Breastfeeding and Weightloss...how to not lose the milk

It's a delicate balance, and every woman is very different. For many women, breastfeeding actually impedes weight loss rather than increases it (as claimed by a lot of people). You have to be careful to find the right number of calories for you.

Remember to drink plenty of water, fluids are key. Oatmeal and avocado have been shown to boost production, and there are several supplements out there (Fenugreek, etc) that are very safe and can be used to give you a little extra boost.

However, if you're not eating enough, those things won't help. Remember that breastfeeding requires approximately 20 calories for each ounce of milk your body produces, so add that to your TDEE. And for now I wouldn't eat at a deficit larger than 500 calories per day, including exercise.

Remember that your baby only needs your milk for the first year or so of his/her life, but you have the rest of YOUR life to lose the weight. Focus on a balanced diet and a moderate deficit for now if it's important to you to maintain your milk supply; you can be more aggressive with your weight loss efforts as you start to wean if you find that your milk supply is so sensitive to calorie reductions.

How old is your baby?

Pump more on that one side. I had the same problem... just did a little 'mini' pump on the one side in between my regular pumps. The more you take out the more you produce. Be sure you are pumping frequently enough too!

2 months today. Doc said I gotta get the weight off for my health. I just really wanted to BF for the full 1st year

Ah! 2 months, then it's normal. It can take up to 12 weeks for your body to adjust to your baby's needs. Most likely you were producing too much milk in the beginning and now you're just producing enough. Of course, for you it seems like the decrease might be too much, but if your baby is happy, is still gaining wight well, wet at least 10 diapers a day and a few of poop, then your milk production is fine. Same thing happened to me. My baby is 3 month old and my production decreased around 6 weeks. I had waaayyy too much milk and now it feels like my boobs are empty but they are just fine.

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Double post

It's normal to produce differently, more on one breast than the other. There are a lot of reasons, but it's not uncommon. Around here the recommendation is to never start with the same breast. Remember which breast the baby started on the last time, or which you pumped first the last time, then start with the other. This is particularly important when the baby eats, because she will be hungrier in the start, and so the first breast will be emptier than the other after feeding. If this is always the same, the difference will increase.

Also, exercise is very good, but keep it light. Don't work yourself ragged - the baby does that for you. When that's said: babies thrive on long walks on a good pram, they sleep better and grow healthier with a lot of fresh air. This means that both you and your baby can benefit a lot from long, nice walks around the neighbourhood, an hour or two, twice a day. If you really need to lose weight for your health, this will help you with all kinds of related issues: blood pressure, heart, insulin resistance, it will all be better if you walk one-two hours each day.

Other things: Keep your breasts warm. Cold can lead to breast fever: infections in the breasts that stops the milk from flowing. This is very painful, so keep those boobies warm. I didn't check where you live, it may not be a problem, but I add it just in case.

Breastfeeding also helps your uterus contract, and this helps making your stomach slimmer and your body stronger in general.

What else - yes, your baby is very influenced by what you eat now that you are breastfeeding. That means that a healthy diet with no sugar, no alcohol and no junk isn't only good for you, but also for the baby! Read more up on this, as different foods can irritate the baby, and your life may be easier if you watch what you eat - in a very direct manner.

If you have problems emptying your breasts while pumping, ask your doctor or nurse about oxytocin. It's the hormone that starts the milk flowing. Sometimes a woman may need some help, and you can get this in spray form. It works incredibly well.

Enjoy! It's a wonderful thing to breastfeed your own little one.

The only thing I'd disagree w/ from a prior poster is the "no sugar" thing - my doctor actually recommended making to sure to include a MODERATE amount of sugar in my diet to help encourage the baby to nurse. If your supply is decreasing a little, then a little extra stimulation at the breast will definitely help that, and encouraging baby to nurse a little more is a good thing. An overall balanced diet is very important, though.

Also, there may not be a standard exercise entry for breastfeeding, but I'd recommend creating one for yourself (just use "1" minute and however many calories you want to add) instead of using the food entry, for a few reasons. First, if macros are important to you (obviously they are more important to some people than to others) adding exercise calories ensures that your macros also increase in proportion to your setting, rather than however the random entry you're using is set up. Second, I think it's really helpful to see how much you're actually eating, rather than seeing 1600 calories in your journal when you're really eating 2100, even if your deficits remain accurate, but that's mostly a mental thing. And, finally, it makes it a lot easier to quickly adjust the number of calories you're giving yourself - you can type right over that number every day if you feel like maybe adding or subtracting 50 or 100 calories is the right thing to do, especially in a few months as you start weaning. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter, but I just found entering it through exercise was simpler and more accurate.