Breastfeeding Mama's! I need some advice!

My daughter is 5 months old and exclusively breastfed. It is time I start losing some weight! I have tried cutting out some food but I get extremely shaky and start seeing spots (like I'm going to pass out). I need HELP! I'm pretty sure it's when I don't eat enough protein & carbs that this happens. I have tried several things and need some advice. What are some foods that you have eaten to help you lose weight but also keep you full? I know I am not suppose to lose weight fast, but I really need to start shedding some pounds. I am unhappy with how much weight I have left to lose after having my third baby and I don't want weight loss to be the reason I stop breastfeeding. Please help a mama out :smile:

Replies

  • How many calories are you aiming for a day? You said you've tried cutting down on cals, but remember breastfeeding burns/uses up a few hundred calories so you need to actually increase your normal limit a little bit. Try eating some extra fruits nuts and yogurts to increase your calorie intake whilst maintaining a healthy diet.
  • KristyF08
    KristyF08 Posts: 89 Member
    I am trying for 1800. I am pretty POSITIVE I have been eating way more than that. I think my food choices are just terrible. I tried eating soup and crackers one day for lunch and at about 3:30 I thought I was going to pass out so I went to my desk and just started stuffing my mouth with anything I could possibly find. Do you have any snack ideas? How many calories is a good starting point?
  • mom2lyla
    mom2lyla Posts: 123 Member
    As a general rule, exclusive bf'ing burns 500 cal/day. When you log your foods, there is an option to log breastfeeding (as a food, which is weird) which then adds 500 cal to your daily allowance.
    As far as foods go, I eat a lot of oatmeal, greek yogurt, peanut butter, and eggs. I work 9 hr days and I typically bring 2 pieces of fruit with me in addition to my lunch to keep my blood sugar up throughout the day. Also, it's important to make sure you're drinking at least like 10 glasses of water daily to keep production up!
    I'd advise you to take it slowly. Don't jump into any super-strenuous exercise routines, and don't drastically cut your calories right at first so you can make sure to keep your supply up.
    I hope some of this was helpful. Feel free to add me :)

    Edited to correct info :)
  • Hi, I'm a breastfeeding mum.
    I'm no expert but I find those tips helpful:
    1) Drink LOTS of water as breastfeeding makes us thirstier than usual.
    2) Eat protein my favourite is chicken..panfried or grilled chicken breast on a bed of salad and maybe some cheese is so tastey. Eggs are excellent too.
    3) Porridge (oats) for breakfast is fantastic, fills me up and warming on a cold morning. I sweeten it sometimes with a tsp of honey and if you want to cut down on calories in porridge then make it up with half water half skimmed or semi skimmed milk. its gorgeous topped with thinly sliced apple.
    4) High fibre crackers or wholemeal bread with homemade soup is a great snack or light meal..
    5) Vegetable cruditee with fat free dressing or yogurt dip or salsa (homemade)
    6) Almonds are relatively low in calories for nuts and they are a great source of vitamin e. Choose unsalted as its healthier
    7) cherry tomatoes, air popped popcorn are tastey and low kcal..
    8) I find highlights 40 kcal hot chocolate drink a life savour.. also rice cakes (30kcals roughly per giant rice cake) its really nice and can be topped with almost anything...

