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Breastfeeding mothers

Nenny1985
Posts: 122
Hi there. I was wondering how other breastfeeding mothers go with their calorie intake. I try not get too low so it doesn't effect my milk supply (I'd be too hungry anyway) and generally don't stress too much if I go a bit over my calories as I understand that breast feeding counts for about 500 cals.
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Replies
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I'm pregnant at the moment but when I am feeding I will probably have my calories set at "gain 0.5lb per week" to make sure I am getting enough calories for the milk supply (this way all the macros will be correct) I won't be too concerned about losing weight while feeding, I want to make sure the baby is happy and healthy :drinker:0
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I don't add it into my calorie goal but I do try to meet my goal each day to ensure I eat enough to maintain supply. My daughter is 13 months so not on too many feedings anyway. If I go over by like a 100 I just tend to think 'oh well that's my breastfeeding calories for the day' and try not to sweat it0
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I try to eat an extra 500 on top of what myfitness pal says I should eat and so far that has helped. If I eat less than that and exercise I tend to see a hit to my supply and it takes a while to build back up. Also sometimes if I'm starving I just eat and and assume he is upping my supply or growing.0
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I'm trying to figure out if I should be eating extra or not at the moment, like a previous poster my daughter is 12 months so only feeds three times a day, I think for me it will be a bit of trial and error0
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If you check your food dairy section there are entries for breastfeeding with the number of feedings if you want to see the difference in calories.0
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That's great thank you
It says -250 but I'm not so sure it's as much as that but I will see, no harm in trying!0 -
I breast fed my daughter for 14 months and my son for 9. I hate to be this guy EAT EVERYTHING! I wasn't calorie counting when nursing but all I did was eat (healthyish) and the weight just dropped off. A lot faster than I expected. I usually weigh 53kg, I gained 31kg with my daughter by six months I had lost it all just from nursing, and with my son I gained about 19 again by 6 months it was gone. If you really feel the need to count calories I would say it would depend on how often and for how long your babe feeds. But I would say 600 easy.0
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thanks everyone for all the tips and advice. I think my milk supply took a hit cos I wasnt eating enough calories, even though I eat heaps. Just going to keep trying to eat fairly well (most of the time) but eat when I'm hungry (which seems to be a lot) haha. and focus more on my exercise and being healthy than counting calories.0
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thanks everyone for all the tips and advice. I think my milk supply took a hit cos I wasnt eating enough calories, even though I eat heaps. Just going to keep trying to eat fairly well (most of the time) but eat when I'm hungry (which seems to be a lot) haha. and focus more on my exercise and being healthy than counting calories.0
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I have just finished breastfeeding and I created '350cal burned for breastfeeding' in the exercises section. Then I could just select it every day. You burn between 250 - 500 cal per day through breastfeeding, so It is a bit of a guestimate about where you think you are at. But it is a good reminder that you need to eat a bit more to cover breastfeeding needs. I resumed exercise at 3 months post birth, so it was a great way to keep everything balanced.0
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Thanks again ladies0
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