How many calories does breastfeeding burn?

I HAVE NO IDEA, BUT.................
We are basically chemical machines so it would have to be all you calories your baby needs plus losses due to inefficency.

Yeah. If you look at the total calories of the equivalent amount of formula, you're producing at LEAST that -- and then you need the metabolic energy to crack apart your food into the right proteins and fats and assemble it back into breastmilk.

At one point, I figured that my kid was eating more than 600 calories a day, all coming from me.

There was another quote above about "some women eat to hunger and lose weight." This was me. I have never, ever been so aware of my body's "Automatic settings" and the hormonal control of appetite and weight as when I was nursing. I lost down to my high school weight, and I had a very, VERY clear "setpoint." If I was above it, I was hungry, I ate, I was fine. If I dropped below it? I would find myself in front of the fridge eating eggs, cheese, and meat, almost without consciously realizing I'd decided to do it. I craved fat and protein in ways I had not before and have not since.

Don't try to restrict for the first 6-8 weeks. You need to get your supply established and it is a key time for growth for the baby.

Don't try to restrict your baby! Some breastfed babies "plump up" quickly after about 3 weeks. I had people telling me "You don't have to nurse her every time she acts hungry!" About a 4 month old! Yes, she was VERY big for her age. Guess what! Babies have not yet lost the ability to self-regulate caloric intake that we're all born with! A chubby, roly-poly baby is not on the Road to Obesity -- she's doing exactly what she's supposed to!
(Note that this doesn't hold if you're feeding solid foods that are very sugary/salty. Kids presented with free access to large amounts of highly attractive foods high in fat/sugar/salt will, essentially, "break" the mechanisms for weight regulation very quickly)

You can add breastfeeding? How do you do that? I've been just trying to add it in my head to the total of calories lost at the end of the day. But it would be so much easier if I could just add that in.

you just type breastfeeding into your snack section and choose the option that works for you im exclusively breastfeeding a newborn and it gives me 500 extra calories and extra fat, protein etc

Funny enough, I tried figuring the same thing out whenever I was pregnant. I wanted to lose my weight, ASAP! However, as you can see from previous posts, everyone is different. There is no direct number any of us can give you. We can give you an estimated calorie burn number, but here is the problem--you and your baby will be different. Not all babies nurse the same. I think you should concentrate on eating healthy for you and your baby and worry about major weight loss afterwords.

Consult your doctor first and foremost. Mine told me not to worry so much on a major weight gain at first.

No matter what though, don't freak out. Believe me, when your little bundle of joy gets here you will be more concerned with other things. =]

I had my daughter 5 weeks ago and I strictly breastfeed and I eat a lot of grilled chicken veggies fruits lots of water and juice and I've lost 25 pounds of my baby weight and still Losing and I have a lot of milk supply I still get engorged

Ah I love the smell of "I have no idea what I'm talking about" in the morning.

Just a comment about the person who claimed breast milk is 50% fat... This is not even close to being true. Breast milk is about 4.5% fat.