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Adjusting calories for nursing moms

ricecake5
ricecake5 Posts: 2
in Social Groups
Hi all!!

New to MFP, and new mommy to an adorable 6 week old.

I set my goals, but I'm a nursing mom... I'm trying to figure out how to increase the calories etc. to account for that.

Anyone?

Replies

  • rachpetersen
    rachpetersen Posts: 265 Member
    add 500 cals (if you are breastfeeding exclusively) to your daily calorie goal...that way it will also add additional nutrients that should be accounted for. as your baby gets older you will need to manually decrease this amount. i am exclusively bfeeding my 4.5 month old right now and eat 1500-2000 cals a day and am still losing weight. your body burns 26 calories per ounce of breastmilk it produces....so the 500 number is an average of 25 ounces a day -150 cals to assist in weight loss. hope this helps. make sure not to eat too little of food as it may mess with your milk supply and at 6 weeks post partum your milk supply is just starting to stabilize. feel free to add me as a friend and ask any more questions :)
  • MandyVeedoll
    MandyVeedoll Posts: 7 Member
    Hi Welcome!

    I am exclusively BF my 6 month old. I started tracking 5 weeks postpardom and am now only 2 pounds away from my pre pregnancy weight. (yay!) My goal is to net 1500 calories a day.I have lost 1/2 -1 pound a week since I started and have had no problems with my milk supply. As a rule you should add 300-500 calories to your intake. But personally, I think everyone is a little different and you should gadge how much you eat by how much weight you lose. Aim for 1 pound a week. If you're not losing that, reduce your calories and you are losing more than that increase them.

    Good Luck!
  • MissySchwab
    MissySchwab Posts: 529 Member
    add 500 calories a day till you introduce solids then follow the regular guidelines.Watch you milk some people need to add maybe 100 more to keep it up.good luck and yay for breastfeeding.
  • ricecake5
    ricecake5 Posts: 2
    Thanks ladies!! :smile:
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    I'm nursing a 16 month old and add 250 kcals as cardio...and I'm losing bunches of weight.
  • Thof84
    Thof84 Posts: 3 Member
    HI!

    I'm new to the board as well, but been using MFP for a few month's now. As a mom towards the end of her nursing journey, do NOT underestimate the amount of calories nursing burns! I've gained 10 pounds religiously within the month of any big changes or my daughter dropping sessions; 10 immediately when I returned to work, 10 the following June when she dropped nursing to 2xday, and I was reducing pumping, and the fall when I stopped pumping completely but she still nursed 1/2xday and I didn't adjust my eating habits. And that's why I'm here. :/

    The advice to start with 500 extra calories is a good starting point. If you notice your milk supply dip (fussy baby always hungry and not around a growth spurt, reduced diapers, significantly reduced pump output) try adding 100 calories at a time. If you notice yourself gaining weight, reduce by 100 calorie increments to find a balance.

    Just remember, when you LO starts to reduce nursing, you'll need to adjust calories again. Good luck!
  • Sjenny5891
    Sjenny5891 Posts: 717 Member
    I hated adding 500 to my calorie goal. It is 20 calories an ounce. I pumped so I tracked what I got and added it as an exercise each day.
  • becoming88
    becoming88 Posts: 23 Member
    I'm still nursing my 11-month-old. I had been adding 500 calories to my daily goal until she started solids and my period came back, now I'm adding 300 :)

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