Breastfeeding

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lexi88
lexi88 Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi!
Im breastfeeding my newborn (2 weeks and 2 days old) and was wondering is it true that you really burn 500 cals a day on it? Should I eat 500 cal more than what it tells me on the food plan?

Replies

  • MINIETA27
    MINIETA27 Posts: 11
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    Hi lexi88, congrats for your new born, I'm Lactation Counselor, It is true every time you breastfeeding for baby you will burn around 500-800 calories, so you need to replace them, that's why after you nurse your baby you will feel very hungry and thirsty. Congrats again you are doing an amazing job!!

    maria
  • Cateface
    Cateface Posts: 4
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    Congrats on your new baby!

    I've been breastfeeding for almost 6 months now and I always add it as a 'cardio' exercise and manually put in 500 calories/day for it.

    I'm not sure how much the calories burn vary compared to how much your baby is eating and how much your producing but from what I hear 500 is a good average so I'd stick to that.

    You want to make sure your not trying to do a major diet while breastfeeding though - you need those calories to be able to keep your supply up. By all means, watch what your eating but don't restrict it or it could be detrimental to your supply - which will be regulating itself until your baby is at least 6 weeks old
  • msemejuru
    msemejuru Posts: 229
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    Congratulations on the baby! Treat the extra breastfeeding calories like exercise and eat them back. I didn't do cardio after I had my kids, just weight training because I was already burning so many calories with breast feeding. I always gained weight after I stopped nursing and would have to adjust my calories back. I think you might feel more comfortable if you add two more glasses of water to your goal as well. I still felt dehydrated if I didn't drink those extra glasses at night.

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