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Eat more or eat less??? And what do you eat?

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Amypascoe
Amypascoe Posts: 12
in Social Groups
Hi there! I am a fifth time breastfeeding mama, and this is the first time that breastfeeding doesn't seem to be melting away the pounds. I live a pretty active life chasing after/running around five kids. I'm 5'7" and 163 pounds. MFP suggests 1650 calories plus the 500 for nursing, which is 2150. I have been hovering around 1700 calories and have been the SAME weight three weeks in a row. The week prior to that, I gained 1.4 pounds. I recently talked to a trainer (who also nursed her babies), and she says I need a MINIMUM of 2200 calories and up to 2600 if I work out. How many of you have successfully lost weight while eating this many calories, and WHAT ON EARTH did you eat? I struggle with filling that many calories with healthy options. It's much easier to grab some ice cream! LOL.

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  • nattymommy33
    nattymommy33 Posts: 20
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    Yeah, you need to eat in order to lose. LLL recommends a minimum of 1800 calories a day. I eat 2150 as a base and more with exercise. I'll open up my diary so you can see what I eat. You can see some days are better than others! You might want to page back a week or two because I was eating weird during Easter and some home renovations and have one been back to "normal" since about Monday.

    ETA My diary settings are six meals for the day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert) so if you only have your diary set to three or four meals, you may not be able to see everything.
  • dinomomma
    dinomomma Posts: 264 Member
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    Mine is set to 2000 and I go over that a few days a week. My nutritionist said to eat that plus at least half of my exercise cals. I've lost 21 pounds in three months, DD is 16 months.
  • aefallis
    aefallis Posts: 169 Member
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    I agree with upping your calories. A good starting point would be to figure your tdee ( http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ ), take 15 to 20% off the amount you get and then add your breastfeeding calories. My goal is set to 2350 right now. When I was actually sticking to it and watching what I was eating the weight was coming off. I've been off track for a month or so now though and haven't lost much. Its also good to vary your daily calories a little. It helps keep your body guessing instead of it getting used to your routine causing plateaus. You should also be eating more fats while breastfeeding which will also help get to the higher goal. I eat bad so that's not a problem right now for me. I probably should work on it though. lol.

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