Breastfeeding and losing weight (military)

meghann51
meghann51 Posts: 3
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, My name is Meghann and I am active duty in the Air Force. After having a child you have 6 months to lose the weight and are required to PT test, which consists of a 1.5 mile run, pushups, situps and a waist measurement. I have started a diet that consists of 1000-1600 calories a day, I vary so my body doesnt adjust and quit losing. It is working but it is drying up my milk supply. I want so badly to continue for the first year of his life but at the same time I need my career. Not passing this test would be very bad for my career. I have tried 1800-2000 calories at first thinking the Breastfeeding would burn the extra calories but I gained or stayed the same. I really need some help if anyone has any experience with this. In the end I will have to choose the weight loss over the breastfeeding if it comes to that...I need a job to support my kids and kids do fine on formula but if there is a way to have both, i want to do it. Thank you so much.

Replies

  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    I would stay in the 1500-1800 calorite range an exercise more...you have to pass that fitness test anyway. Keep at it and there is always kellymom.com (i think that is what it is called) for Breastfeeding advice. I know there are herbal supplements that help with milk supply ...fenegruk (i know that is wrong but it is something like that) that might help with the milk while you lose the weight
    Good luck
  • jlizgar
    jlizgar Posts: 104
    You should NOT have to choose your career over breastfeeding....I understand your dilema but I think you can have both. My husband has been in the Army for going on 14 years, he has always passed his PT tests but hasnt always met his weight requirements and he is currently going to nursing school being paid for by the military and he will be an officer upon graduation...yes, at the time he didnt make weight, it was tough, they made him to extra PT but in the end, in the long run, it hasnt really hurt his career....try not to have such a gloom and doom outlook on the situation!
    Take a careful look at your diet...do NOT starve yourself by eating below 1200 calories a day, it may end up backfiring on you and put you into starvation mode in which your body would start to hold ON to weight instead of drop it, thats not what your trying to do, PLUS you NEED to fuel your body in order to breastfeed that precious little one of yours....and just as much as you deserve your career, that little one deserves the best nutrition possible which is your breastmilk!
    SO, eat right and dont eat to few calories, make sure you are staying active, do your PT test for exersize a couple times a week, do exactly what you have to do to pass the test and if you can easily do that then push yourself and do more!
    I think you can do it and I dont think you have to choose between one or the other, good luck!
  • brookefoley
    brookefoley Posts: 104 Member
    If your milk is decreasing then go to 1800 calories. Yes the test is important but you will pass it. I was Air Force too so I know where you are coming from. But your baby's health is SO IMPORTANT!! And breast feeding is the best thing you can do for your child. You will lose the weight. I am not sure how old your baby is, but i have a 6 month old and I have lost 30 pounds since she was born, and I wasn't even counting calories. I only started back up counting calories like 2 weeks ago. So, know that yes the weight will come off. Also keep up the exercise, do a lot of walking, but do not go down on your calories too much. Even if you ate 2000 per day you would still lose weight. It needs to be a gradual process. I would recommend making an appointment with the lactation consultant at the base hospital right away to discuss what more you can do. Also maybe meet with a nutritionist at the Heath and Welfare center (contact someone at the gym and they should be able to give you the location or phone number of the HAWC). Don't give up breastfeeding. Also please read this article I found on line, it is helpful as far as figuring out your calories. I am still breastfeeding and eating 1600 calories and I still have enough milk for my daughter, but like I said, she is 6 months old and my milk supply is well established.
    https://www.drgourmet.com/askdrgourmet/pregnancy/breastfeeding-weightloss.shtml
    Good luck and don't sell your health of your baby short. I know you will lose the weight so please don't worry!!
  • Angiepackmom4
    Angiepackmom4 Posts: 75
    I am not an expert but breast fed all 3 of my kids for a long time. Try drinking more fluids. Water is best but it doesn't necessarily have to be water. Also, if you express the milk more often even when you are not breast feeding (in between feeding times), it will increase your milk supply. I always had plenty extra milk and lost weight as well. I wish the best for you. You will have to update us all on how it goes.1591753.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods
  • meghann51
    meghann51 Posts: 3
    The AF PT test has just recently changed and is more strict than even the Army's and it is now reflected onto our EPRs (evaluations) which will hurt my ratings for promotion, which is also unlike the Army. Its the waiste measurements I am more concened about and also with the PT test if your weight is in a certain range you will get max points for your waist no matter what it is. I have been to the HAWK and talk to their dietian and they said this " thats a tricky one, I dont know how you are going to do that, its a choice you will have to make." the lactation office (off base where I had my son because there is none on base) just told me to pump more often. I pump 3 times a day at work and feed him at lunch. Still I feel it going away. When it comes down to it I will choose my career because I need that more to give him what he needs and I will not feel bad about it. Plus I have signed up for this and family sacrafices will always need to be made. They are even talking about deploying me when he is 6-7 months old so that might force me to quit anyway but I will try til the very end to do both. upping my exercise is hard too because my husband is deployed, I only get 30-45 minutes during work 3 times a week and my time is very restricted at home having a 3 month old & a 4 year old. I know it wasnt probably suppose to be how I read it but some of those responses made me feel like a bad mother but I know I am not. I am trying to balance a military career and my child. I was able to do it for 12 months with my daughter, not caring about my weight but the PT program wasnt as strict back then so when I failed I didnt care. this time I have to care.
  • jlizgar
    jlizgar Posts: 104
    No one is trying to make you feel like a bad mother, I most certainly wasnt! I understand that its a big deal to you, we are Army so I dont know the specifics of the Air Force regs...all im saying to you is that I think its possible for you to have both, it may not be easy...but how does the saying go, "Nothing worth doing or having is ever easy".
    I think you should just do all you can, give it your all, which im sure you are already doing!....I guess since you say your time is very pressed, the easiest thing for you to do is to eat the very best you can, LOTS of fresh fruits and veggies, cut out soda completely if you drink it, its just empty calories and its bad for you all around, drink TONS of water, carry a water bottle around with you all day and sip it constantly if you can.
    Im not saying at all that you are a bad mother, I just think ist terribly sad that any mother has to choose between their career or their breastfeeding relationship with their baby...I just wish things didnt have to be that way :(
  • jlizgar
    jlizgar Posts: 104
    Also, as long as you feel comfortable with your choice then really, it shouldnt matter what anyone else thinks or says, YOU are the mother and you always do whats best for your child, as long as you feel you are doing whats best for your baby and yourself, then there is no reason to be offended by what anyone says or to let others make you feel like a bad mother.
  • brookefoley
    brookefoley Posts: 104 Member
    You are not a bad mother!! I am sorry to hear your husband is deployed. I know how difficult that is. Just do the best you can. You will get there.
  • beckiboo
    beckiboo Posts: 32 Member
    Try oats/porridge - they really help with milk production. Loads of water, fenugreek can help but it takes a few days to increase supply.

