breastfeeding?

mcarey282
mcarey282 Posts: 1
edited September 20 in Introduce Yourself
Hello,
Any new moms on this site? I'm breastfeeding & want to include that as part of my calories burned!! Any ideas if that's possible??

Replies

  • Congratulations! I am also a new mom for the second time and I'm nursing, too. I have read in several publications that making milk can cause the body to burn anywhere from 300-500 calories. There is no reliable way for a mom to measure this as there is no way to accurately measure how much milk your little one is getting. Even if you are pumping in addtion to nursing, as I am, one still can't pinpoint the amount of calories burned with any certainty.

    I don't count those calories in my amount burned. You do need to maintain a healthy number of calories, but I just consider what is burned by nursing to be a bonus.
    '
    If you still want to include it, I suppose you could go to the exercise tab and add breastfeeding as either a cardiovascular or strength training workout. I don't believe it is either, but these are your only choices. You'll need to put a time or number of reps in depending on the choice you make. Enter in the calories and add it to your excersice log.

    I am have been on MFP for a little over a month, so I'm not familiar with all of the bells and whistles of the site. There might be a better whay to do it, but I think that will accomplish your goal.

    I'd like to add you as a MFP friend so we can keep track of each other. I would love if we could stay connected as new moms!
  • Nadyasmom
    Nadyasmom Posts: 281
    Hey there,

    I'm also a breastfeeding mama to my 2 month old. I don't count the calories as burned, however, I did up my regular intake from 1200 calories to 1500 calories to allow for those 300 cal of nursing. I figure that I need to make sure I get enough food for my little one, even if it means a bit of slower weight loss.

    Welcome to the site! I too will add you as a friend. ;)
  • cantwaitk8
    cantwaitk8 Posts: 28 Member
    Hello I am also a new mom to my second child. I used mfp before I got pregnant and lost 30 pounds but gained 50 during the pregnancy. I am breastfeeding exclusively. I read I need to consume at least 1800 calories for the baby. I wish they did include a way to log bfing on the site i think i will use the exercise log to keep track and assume 300 calories burned per day.
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
    If you're BFing exclusively, it's good to count about 500 calories per day as burned. I am still nursing but not exclusively, so I log between 200-300 calories per day.
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