Dieting and Breastfeeding - Please Help!!!

laura0001
laura0001 Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a 6 month old son who is still breastfeeding (solids 1x day as well). He has had "slow weight gain" and supply issues from his birth till now, so it is important I keep my milk supply up. I also have at least 20 pounds I need to lose, and am very sick of hanging around. I notice when I cut my calories back to the point where I can actually lose weight, my supply drops significantly. Please help me....how can I lose weight (hoping for 1 - 1.5 pounds a week) and breastfeed my son? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Replies

  • harmonyh10
    harmonyh10 Posts: 58 Member
    Can you give us more information, like how tall are you, how many calories are you taking in, how old are you how much do you weight.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    When I was breastfeeding, I was also pumping at work. I dieted and lost 50 lbs and never had supply issues. If you are having supply issues, you might want to hold off on dieting or talk to a lactation consultant. Your supply should not drop just because you cut hour calories a bit...
  • gemmaleigh1989
    gemmaleigh1989 Posts: 241 Member
    You might be creating too much of a deficit. Breastfeeding alone burns an additional 300 calories a day. Like another said, we need more info.
  • Mina133842
    Mina133842 Posts: 1,573 Member
    I was told to add 200 calories to my diet if I was SOLELY breastfeading (this was from my Doctor)...but I don't know if you're not the primary "food" source, then I doubt you would add any calories.... pumping after the baby feeds will also help in your production, helping to boost it... but you may want to consult your Dr., and a lactation consultant to help with this...I also heard if you're exercising, the milk tastes different to the baby, so maybe pump after working out, and not keeping that milk?
  • laura0001
    laura0001 Posts: 18 Member
    I am 5'11" and currently weigh about 173. I have always been tall and slim and would like to be back at 145-150. MFP has my calories at 2150 per day. My son eats every 4 hours or so and I occasionally supplement with formula. It is more important to me to continue breastfeeding than lose weight, but I was hoping I could do both! I admit that I have not been working out much (he is not sleeping through the night and I'm so exhausted).
  • harmonyh10
    harmonyh10 Posts: 58 Member
    Are you eating at what MFP tells you too?

    I would also suggest talking to a lactation consultant. Nursing every four hours sounds like a LONG time in between nursing sessions for a 6 month old baby. At 6 months I would expect a breastfeed baby to be eating about every 2-3 hours.

    There is also this breastfeeding website that has a great forum called Kellymom.com
  • laura0001
    laura0001 Posts: 18 Member
    Thank you Harmony. I am 27 years old, think I forgot to say that.

    Yes, I am keeping my calories at that range but do go over the limit once in a while. I have his 6 month well visit coming up so will speak to a lactation consultant then. I spoke to many lactation consultants when he was born, and they said just listen to your body and eat when you're hungry...which I am trying my best to do. I love KellyMom, I will check on there to see what it has to say about dieting and breastfeeding.

    I just have a hard time saying that I "deserve" more calories because I'm breastfeeding, since I'm not feeling significantly more hungry than I used to. Maybe I'll just have to wait till I'm done BFing to lose my weight!
  • eliseofthejungle
    eliseofthejungle Posts: 113 Member
    I never breastfed, but I have a lot of friends who have and a big trend with them was difficulty losing the last 10-20 pounds until they stopped breastfeeding. Sometimes the body will fight to hang on to that weight in case it's needed in tough times for production but once you wean it feels it's safe to let it go so it does. Maybe that's what is happening in your case?

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