    I hope you figure it out x
  • teetee1281
    teetee1281 Posts: 1,076 Member
    I know each branch is different, but the Navy has really buckled down on our test also. I understand your worry because even if we fail the BCA our test is considered a failure. And we only get 6 months from the completion of convalesce leave before we are required to participate in the test also.

    Most stateside medicals have a dietitian that they can refer you to. I think you should see the dietitian and tell them your worries and see what advice they are able to offer you.
  • itsmenatalie
    itsmenatalie Posts: 190 Member
    Try oats/porridge - they really help with milk production. Loads of water, fenugreek can help but it takes a few days to increase supply.

    I hope you figure it out x

    I was going to make this same suggestion - Oatmeal and fenugreek both helped me a lot. Make sure if you do the Fenugreek you are careful about what you buy and how much actual fenugreek is in it. The capsules they sell at like Whole Foods have barely any in them and you need to take about approx 3500 mg/day to get results. I bought some good ones online and still had to take about 6 capsules a day to get that much.
  • jljohnson
    jljohnson Posts: 719 Member
    How are you tracking your breastfeeding? When I went back to work, I began pumping exclusively. I set my calories to the limit for the weight loss I wanted to see, then add back calories for breastfeeding. You can give yourself a flat 500 calories, which is average and worked well for me at first. I just added an exercise entry for breastfeeding and set the calories there. If you're pumping and you know how much milk you're producing, you can enter it as food. There's a database entry already there (if you search for "nursing" you'll find it), and you just enter the number of oz. you pumped, and you'll get a negative calorie amount credited to your food intake. This has worked really well now that my production is going down. I've been losing pretty consistently doing this. Definitely don't eat too little. Even if you want to stay at the minimum of 1200 calories, I'd still give yourself the extra 500 for breasfeeding, and stay right around 1700-1800 a day.

    Only you know what is best for you and your family. You have a LOT on your plate, so don't let anyone make you feel like a bad mother. I hope this helps, and if you have any questions about this, I'd be glad to help.
  • meghann51
    meghann51 Posts: 3
    Thank you guys. I have seen a dietitan and they couldnt help me, but that was the one supplied by the base... She pretty much told me it was impossible but I know its not. Thank you for your sugestions I am very grateful for them, its really the time crunch. yes only 6 months from the time I gave birth to be where they need me to be. They just keep telling me you signed up to be an Airman, not a mother. You have an obligation or you have to get out, and I am not getting out because I can be a mother and an Airman, just maybe not a breastfeeding Airman... I do have a lot saved up and I pump during the day and feed him at night. If my milk does dry up I have a lot saved that I could suppliment and make it another month or two. Im going to try the herbs and see where they get me. I want to, I know either way he is going to be good but the Breast is the best. I have gone 3 months, which is more than most so I will take pride in that. thank you for listening and advice!
  • AMOMONAJOURNEYTOCHANGEHERLIFE
    AMOMONAJOURNEYTOCHANGEHERLIFE Posts: 170 Member
    Good luck Meghann. (((hugs))) These are one of the profession where you definitely know you are in a mans world. Weather you are able to continue on breastfeeding and meet your goals or you need to supplement you should be so very proud of how far you came. I was only able to breastfeed one of my children for all kinds of reasons. It's always a disappointing feeling and decision but I am confident that my choices with all my children were in the best interest for our family. And I know you will make the best choices for you and your family. Congrats on making it to 3 months with all that's been going.

    Also one thing to consider with your milk production is it might have gone down due to emotional stress. With the deployment coming up, then the thoughts of you deploying on top of it, and then you getting ready for your test. I would think that all would also factor into.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories