Nursing Mom

ANewLucia

Hi all, I am wondering if I should add the 300 calories suggested when nursing. I have been eating all of my calories and exercise calories, for the most part. In the last two weeks, I lost 4lbs and gained back 3lbs and I am eating well. I am so frustrated because everyone always says that they loose weight nursing but not me! I have been working out since I got the OK from the dr. So, my last thought is that maybe I need to eat those 300 calories too, I am just scared that if I start eating them I might pack on even more weight.

dinosgirl

I actually found that while I was nursing (I nursed all three of my boys) I was way hungrier than when I was pregnant. I think maybe you should try and get in those extra calories - try adding an extra 100 in at a time. See what happens. If you find that you are gaining even more weight or are having to force yourself to take them in, then don't.

I lost a ton of weight after both my first and second child by working out and watching what I ate - but I definitely took in those extra calories (500 in my case). My body needed them. Experiment and you'll find what works for you. Good luck and if you have any questions, let me know.

jljohnson

Definitely add 300-500 calories for nursing. I'm nursing right now too. I am adding 500 calories, plus exercising, so I have roughly 800 extra calories to eat. With that much, it was so easy to eat under, but my loss was so slow. I had a bad weekend (ate out, made some treats for my husband and ended up eating most of them myself, skipped exercising, etc.), and wound up losing 2 pounds. Also, by eating too little, you can decrease your milk supply and not be able to nurse as long.

Congrats on the little one, and good luck!

ANewLucia

Wow, thanks ladies. I have had five babies total and I guess this has always been the issue. I would restrict my calories refusing to eat the extra ones because I wanted to loose weight and found it a no go until I stopped nursing. Wow, 500 calories seems like a lot, but I will try it. I have noticed there was a couple days where I went way over, I was sooo hungry and that is when I had a couple pounds drop off. I just didn't understand, but after reading your posts I see why. Thanks so much again...yippeee, excited I get to eat a bit more:-)

firegirlred

I added nursing to the food database with the average calories and protein/fat/carbs that are found in the "average" woman's milk. Look up "breastfeeding" and you should find it. It's in negative 100 calorie increments per serving, so add 3 servings if you want to add 300 calories to your diet, and so on. Also, check out my diary-you'll see how I've handled it. I basically removed my deficit on mfp and let nursing take me back into a deficit. Also-I pump off extra, so I add extra calories every day based on how much extra I pump off. You'll see...

ANewLucia

FireGirlRed...THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Thank all of you!

dusoleil123

Hi there, I had the same thing happen to me after I had both of my boys. It was like my body just held on to extra padding needed to give the energy it needed for nursing. After I stopped, that extra padding "fell off". You need to listen to your body. If you are hungry, eat, but eat wisely. A favorite of mine was (and still is) a tortilla heated in the mic with a little cheese (and whatever other yummy I can find...generally avocado) . It's hot, fast, and comes in a wrapper so you can do two things at once!

valerieschram

I count my nursing as exercise (400 calories burned). I eat these calorie and any additional calories I get from exercising, and I have been losing about a pound a week.

ANewLucia

Oh my, I went back and looked at my log and with the 500 calories for nursing taken into consideration, I have been eating about 1100 calories a day...no wonder I am not losing.

Ok, one more question. I have always been fit and to do that I have kind of kept away from carbs and eat more protein. So, needless to say, I always have lots of carbs left over everyday. Should I try to carb calories because of nursing?

firegirlred

I tried increasing my protein to help with milk production and noticed a decrease in supply. I guess it didn't work. So I took my carbs back up. This was just my experience.

ANewLucia

Ok, since I don't have any issues with my supply then guess I'm ok with the higher protein and less carbs. Whew, I am excited trying to think of what to eat to take up the extra 500 cal...no junk of course:-)