Breast feeding moms of MFP??
Sarah1023
Posts: 194 Member
Hi, everyone, I'm a BF mommy of an 8 1/2 month old. Finding it hard to lose these last measly 8 lbs of baby weight (however, I cheat quite often). Yikes. Anyways, I know the MFP does not estimate calorie needs for breastfeeding. It says I need 1200, but I bumped that up to 1500 for breastfeeding...just wondering what calorie levels other BF mommy's are sticking to. Im starved all the time, it seems. I normally exercise a lot, running, Turbo Fire, Insanity, however, I just had ACL surgery 6 weeks ago and I can only do PT and walking/stairmaster for the next 6-8 weeks, then advance to running, but no agility until 6 months! OMG. Puts a damper on things for sure...
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Forget about the calories. You must eat everytime you are hungry, just avoid fats, cook without oils ect and snack on plenty of fruits and vegies.0
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Yeah, I usually eat something small every 2-3 hours, but then on the wknds allow myself to "splurge" but for some reason, I will lose 2 pounds or so during the week then my splurges cause me to gain it all back over the weekend. Im like, really? Even while breastfeeding. I think my metabolism must run at a turtle's pace and I'm so tired of ppl telling me their weight just dropped off while breastfeeding. This is my 2nd child, bf the first for a year and it wasn't easy losing the weight with him either.0
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I'm breastfeeding, currently doing Insanity and my daughter will be 8 months the 21st. I keep my cal level at 1300 and then add another 300 for breastfeeding. I eat my exercise calories back occasionally.0
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Nursing a toddler here. I was hungry all the time until she was a year, then it stopped. Personally, I would INCREASE your fats. Fat and protein are more satiating - you feel fuller for MUCH longer. You'll take in less Cal's overall and not feel like you're starving. Deffo add an omega-3 tablet daily, you are still rebuilding and recovering from brewing a baby! Gnolls.org is a great source of info (yay science!) on healthy fats and eating for optimal health. Can't recommend it enough. X0
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I am nursing a 13 month old (he is my 8th child, all of them BF). I would say 1400-1600 calories, non-processed, non white, low fat, low sugar diet. I do not eat carbs after 2pm. I you check out my food diary make sure you go back a few days. I have the flu right now and am not eating well right now.0
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My twins are 8 months old. They still nurse every 2-3 hours. So, I do 500 calories for each. Under the food you can add breastfeeding and it will subtract that amount of calories. There is also one for nursing an older baby ( i.e. one who nurses less). Anyway, healthy consistant eating will do better than lows and crazy highs from binging and then eating little to try to make up from it. These guys are my 6th and 7th babies. I have nursed all of my children. I have lost all the weight from each pregnancy except 9 pounds ( from the pregnancy previous to the twins.) I am currently working on that and then would love to lose 10 more after that. Nursing does make you hungrier, but there is a reason for that. Your body needs fuel to produce the milk. Breastfeeding alone has never taken the weight off for me. I always have to add exercise and sensible eating to it. One of my worst habits is eating at night which always makes the scale jump up. So I am working on getting enough during the day so I don't fall into that temptation.
Good luck as you keep on this journey. 0 -
Thanks for your reply...I was doing Insanity until I blew out my knee and had ACL repair a couple months ago. It looks like your calorie level is about where mine is so now I don't feel too bad. I have been making enough milk to keep up with my baby without supplementation. I guess my concern is cutting too low and losing some supply. Thanks for your input.I'm breastfeeding, currently doing Insanity and my daughter will be 8 months the 21st. I keep my cal level at 1300 and then add another 300 for breastfeeding. I eat my exercise calories back occasionally.0 -
Thanks for your input! I will def check out that site and I do make sure to take a prenatal w/ DHA daily (well, I slacked for a couple weeks and felt terrible, so now I am making sure to take it daily LOL). I have increased protein in my diet and feel fuller for longer, I do know that. I don't get much fat at all...except from nuts. Everything else I eat is very low and I don't use any oils/butter, etc. Maybe I could do a bit of olive oil, but that is 120 cals per tablespoon...Anyways, thanks for your input and the site reference!!Nursing a toddler here. I was hungry all the time until she was a year, then it stopped. Personally, I would INCREASE your fats. Fat and protein are more satiating - you feel fuller for MUCH longer. You'll take in less Cal's overall and not feel like you're starving. Deffo add an omega-3 tablet daily, you are still rebuilding and recovering from brewing a baby! Gnolls.org is a great source of info (yay science!) on healthy fats and eating for optimal health. Can't recommend it enough. X0 -
