Breastfeeding and trying to lose weight

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brittneygreen562
brittneygreen562 Posts: 13
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
Any tips from breastfeeding mommas ? Not really sure what to put for calories burned

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  • Minks_esposa
    Minks_esposa Posts: 54
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    I breastfed all 3 of my kids for a minimum of 13 months and I ate around 2000 cals per day and would lose about 1 pound a week. I don't think there is a calorie option for nursing moms but in the food tracker type in "nursing or breastfeeding" and you will see deductions. I would recommend starting at 2000 cals and see what type of weight loss you experience. Good Luck :)
  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
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    depends on how frequent you nurse....new babies and heavy nursers should be about 500 extra calories and older babies that eat solids should be about 300 calories...you might have to play with it....

    good luck!!! battling the hunger while nursing is rough!!! make sure you eat enough!
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
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    I've heard somewhere that breast feeding is as exhausting as spending all day gardening. Back when I was a young mother we were not expected to lose weight while bfing. I think you probably should talk to your doctor about a realistic calorie goal so that you don't lose your milk or anything. :) All the best.
  • brittneygreen562
    brittneygreen562 Posts: 13
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    Thank you ladies ! My baby girl is 4 months and still nurse every 2 hrs ! Im going to start at 2000 cals :)
  • crookeddall
    crookeddall Posts: 3 Member
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    I'd like to know too... have twins who are five weeks old and they're being exclusively breastfed (95% of the time). When I added it to my food diary, it says 1000cals burned.... surely that can't be? But I'll take it....!! haha

    Just wondering if there's any other twin mums on here who are also breastfeeding?
  • crookeddall
    crookeddall Posts: 3 Member
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    Oh and am not really in this solely to lose weight/diet but mostly to keep track of my intake as I lost over 20kg carrying my twins and would like to not put any of that back on!! Will get into the loss side of things later down the track (i.e exercise) once my supply is more even.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
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    Breastfeeding burns a lot of energy. crookeddall, I'm sure you could burn 1000 calories a day feeding two kids who are five weeks old. You're their only source of food and babies use a LOT of energy.

    This article - http://www.livestrong.com/article/278242-recommended-caloric-intake-for-an-infant/ - says a baby 0-6 months old takes in 50-55 calories per pound weight per day. You don't say how heavy your twins are but supposing they were10lb each, that's 500-550 calories per baby per day.

    So you can definitely allow at least 1000 calories for it. That may actually be a bit low - converting your food into breastmilk is not 100% efficient, so you will burn more than 1000 calories to make 1000 calories-worth of milk.

    Hope that helps.
  • crookeddall
    crookeddall Posts: 3 Member
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    Thanks for that! Will go read article now :)

    The babies are currently 8lb 1oz and 6lb 6oz.... I do remember nurses in nicu saying that with prem babies (mine were born at 35weeks) that the body creates fattier breastmilk for them and it can be why mothers of those babies, who are breastfeeding, tend to lose quite a bit of weight initially. Should google that and see if it's right. :)

