new to this...and breastfeeding

crayfishgirl
crayfishgirl Posts: 2 Member
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Everyone

I was about 35lbs overweight when I became pregnant with my daughter, lost all the pregnancy weight by 6 weeks, but have gained about 15 lbs since then (less active than in pregnancy because I'm T I R E D, not paying as much attention to what I eat). My daughter eats a lot of solids but I am still breastfeeding ~4 times a day. How do I factor that into my calorie allotment (a little over 1600 calories/day), or do I just get to lose more than the recommended 1lb/week?

Replies

  • jpark38
    jpark38 Posts: 7 Member
    I just started about 2 weeks ago too so I don't know much yet but from the other posts I've read it seems like lots of people put in breastfeeding as an exercise. My daughter is 8 months and eating solid food too but still nursing quite a bit. I left my calorie allotment the same as mfp suggested and chose the lose 1 pound/weeks option. I then put in breastfeeding as an exercise each day for 1 min (since I don't want it to boost my exercise numbers) and 350 calories. So far my milk supply is doing well with this amount. You may need 300-500 calories, just see what works best for you. Just make sure to eat back those calories along with your regular exercise calories. This way you should still lose the 1 pound/week or whatever your goal is.
  • crayfishgirl
    crayfishgirl Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks! I went through some of the earlier breastfeeding posts. I should have done that in the first place.
  • spiderqueen
    spiderqueen Posts: 1
    What would you suggest for someone who is soley breastfeeding? My child eats 3-4 ounces of breastmilk ever 3 hours or so-so, that would have me feeding him about 6 times in a 24 hour period.
  • perrim
    perrim Posts: 117
    I am a breastfeeding mom too (my boy is about 6 months old now and eating lots of solid food). Basically, I typically do not take into consideration that I'm breastfeeding when it comes to my calorie allowance. The site allows me 1200 calories a day and I exercise about 60 minutes a day, so those calories are added back in. But I know in my head that I'm burning more by breastfeeding . Based on research I've done online, we breastfeeders burn about 20 calories per ounce expressed. So on days when I don't work out, or don't work out enough, I will take into consideration breastfeeding calories burned to make me feel better! With that said, I do try my best to eat all of my allotted calories for a day because I don't want my milk being affected. So far so good. I've been on my new healthy weight loss plan for almost 6 weeks and I'm down 12 pounds with no change in milk supply and my baby seems just as happy with my milk as he was before I started.
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