Thanks for your reply! I added you as a friend for support. I am sticking to that calorie range most days and if I exercise, I eat those cals back usually. And water, water, water of course. So far, so good. I reduced my cheat days to 4 in a 30 day period and that has helped. I think I have just been cheating way too much and not logging cals and prolly eating like 3000+ those days lol.I am nursing a 13 month old (he is my 8th child, all of them BF). I would say 1400-1600 calories, non-processed, non white, low fat, low sugar diet. I do not eat carbs after 2pm. I you check out my food diary make sure you go back a few days. I have the flu right now and am not eating well right now.0 -
Thank you very much. Your info is very motivational and I agree with the sensible eating/exercise thing. I am slowly adding back activity. I am about 7 weeks post op from ACL repair which put a damper on my preg weight loss, but my knee is getting stronger and stronger and my therapist is allowing me to do a bit more activity. So that should help. So under my food diary, I can add breastfeeding?? Im going to look and see what I can figure out there. Thanks for your input. I'm going to add you as a friend!!My twins are 8 months old. They still nurse every 2-3 hours. So, I do 500 calories for each. Under the food you can add breastfeeding and it will subtract that amount of calories. There is also one for nursing an older baby ( i.e. one who nurses less). Anyway, healthy consistant eating will do better than lows and crazy highs from binging and then eating little to try to make up from it. These guys are my 6th and 7th babies. I have nursed all of my children. I have lost all the weight from each pregnancy except 9 pounds ( from the pregnancy previous to the twins.) I am currently working on that and then would love to lose 10 more after that. Nursing does make you hungrier, but there is a reason for that. Your body needs fuel to produce the milk. Breastfeeding alone has never taken the weight off for me. I always have to add exercise and sensible eating to it. One of my worst habits is eating at night which always makes the scale jump up. So I am working on getting enough during the day so I don't fall into that temptation. Good luck as you keep on this journey.0 -
I am still nursing my 17 month old and I add 500 calories to my food log even though he's an older guy he still nurses a whole heck of a lot and still a lot at night as well. I think it's important to eat when you are hungry because your milk supply could be compromised if you're not properly eating or if you feel hungry and are not satisfying that need.
If you feel hungry try munching on raw carrots or something healthy to see if it fills that hunger! I would just look for some healthy snack alternatives and keep away from the junky cheat foods (HARD I KNOW!) allow yourself some breaks every now and again so you don't get burnt out! Feel free to add me if you would like & congrats for making it this far nursing your LO! It's the best gift you can provide her!
I lost about 25lbs from the time my LO was 5 months until now... I have about 6lbs to go before I'm at my 'goal' but I've found altering the kinds of foods I'm eating and cutting back on condiments have been my biggest help. I am not doing anything too strenuous for exercise either (I do Jillian Michales 30 day shred and ripped in 30!) hoping to start some hot yoga soon as well!
Good Luck!0 -
I am still nursing my 17 month old and I add 500 calories to my food log even though he's an older guy he still nurses a whole heck of a lot and still a lot at night as well. I think it's important to eat when you are hungry because your milk supply could be compromised if you're not properly eating or if you feel hungry and are not satisfying that need.
If you feel hungry try munching on raw carrots or something healthy to see if it fills that hunger! I would just look for some healthy snack alternatives and keep away from the junky cheat foods (HARD I KNOW!) allow yourself some breaks every now and again so you don't get burnt out! Feel free to add me if you would like & congrats for making it this far nursing your LO! It's the best gift you can provide her!
I lost about 25lbs from the time my LO was 5 months until now... I have about 6lbs to go before I'm at my 'goal' but I've found altering the kinds of foods I'm eating and cutting back on condiments have been my biggest help. I am not doing anything too strenuous for exercise either (I do Jillian Michales 30 day shred and ripped in 30!) hoping to start some hot yoga soon as well!
Good Luck!
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I love BF. I EBF my son for 1 year and I'm thinking I will definitely make it that long or longer with my LO now. She still nurses very frequently as well, so I do the 500 cal adjustment as well. I'm currently not able to do a lot of exercise d/t ACL repair but should be back to some running in a couple weeks, then 3-4 months later I can do agility (sports, fitness programs like Insanity, etc.). I will add you. Always good to have BF mommy's for tips/tricks!!0 -
I am a EBF mommy of a 12 week old baby girl and also have a two year old little boy. I am new to myfitnesspal and trying to lose the weight from both my pregnancies. I discovered about a year after having my son that I had a thyroid condition that actually caused me to gain weight after I had him. As soon as I got medicated for my Thyroid condition and things were starting to regulate I immediately got pregnant so the hard work starts now. I am actually now only a pound from where I was when I got pregnant with my son, which was still high for me. I would like to get to 125 (I used to be 120) and be more toned. I have been here for about a week and a half and have now got a realistic grip on my eating/calories so now the exercise begins, which I will have to fit in somehow. Anyhow any support I can get would be much appreciated. Good luck to everyone 0
