Breastfeeding moms

smte

How many calories are you consuming now? What did you put your settings at to help determine your daily caloories? I've never logged my food/calories while nursing, I'd like to lose some weight, but not at the expense of my baby...need to make sure he's getting the nutrients he needs!

TLCEsq

I'm not breastfeeding yet (due 2/19) but a lot of moms on here are and there are a lot in the Post Partum Pack group as well :-) I've read to not go under 1800 calories no matter what but this is definitely an individual issue!

Erinthebodo

My lactation consultant said that I should count on between 300-500 calories (depending on supply) for nursing. So when I was breastfeeding I would add 500 to my 1200 diet.

BBeccaJean

I read somewhere that each ounce of milk you produce is approximately 20 calories expended. So 20 oz is about 400 calories. I was lucky if I could get 10 oz a day with my son, so I'm no expert!

kellykneppergrundy

If you are exclusively breastfeeding, you will need about 500 extra calories. So set your calories to lose 1/2 pound or a pound or whatever you want a week and then add 500 calories to that. If you find you aren't losing, reduce it a bit more. Some women find breastfeeding melts the baby weight off, but I was one of the unlucky ones who had a hard time losing any weight until I stopped breastfeeding, and then it came off really quickly. But it was worth carrying around those extra pounds for a year to be able to breastfeed.

vim_n_vigor

I never tracked calories when I breastfed my first two, but I can tell you that if I tried to cut back on calories, I quickly lost my milk supply. I would start with just eating as you are and maybe try cutting back by 100 calories a week to see what is a good point to keep milk production. That is my plan with this one anyway!