Breastfeeding and weight loss

cindianderson
cindianderson Posts: 3
in Introduce Yourself
Hello everyone!! I am a new member as of today!! I am 43 and had a little girl 7 months ago and am still breastfeeding her. I know that breastfeeding burns about an extra 500 calories a day and that breastfeeding moms need to take in extra calories to reflect this. There is no entry to reflect circumstances such as this. Anybody else dealing with this?

Replies

  • Kgaine
    Kgaine Posts: 3
    Hiya!

    I am a breastfeeding mummy too :) You can minus the calories you use up breastfeeding by searching for 'breastfeeding' as a food item. You will have a choice of different calorie amounts (200, 400 etc etc) and it will automatically be deducted for you. You just have to remember to do that every day so that you get the extra calories to play with!
    The other option is just to decide how many calories you want to dedicate to breastfeeding and add it onto your daily calorie goal in settings. I should be aiming for 1200 calories per day for my target weight loss, and I have just manually edited this to 1400 (I only allow myself 200 extra calories per day for BF). This way you don't have to remember to do it every day, but it does mean that MFP calculates your weekly weight loss target slightly wrong.
    Hope that makes sense?! Good luck xxx
  • fmtmt
    fmtmt Posts: 16
    I recently stopped breastfeeding. My daughter is close to 8 months now. I, personally, didn't included the extra calories needed for breast feeding mothers in my weight loss regime, nor counted the calories burned with breast feeding. I ate food that promoted milk supply like almonds, oats, and drank tons and tons of water. I also continued taking my vitamins. I ate my allotted calorie goal for weight loss and I had no problems with milk supply.
  • johannasmith
    johannasmith Posts: 12 Member
    I am still breastfeeding and my son and he is 11 months. I spoke with his doctor and a lactation consultant beforehand. I did not start losing weight until my son was eating on his own. I started out at 1600 calories and I am now eating anywhere from 1250 to 1450 calories. You have to make your calories count. I eat plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, healthy proteins etc. I take my vitamins and drink tons of water. My son weighs in at 22.5 lbs and his development is fine. I would suggest consulting with professionals before starting. I started on a low calorie budget because I was very obese. I hope this helps! Good luck!
  • cindianderson
    cindianderson Posts: 3
    Thanks ladies for the input on breastfeeding. I think I will just manually add about 200 extra calories to my daily needs since my daughter eats solid foods as well as breastfeeding. Somedays she nurses more than others, that will just be an added plus for me!!!
  • Tarek307
    Tarek307 Posts: 29
    I've had no issues so far....... lol...

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