
  • laylasmommy67
    laylasmommy67 Posts: 38 Member
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    I have a 5 week old :)

    and I eat protein....lots of protein....and protein bars (they are sweet)
    but I wouldnt worry about your calories just yet. wait until you have established a good milk supply (around 4 weeks) to worry about calories. Water and Chewing gum are your friends...

    but seriously...I have a whole cabinet full of protein bars (I have to hide them, hehehe) it also helps to cut them into little pieces and put them in a zip-loc to carry around with you, healthier than candy :)

    I am 10 lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight. 15 lbs til I am the same weight I was in the 7th grade :/
  • kmvbear
    kmvbear Posts: 16
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    I bf my lo also. Great job! Congratulations on making it this far! Saturday, we will be bf'ing for 1 year :)

    Fresh ground peanut butter and honey crisp apples were my absolute savior the first few months! As you know, bf'ing will help you lose some of the baby weight naturally. Just keep yourself hydrated and nourished. Right now you should be focused on healing your body, nourishing yourself so your lo can thrive, and taking it easy. Enjoy this special time with your baby!
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
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    Wait until after your milk supply is fully estblished before thinking about cutting calories - at least until after that 6 week growth spurt. With my first, I at around 1900 calories, and didn't lose any weight. With my second, I started out around 1800 calories, until I found this site, and realised that I needed to eat a lot more. I've lost 44lbs since feb by eating at least 2100 calories a day.
  • marywell
    marywell Posts: 26
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    I lost a lot while nursing my daughter (now almost 7 years old but I lost 118 pounds in one year after I had her) but I accounted 500 calories for exclusively breastfeeding (I started when she was only 4 weeks old so I didn't want my milk supply affected.) Granted, if you are craving sugary things, I would not give in to that because that has no nutritional value to you or your milk supply, ykwim? I would eat fruit if you are craving something sweet so you at least get the fiber and antioxidants that go a long with it.

    I did 1200 cal + 500 for nursing so 1700. Granted that might have been too low because I dropped fast, too fast. My skin is a wreck STILL, almost 7 years later. :\
    did eating that low of calories effect your supply at all? Did you exercise too, and if I do exercise, do I eat more calories since I am breastfeeding?
  • imajuett
    imajuett Posts: 13 Member
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    I am breastfeeding my 10 month old. I added 400 calories to what MFP suggested for calories to account for what my body needs for milk production. I'm still in the beginning stages (just started this week), so I'm not a lot of help, but I still wanted to let you know what I was doing and to encourage you. Way to go for wanting to take care of yourself while providing wonderful nurishment to your baby. For now don't worry about calorie counting and cutting, but go ahead and track them if you have a chance so you have a starting point to start cutting when the time comes. Choose healthy snacks with plenty of protein and drink at least one glass of water each time you feed your baby. After that big six week growth spurt, start thinking about cutting calories. Enjoy your baby snuggles and add me if you'd like a fellow breastfeeding mama to encourage you and support you.
  • macx2mommy
    macx2mommy Posts: 170 Member
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    Eat!!!!! It's two weeks in, in general it takes about 6-8 weeks to establish a good milk supply. You are tired, you have hormones going through, and are breastfeeding. If you are hungry, then eat. Once you get your routine and milk supply, then start to focus on your diet.

    One thing you could od, if you think it's doable is try to make healthier choices when you do it. Eat lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, dairy, etc. Try to stay away from the junk food. Just eat though!
  • marywell
    marywell Posts: 26
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    Well I started calorie counting today just to see where I am at and holy cow!!!! I did not know a costco blueberry muffin had 660 calories and 32 grams of fat!!!! Well no more of those for me. I knew they weren't the healthiest choice, but holy crap, that's insane. That is good to know though. I will be counting my calories from now on as best I can but I am not going to beet myself up if I go over since I am still establishing my supply.

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