Breastfeeding & Calorie Counting

acoker85
acoker85 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I'm new to this community. Just started tracking calories April 3 and have already lost ten pounds! I'm also a new mom - I have a 3 month old baby girl that I'm breastfeeding.

I was worried about accounting for calories while breastfeeding, I didn't want to eat too few or too many. I've heard horror stories about how dieting can reduce your milk supply and cause problems for baby, but I have to say I haven't experienced any of this. I will occasionally factor the breastfeeding into my calorie count (which takes out something like 500), but sometimes I don't. I'm not starving myself and I'm not going hungry at all. Baby is thriving, gaining weight well and getting plenty to eat.

I've heard people say that some women burn 150 cal due to nursing, and some women burn closer to 500. Does anyone have any kind of documentation on this or know anything about it from experience? I'm just curious. :)

Replies

  • JoRumbles
    JoRumbles Posts: 262 Member
    Hi,

    I also have a 3mnth baby.

    You shouldn't eat less than 1,800cals when BF. At this level you should find you still lose a pound or 2 a week.

    Studies show that BF burns about 500cals a day when the baby is exclusively BF. Once they start on solids, or if you intorduce formula, it will be much less.
  • rekite2000
    rekite2000 Posts: 218 Member
    The average is 500, but some women burn less and some more. I do 500 extra and have no issues and still losing at an appropriate rate.
  • MonaRN81
    MonaRN81 Posts: 20 Member
    Congrats on your baby! Im exclusively breastfeeding my 4 month old. My 2.5 year old was bf'd to 2 years but i didnt lose a pound after the initial baby weight loss! :( But I also barely tried.

    I'd say if you are full and making healthy choices, baby is gaining well, you're doing great! The reason they also dont want you to lose too fast while breastfeeding is that we store toxins in our fat and they are released during weight loss, and therefore can get to baby. So slower is better so that the baby isnt over burdened with them.

    I really hope to lose the weight this time. I gained 60 lbs with my first son, only lost 30 (and that was initial loss and actually gained 10 lbs in his first year!! YIKES!). I gained 60 again with this baby (my second son) and am down 23. I'm definitely eating better this time and exercising though. :)

    Goodluck!
  • Sassybmom
    Sassybmom Posts: 146 Member
    I was eating 3k/cal a day when nursing and still lost weight (so I burned around 1k). I think it depends on your body but 300-1k calories. Mine would change as the kids got older (I nursed for a total of 8.5 yrs). I wouldn't attempt anything under 1800 calories a day and drink drink drink! Congratulations on the 3 month mark!

    Kellymom website is an excellent nursin resource I'd recommend poking around there :)
  • castelluzzo99
    castelluzzo99 Posts: 313 Member
    In the book Move It Mom!, she says that you burn about 500 calories breastfeeding. Of course, this would be exclusive breastfeeding, and it wouldn't start at that (newborns drink less per day), but for a 3-6 month old, that's probably pretty accurate. My son is 9 months and is eating 3 meals a day, but I figure he's going to eat more than a 6-month old, so I use the 400 calories for 3-5 feedings one. I have just started MPF Friday, but based on how much I am eating in the last 3 days and how I feel, I think this is about the right amount of food to be losing weight, so I'm happy with it. I guess we'll see how much I've lost in a month. In the mean time, if you're doing fine and baby is growing fine, I'd keep doing what you're doing.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
    Firstly, congratulations!

    I would make sure your calorie goal is based on TDEE and not MFP's guidelines (they tend to be lower). When calculating your TDEE add an extra 500 calories. You might not burn that much but it's better to be safe than sorry.

    It's good to watch out and make sure you're not overeating or gaining weight, but it's my own personal opinion that weight loss shouldn't be a priority for a breastfeeding mother. New moms often have an ample supply of stored bodyfat for reproductive function, and that's fine. It's a temporary state. :)
  • acoker85
    acoker85 Posts: 9 Member
    Thanks everyone!! I have three kids of my own and a step-daughter. I wasn't able to nurse my first one due to a staph infection, and nursed my 2nd for 6 months. With my second, I found that not altering what I ate at all didn't produce the desired results (read: I gained/maintained my weight.. :grumble:), so this time I thought I should keep track of calories a bit better, and it's working well.

    Weight loss isn't my first priority. If my milk supply had suffered at all, I would've stopped the dieting immediately. I have no problem with putting the weight loss off for a year or two so baby is happy and thriving. But as it is we both seem to be doing really well.

    I read on www.thealphaparent.com that "The greatest weight loss is seen in the three to six month period"...which is always nice to hear since my baby just hit 3 months old. :happy:

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