Nursing, exercising, and calories.

payne9107

Hello fellow Mamas,

I need some advice on how many calories I should be consuming daily. I am 4 months post partum. I was 208 when I gave birth and now am 168. I was 150 when I got pregnant. I breastfeed only and am exercising 4-5 times a week for 45 minutes each day. I wasn't consuming enough calories and they scale wasn't moving. So crazy to think I need to consume so many calories to lose weight. Any advice on exactly how many calories I need to consume to lose weight would be great. Thank you and GOOD LUCK TO ALL.

smb0701

hi,
i have been looking into that myself. i too am 4mths post pregnancy and from what i have found we breastfeeding moms should consume around 1600-2000 cals. a day. that's because we burn anywhere from 300-500 cals. a day just producing milk. you have to be careful because if you're not consuming enough cals. you could jeopardize your milk production. hope this helps:happy:

daoc1972

Take a look at this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm

It has a link to a spreadsheet that will give you a really good estimate since it also considers your activity, specifically. There's also an option in one of the sheets to include BF.

But if it makes your head spin, you can always bump yourself up to the next activity level (e.g., from "lightly active" to "active") to account for the BF. Then log your workouts & for goodness sake, eat back those calories!

Jillsie11

I just posted this under another topic, but I think it applies here as well:

I'm almost 3 months PP, and haven't been able to lose my last 10 lbs (I gained 30 total during my pregnancy). HOWEVER, after doing a ton of research, I realized that I may not be eating enough. Because I'm exclusively breastfeeding and workout at least 3 times a week, yet I'd still seen like NO change in months. So, last week I changed my settings to only lose 1/2 lb per week which obviously increased my calories. I get about 1500 a day, and then eat back my breastfeeding calories, so a total of 2000. I literally have felt like I'm stuffing my face, and have lost 2 lbs since last Wednesday!! SO, all that to say- maybe increasing our calories is the way to go?? Sometimes our bodies can go into starvation mode, and with feeding another human- we need all the calories we can get. Hope this helps!

Mewlingstork

I think this question really depends on each individual. For myself, almost 4 months post partum, I need to vary my calories so my body doesn't get used to the amount. I usually eat between 1500 and 2500; I also have days where I feel super hungry and days when I'm not hungry at all. I add a -500 to my diary every day. Sometimes(not lately though) that makes my net calories really low. I always make up for it the next day. Occasionally eating very little hasn't affected my supply nearly as much as trying the progestin only birth control pill. I'm hoping to see my supply go up now that I'm not taking that anymore.

If you feel like you've tried something for long enough (remembering sometimes it just takes time), try changing it up a bit and see what happens for you!

Pepper2185

Hey!

I figured I would reply because you and I have similar stats:

I delivered at 209lbs and am now at 166lbs. My son is 3 months old and I exclusively breastfeed. I manage to get about 4 60min workouts in per week.

I'm eating 2000 calories per day, plus my exercise calories. I feel like I'm eating a lot of food, but I was stuck at the same weight for most of December. More calories worked for me!

Try changing things up and reevaluate after a few weeks. Good luck

80lbslost

I gained 33lbs during pregnancy and I lost all my weight within the first 3 months. I eat 2000 calories and net 1500 since I am breastfeeding. I also eat back any exercise calories but my only exercise has been walking with my baby LOL. I should be eating more calories because I'm still losing weight and don't want to.