Nursing Mom

jsreay75

So my calorie intake is 1406 per day. My qusetion is, "Is that to little for a mom that is exclusivly nursing her baby?" I fill so hungry after she eats and I know I am burning extra calories because she is nursing. But I dont want my supply to reduce due to my taking in less calories. I am dropping pounds quickly plus I have increased my exercise. Any feed back would be helpful! :flowerforyou:

neenaleigh

i would talk to my doctor about that....1400 seems a little low...

Lisa1971

Hey there! I'm also a nursing mom except I'm limiting myself to 1200 calories and I'm also starving! I'm curious to see what the others say. How old is your baby? My son is 5 months.

Welcome to MFP by the way!!!

Junisahn

I read that nursing moms are supposed to get no less than 1800 calories a day. I think that's an estimate based on say 1300 for your brm, and then another 500 for the milk supply. I'm sure smaller people can get away with a little less and bigger people need more.

The age of the baby and whether or not s/he is eating any other food makes a difference too.

I set my goals to lose 1 lb a week. I'm very short and pretty small, so I get 1200 calories a day, and MFP will only let me lose .5 lbs a week. Then, I add in my breastfeeding as "exercise." I set mine to 400 calories because my daughter is 6.5 months and is eating some solids, but still nurses around the clock and gets the majority of her calories from breastmilk (breastmilk is about 22 calories per ounce, and I estimate my baby eats about 20 ounces a day). Then, I always try to exercise enough to get my allotted calories above 1800, just to make absolutely sure that my supply doesn't diminish.

I've been doing this for 3 weeks now, and my supply is still fine. I seem to have a day or 2 every 10 days where I just need to eat everything in sight, and I do this - calorie counting be damned - because my body seems to be begging for it, and I think it's because I'm breastfeeding.

You also have to be sure to respond to hunger cues, because your baby could go through a growth spurt and be eating more for a few days. I figure as long as I eat healthy foods, if I have to go over in calories here or there, it's probably because the balance of calories for nursing and dieting is not exact.

Oh - I drink about 12 8 ounce glasses of water a day, too.

Lisa1971

I just found this article and it seems like I need to up my calories!




How many calories should I eat while nursing, in order to lose weight?

This is a very common question here, so I thought that I would place a sticky here to answer the question.


Calorie counting is something that is personal to each individual. The more you weigh, and the more active you are, the more calories you can eat per day and still lose weight. For instance, a woman who is 250 pounds and exercising can eat more than a woman who is 140 pounds and sedentary.

When you are nursing, however, you are not the only concern. You are a primary food source for your infant, and your body will need about 300-500 calories a day JUST FOR MILK PRODUCTION. This would be the same as going out and running a few miles every day! If you dip TOO low in calories while you nurse, your milk supply can be affected, and you can start becoming malnourished as well!

La Leche League and other breastfeeding groups, books, and other references recommend that you do not go under 1800 calories a day while nursing an infant. However, not every nursing mother needs to eat only 1800 calories per day-many can eat more than this, and lose.

A nursing woman eating 1800 calories per day is the equivalent of a NON-nursing woman eating about 1300 per day. 1800 calories a day for a nursing mother is the LOW end, and most nursing women do not need to start out this low.

I recommend using trial and error to find the correct calorie level for you. If you have under 30 pounds to lose, try 1800 calories for a week, and weigh in. If you lose 1-2 pounds, then this is the correct level for you. If you lose MORE than this, try upping it to 1900 per day and weighing in the next week. You are aiming for a weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week.

If you have 30-50 pounds to lose, you might want to try starting with a 2000 calorie range, and adjusting it up or down from there-using the same formula. A woman with over 50 pounds to lose can probably start even higher. Remember, 2000 calories might sound like a lot, but 300-500 of that per day goes directly to your baby.

It usually takes a couple of weeks to tweak the calorie range so that it fits your individual needs.
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lesleylykins

This is a great message board. Thank you everyone for the great insights. I was just adding 400 calories to what MFP was advising for losing one pound a week. But I have been so bad about drinking water and I think that is definitely affecting my milk supply. I have a one month old and am always thirsty now.

Junisahn

For the person with the 1 month old. I've read that you should not start altering your calorie intake for at least 6 weeks, to make sure you establish your milk supply. This is really important. I know so many people who didn't establish a good supply right away, and it can really affect your supply in the long run.

So maybe hold off another few weeks, make sure your supply balances out okay, and then start to cut calories and see how that works for you.

Chickiebabe151

Good point!

For the person with the 1 month old. I've read that you should not start altering your calorie intake for at least 6 weeks, to make sure you establish your milk supply. This is really important. I know so many people who didn't establish a good supply right away, and it can really affect your supply in the long run.

So maybe hold off another few weeks, make sure your supply balances out okay, and then start to cut calories and see how that works for you.

jsreay75

Thank you all for the feed back. My daughter is 11wks old and my supply is plenty good, thank goodness, bcuz I also pump. So my supply is almost that of a mama feeding twins. There are days that I can be just fine with the calories and then days, just like the other mama posted, I want to eat everything insight so I do and its mostly healthy, apples, strawberries, cheese, lots of spinach salad w/ turkey breast. So i guess i will just follow my cues and eat when i am hungry and drink more water. I also read on the DONA website that the calories should be about 1800 and then spoke with my midwife and she confirmed 1800 cals as well. As for the mama with the 1mo old. Is this baby your first? Bcuz if so then yes you should up your calories but if you have other children and have BF then you can start at the 1800 and work from there, without to much orry of your supply! Again thank you all so very much!! Love this site

lesleylykins

Thank you! I wouldn't say I've altered my calorie intake, but am definitely cognizant of how many calories I'm taking in daily. I'm not limiting myself. I think my biggest problem is water - I'm not drinking enough of it. Also, it feel like I have an over abundance of milk at night and not nearly as much during the day. Any tips on why that could be. Perhaps, my son isn't drinking as much at night and I just don't realize it because I'm so tired. Anyway - any pointers on how to make sure you are drinking more water?

Chickiebabe151

I have a 13 month year old and I have now lost 35 lbsof my baby weight. I have another 10 to go. I had a really difficult time losing this weight, but what worked for me was cutting out sugar completely. I was staying under 1200 calories but not losing. It wasnt how many calories I was eating, but what kind. Everyone has a different body, but once I started controlling my glycemic index, I started losing 3 lbs a week. Now, when I say cutting sugar, I mean ALL sugar. Reading the ingrediants in every product, like light yogurt.. That stuff has as much sugar as a can of coke. I now use plain nonfat yogurt and sweeten it with stevia and vanilla extract. Calories of course still matter, but I'm just saying if you're staying within a reasonable calorie range and not losing, try cutting out sugar. Im sure if you picked up any book on how to control your glycemic index you will find the information you need.