    Good luck.. x
  • rahlpn
    rahlpn Posts: 551 Member
    First and foremost YAY BREASTFEEDING! I nursed my son for 9 mos and my daughter for 2 years and the experience was AWESOME! The weight gain, however, was NOT awesome. I am not one of those women who burn 700+ calories a day with nursing :( I was always starving and afraid for my supply. Please don't eat below 1800 calories a day. If you have done your profile and it gives you a 1300 calorie max, I would say add 500 calories to that, then decrease it SLOWLY while you slowly add solids to baby's diet, I'd say 50 calories at a time. Make sure you are eating a balance of protien, carbs, sugar, fat, and drinking A TON of water and getting water from fresh fruits and veggies also. Eat every 2 hours or so if you want. That's my best advice. Good luck!
  • rahlpn
    rahlpn Posts: 551 Member
    Oh, and I agree with the poster above who mentioned oatmeal. Steel cut oats will increase your supply and keep you full for longer.
    Good snacks include: fruit and cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese sticks or mini babybell cheese with wheat crackers, granola bars, Quakes snacks (they are so yummy and keep me from eating chips a weakness of mine), you can also buy those small already portioned bags of chips that are a variety of the Baked! Lays or whatever, they're usually like 90 calories a bag. Celery and PB, Apples and Nutella. I used to buy fresh fruits weekly and some would end up going bad by the end of the week so I started getting big bags of frozen fruit and packing a serving in a small tupperware container and by snack time it's thawed but still cold (I just set it on my desk, don't refridgerate).
  • KristyF08
    KristyF08 Posts: 89 Member
    Thank you! Right now I have it set up to lose 1lb a week so that gives me 1340 plus the 500 for breastfeeding! Thank you mom2lyla for letting me know how to add it into my food! I was setting my goals up manually and it was a calculating nightmare. This makes is way easier! Thanks for the food suggestions, I think I'm going to head to the store tonight and also make some eggs for work :) This is my third baby I have breastfed, my first was only for 6 weeks (I was really young) and the weight just fell off! My second I ebf for 6 months then another 3 months just morning/night. This one I am not sure how long I will go (she is 5 months now) I just don't want wanting to lose weight be the reason I stop. I really enjoy it and have an amazing supply (currently we have over 700oz frozen)! Thank you. Does anyone else get super shaky while breastfeeding? I remember getting that way a little with my second but this time around it is really bad! Any idea why?
  • otilka
    otilka Posts: 2
    Thank you so much guys, had no idea how to account for breastfeeding. I am on 1340 cal a day too and I was kind of hungry today. Then I realized I need extra calories to make milk for my baby. I am so excited to get extra 500! Thanks again for helpful advice.
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
    How many calories did MFP give you per day? For sure add 500 to that. Make sure those calories are quality calories. Make good choices at meals so that you will be more satisfied (emotionally and physically) to avoid those crashes and binges. Like everyone else, you should be focusing on whole grains, lean meats, fruits, veggies and lots of water. Some snack ideas are oatmeal (also can help with the milk supply), fruits and veggies, string cheese, yogurt, almonds (count them to make sure you don't eat more than you think), dry cereal, protein bars (I like the Nature Valley or Fiber One protein bars), homemade healthy muffins. I found this recipe a few months ago with the intention of using up some of the baby food that we had left (my 4th is 15 months old--still breastfeeding). We all LOVE them. I have made different variations using different baby food and adding fruit (apples and cranberries or blueberries). I made some alterations to make it healthier so I will put mine next to the original ingredient. If you don't have baby food around just buy the veggie and make a puree.

    Toddler Muffins
    INGREDIENTS:
    1/2 cup butter, softened **I use 1/4 c butter and 1/4 c applesauce
    1/2 cup brown sugar, or to taste
    2 large bananas, mashed
    1 (4.5 ounce) jar baby food squash
    2 carrots, grated **my kids didn't like the carrots so I use a jar of baby food carrots or a jar of baby food squash
    2 eggs, beaten
    1 cup all-purpose flour **I use whole wheat flour
    1/2 cup oat bran **I use 1/4 c wheat germ or baby food grains with 1/4 c flax meal
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice **for the muffins with the apples or blueberries I just used cinnamon
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    DIRECTIONS:
    1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 standard muffin cups.
    2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the mashed bananas, squash, carrots, and eggs. Stir in the flour, oat bran, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt until just combined. Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups.
    3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Store at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze.
  • otilka
    otilka Posts: 2
    Thank you for the tips. I usually do one yogurt, almonds and craisins mix (I count, it's pretty easy to eat too much of them), 1 egg, half bagel, cream cheese, some fruit and lots of veggies for dinner. I am little surprised how many calories are in one apple or banana though. I eat pretty healthy, I don't do fast food, junk food or soda at all. My main problem is snacking too much. I love chocolate and small candy bars. Those add up so quickly. Thank you for the muffin recipe, I will definitely try it. I have a good lactation cookies recipe, but they are very high calories :(
  • lady_jessi
    lady_jessi Posts: 77 Member
    I have to eat snacks to avoid being shaky and such. What I do now is eat a small breakfast around 9, then a normal sized lunch around noon, a snack at 3, and a normal sized dinner around 6 usually. I'm trying to come away from counting calories very much because Ive been in maintenance for awhile and I don't want to count calories my whole life, ya'know. But I did lose all my weight while breastfeeding, so it can be done. Good luck.
  • Get pretty shaky if I pump in the morning even after a good breakfast of oats the previous hour. I think it is because it is so early, burning so many calories and a bit of sleep deprivation thrown in...
    My little guy sometimes prefers to skip his morning feed or take very little at 7.am. He can go until 11, or close to it. Sometimes I will pump it at 9.30 am and it will be enough for his middle of the night feed. I drink some orange juice prior to pumping for my blood sugar.