Eating exercise/breastfeeding calories after TDEE -20%

MaineMama24
MaineMama24 Posts: 15
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm confused. I found my BMR via Fat2Fit and got:

33 year old female, 67 inches tall, weighing 162 pounds, BMI of 25.4 (Overweight).

From the information that you entered, you'd like to weigh 162 lbs.

Harris-Benedict Formula
Based on this formula, your current BMR is 1520 calories.

Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2356



I chose moderately active. I exercise 5-6 days a week doing Jillian Michaels and burn approx 300-400 calories each session. I use a HRM so I'm sure of that.


So, I took the 2356 and subtracted 20% (I have about 30lbs to lose) and got: 1885 calories


Now, here are my questions.....

1) Do I enter 1885 into MFP and also continue to enter my calories burned exercising (300-400) and plan to eat those calories too?

2) What about breastfeeding? I've been adding that as calories burned exercising (approx 200 calories) as well and it makes my calorie goal for the day every higher.


If I ate my TDEE -20% PLUS calories burned exercising and breastfeeding, I would have to eat 2384-2484 calories a day, which believe it or not is hard for me to do these days!


I have a feeling that once I chose my TDEE from moderately active, it already took into consideration that I exercise moderately. Correct?

If that's the case, do I then just add the 200 calories for breastfeeding to my TDEE -20% which comes out to: 2084 calories/day

HELP!

Replies

  • rosy003
    rosy003 Posts: 251 Member
    I would like to know the answer to this too!
  • MaineMama24
    MaineMama24 Posts: 15
    Anyone know?
  • Tw1zzler
    Tw1zzler Posts: 583
    My doc told me I would burn about 400 extra calories breast feeding. I can tell you that I literally ate a box of chocolates per day and still lost weight. I had gestational diabetes and could not eat sweets while pregnant!!!! Track what you eat and see if you start getting closer to your goal, if not, then drop your intake or up your burn.
  • Jonesie1984
    Jonesie1984 Posts: 612 Member
    You put the 1885 calories into MFP and don't eat exercise calories back.. as far as breast feeding is concerned you would have to check with your physician but I'm pretty sure the average breastfeeding woman needs to be eating over 2K calories a day but again, I'm not physician.

    I also eat by TDEE as well. I put my calorie burns in MFP as 1 calorie for the sake of tracking the exercise done not the burns as they are predetermined in my eating calories.

    Edit: 2084 cals/daily for a breastfeeding/exercising mom sounds pretty good to me. I'm not too far off on weight that you (159) at 5'7 and I eat between 1800-2K calories daily :smile:
  • joybedford
    joybedford Posts: 1,680 Member
    I eat at TDEE of 1900 I enter my exercise as 1 calorie so don't eat back exercise calories. I eat 1900 whether I exercise or not. As regarding breast feeding I am a midwife and we recommend women just eat healthily you only need about 200 more calories a day. I never lost a single ounce while breast feeding my twins but my diet was rubbish, my friend on the other hand was the thinnest she has ever been while feeding her daughter and ate what she liked. It all depends how often you are feeding and what your diet is like.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    I have a feeling that once I chose my TDEE from moderately active, it already took into consideration that I exercise moderately. Correct?

    If that's the case, do I then just add the 200 calories for breastfeeding to my TDEE -20% which comes out to: 2084 calories/day

    HELP!
    this is correct :) the TDEE -20% figure includes your exercise, so you would only need to add in the BFing calories.
  • amandacepstein
    amandacepstein Posts: 93 Member
    When I was breastfeeding, the La Leche people told me 500 cals per day. An ounce of breastmilk is about 20 calories but you need to add a bunch to that to account for your body making (I'd use 25). If you'd guess your child's intake is about 20 ounces, the 500 number would make sense, alter according to intake.
  • CactusF1ower
    CactusF1ower Posts: 174 Member
    Bump... been trying to figure out whether to add 500 for BF
  • Kengela
    Kengela Posts: 1 Member
    Hi everyone,
    Recently joined. Am breastfeeding an 8 mo. old baby. Here is a great post about calories needed for BF:

    http://kellymom.com/nutrition/mothers-diet/mom-calories-fluids/

    I know you need more in the first months after baby is born (500 extra cals./day) and less once the baby starts eating baby food and cereal.

    Underweight moms need fewer calories because some of the additional calories (the article says) can come from mom's fat stores. I'm going to be cutting calories back gradually to see how it impacts milk supply.
  • bfbooty
    bfbooty Posts: 189 Member
    I have always gone by what MFP has given me as lightly active then added my exercise cals and then added my BF cals on top once baby is on solids you don't need the 500 cals anymore i used to add 250-300 depending on how often my lo fed, she now only feeds on average 3 times a day so I only add 100-150 cals for that, i have never had any problem with my milk supply but i never let myself go hungry either i eat what my body needs i also would very rarely eat all my exercise cals on average i eat about half of them - this is what has worked for me i am down over 72lb in approx 14 months
  • AlexBoBalex79
    AlexBoBalex79 Posts: 99 Member
    Hmm 500 calories for breastfeeding? I might get my 21 month old to start up again. JUST KIDDING!!!

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