Breastfeeding and adding it as a Activity

I stopped about a year ago now, though I would set it as however long you breastfeed for.. Do you have a heart rate monitor at all? I would probably go by a HRM to get a better indication. TBH I think it would probably be around 300 cals if you're doing it for around 30 mins... I remember how hungry I was after bf so I'm pretty sure you'd be burning at a high rate. Sorry I can't offer much else, though I think 300 is a good guess for now

A heart rate monitor is useless in this situation. I've seen ladies enter in anything from 200-500 calories a day. You just have to use your judgement, and I would advise that you eat something whenever you get hungry, regardless of whether you have room in your calories or not. Hungry, not craving. As a mom whose supply went WAY down once I started dieting, I advise that whatever you do, eat enough.

ETA: The time that you enter into it is not as important as the calories you put into it. In fact, the time means nothing since it is not exercise and you are not raising your heart rate when you are doing it.

I originally only added 250 calories to my food diary since I'm nursing a toddler. But since she's still breastfeeding so frequently, the 250 wasn't enough and my supply started to suffer. If your little one is still nursing exclusively or very frequently, I would start out adding 400 - 500 calories a day and see how it affects your supply. Even with the extra 500 calories that I add, I'm still losing 1 to 2 pounds a week.

Not to hijack this thread but i am having supply issues (always have) and it's worse since starting MFP again. How many calories do you eat a day including breastfeeding calories? I wonder if I need to up my calories? I have noticed a huge dip in my supply. I eat 2,000 calories a day including my 30 day shred exercise and breastfeeding calories. To me 2,000 calories seems like a ton and I have read to try not to go lower than 1800 per day. My son just turned 1year and he nurses 4-5 times a day. He hasn't been swallowing much so I pumped to see what I had and I didn't even get an ounce and 3 months ago I would get 7-10 ounces.

Pumping really isn't a reliable indicator of how much breastmilk you're producing; you should watch your baby for hunger cues instead. And if you haven't pumped in a while, your breasts might not be used to the pump anymore and so won't respond to them as well. For me eating sugary foods has always increased my milk supply. If you pump more frequently that could also increase your supply if you're worried about it dwindling, but 2000 calories sounds sufficient. Do you have an HRM so you can make sure you're not underestimating you
And to address the OP, I have an 11-month old who breastfeeds all day and night and I also add the food "Older Baby -300 calories" to up my daily calories to 1680 instead of 1380.

I originally only added 250 calories to my food diary since I'm nursing a toddler. But since she's still breastfeeding so frequently, the 250 wasn't enough and my supply started to suffer. If your little one is still nursing exclusively or very frequently, I would start out adding 400 - 500 calories a day and see how it affects your supply. Even with the extra 500 calories that I add, I'm still losing 1 to 2 pounds a week.

Not to hijack this thread but i am having supply issues (always have) and it's worse since starting MFP again. How many calories do you eat a day including breastfeeding calories? I wonder if I need to up my calories? I have noticed a huge dip in my supply. I eat 2,000 calories a day including my 30 day shred exercise and breastfeeding calories. To me 2,000 calories seems like a ton and I have read to try not to go lower than 1800 per day. My son just turned 1year and he nurses 4-5 times a day. He hasn't been swallowing much so I pumped to see what I had and I didn't even get an ounce and 3 months ago I would get 7-10 ounces.

Pumping really isn't a reliable indicator of how much breastmilk you're producing; you should watch your baby for hunger cues instead. And if you haven't pumped in a while, your breasts might not be used to the pump anymore and so won't respond to them as well. For me eating sugary foods has always increased my milk supply. If you pump more frequently that could also increase your supply if you're worried about it dwindling, but 2000 calories sounds sufficient. Do you have an HRM so you can make sure you're not underestimating your calories burned during your workouts?


And to address the OP, I have an 11-month old who breastfeeds all day and night and I also add the food "Older Baby -300 calories" to up my daily calories to 1680 instead of 1380.

Thank you. I do not have a HRM. I am just guessing based off some calculators. I understand about the pumping. I have been to the International Breasfeeding Clinic many times and I learned how to tell if my baby is getting a mouthful of milk. So I knew there was a problem before I even started pumping. I was just curious to see what I would get. I was told not to pump to increase supply. In our case months before it just wasn't working. I had to eat like a pig and take domperdione to increase supply (which made me SO hungry all the time, I took 16 pills a day!). A few months ago I weaned down to 3 pills a day and I take moringa. My supply was fine. Around the same time I started MFP and also had the return of my period. I know my cycle can decrease supply but from my understanding it should go back up after. It has not. I am wondering if it is my eating or something else...

Thank you. My son does have a poor latch so I'm sure that is part of it. I panicked and ate crap last night. Went over a bit but I'm not worried. I'm hardly losing anyway.