    Again thanks!
  • sueclare38
    sueclare38 Posts: 125
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    type breastfeeding into food database there are loads of entries, it deducts the calories from what you've already eaten that day. Check my diary for an example, I only deduct 200 cos my daughter is almost 2 and usually just has a feed before bed.
  • rosacarmina89
    rosacarmina89 Posts: 1 Member
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    HI all, I am new to this forum.... I have a 6 yr old and a soon to be 2 year old... I am so over weight... and it is so depressing. I want to be lose weight so bad but it just not working. I still breast feed my son so this is why I headed straight to this part of the forum because breastfeeding my son is one of the most important things. Yes he still feeds aot.... any suggestions also any excercises to tighten my tummy because I have lost some weight but my stomach hangs =( I believe that is what depresses me more...
  • sueclare38
    sueclare38 Posts: 125
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    unfortunately there are no special exercises, all you can do is lose the weight, as that goes down so will the belly, exercise just helps to burn more calories. Stuff like sit ups etc are just to help tone the muscle that is hiding under the fat, so once the fat starts to disappear it will be firmer. It takes patience and time, I've lost loads and I'm almost to goal but my stomach still isn't how I'd like it yet and won't be for quite a while I don't think, my weight had shifted quicker from other areas and really slowly from my belly. Some women also hold onto the belly fat stores while they are still breastfeeding, I think I'm one of them.
  • Angie1089
    Angie1089 Posts: 5 Member
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    I've also been wondering how to track breastfeeding as I ebf my 3 month old. All I did was create a cardio exercise and label it breastfeeding with 500 cals burned lol, but good to know, I'll have to add it as food.
  • MorganOfTroy
    MorganOfTroy Posts: 6 Member
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    So glad you all are here, as I am in need of advice too. My son is 11weeks old and EBF. I've been on MFP for 3 weeks (feels like longer!) and the scale seems to fluctuate day by day. I'm on 1200 calories but bumped it up to 1800 after the first week when I didn't lose an ounce. In total as of today I've maybe lost 3 solid lbs.. I've never done calorie counting before, so this is new to me. I'm used to crash diets where you lose a lot quickly, and gain it all back later. Is it normal to only have lost 2 or 3 lbs in three weeks?? I keep hearing that you lose more quickly when you breastfeed, so I'm kind of disappointed. I'm tempted to change my calorie intake again but am afraid I'm not giving it long enough. I return to work in 2 weeks and was hoping to have lost more by now. I'm only 13lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, but in total need to lose 40lbs. I'm setting 5lb goals at a time. Any advice or support is greatly appreciated!!
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,473 Member
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    its great till you get a biter.
  • Greenlight216
    Greenlight216 Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi everyone, I have a 14 weeker who eats every 2.5-3 hours but the longest she would go between feedings is 4 hours. I find it hard for me to lose weight at this point and I have roughly around 20 more pounds to lose. Please help! Any words of encouragement.
  • sueclare38
    sueclare38 Posts: 125
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    So glad you all are here, as I am in need of advice too. My son is 11weeks old and EBF. I've been on MFP for 3 weeks (feels like longer!) and the scale seems to fluctuate day by day. I'm on 1200 calories but bumped it up to 1800 after the first week when I didn't lose an ounce. In total as of today I've maybe lost 3 solid lbs.. I've never done calorie counting before, so this is new to me. I'm used to crash diets where you lose a lot quickly, and gain it all back later. Is it normal to only have lost 2 or 3 lbs in three weeks?? I keep hearing that you lose more quickly when you breastfeed, so I'm kind of disappointed. I'm tempted to change my calorie intake again but am afraid I'm not giving it long enough. I return to work in 2 weeks and was hoping to have lost more by now. I'm only 13lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, but in total need to lose 40lbs. I'm setting 5lb goals at a time. Any advice or support is greatly appreciated!!

    That's a good loss, an average of 1lb a week is a good start and as your son is still only 11 weeks then you're routine will keep changing as his demands do which makes it hard to stay consistent when breastfeeding. Give it a bit longer and your loss may increase, make sure you are drinking lots of water too.
  • WifeyGetsFit
    WifeyGetsFit Posts: 6
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    I BFed my daughter for over 15 months and while I tried my hardest to lose weight when I was nursing her, I just could NOT shed the lbs. Once she weaned, it was so much easier for me to drop the weight. I think my body was holding on to my fat because I was nursing and I was eating more because I didn't want my supply to drop.

    I am currently nursing my 8 month old, and the weight loss is very slow. I workout with a trainer and do lots of lifting as well as restricting my calories, and I am still having a hard time losing the weight.

    I am sure it will be the same this time around, when my son decides to wean, whenever that may be, I will be able to lose the weight a little easier because I won't be focused on losing supply/etc.

    BFing is my #1 priority, so if the scale doesn't budge-- I won't let it get to me. I know that I will only be nursing him for a short while in the big scheme of things, and refuse to sacrifice that. :)
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