Nursing calories and caloric intake ?

dmzf
dmzf Posts: 47 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi to all the Nursing past and present Moms, How many calories do you aim for and still lose weight? I'm all for eat when your hungry, don't diet, well balanced food choices and all. Just trying to see what others are doing and if its working. Thank you in advance for any help.:flowerforyou:

Replies

  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    as recommended by health professionals, aim for estimated Daily caloric expenditure +500
  • misskris78
    misskris78 Posts: 136 Member
    When nursing, I aim for 1800-2000 calories per day. Some women will lose while nursing, and some won't, so don't get discouraged if the pounds seem a bit stubborn.
  • phonerobot
    phonerobot Posts: 14 Member
    "Eat to hunger" helps to drop a lot of weight in my experience, especially with drinking 1-2 L of water.

    Every woman's body reacts differently.

    It does take at least 350 calories to produce milk. As your baby grows, 350-500 calories a day are typically absorbed whilst breastfeeding. They say eat as you would when pregnant (as in 350 calories on top of your daily requirement). However, the maternal stores (weight gained) during pregnancy has a purpose, and most of it is to support your supply for breastfeeding.

    I've lost weight eating 1,800 calories a day, at a normal rate. I went as low as 1,300 calories (I am only 5 foot) and dropped almost 1.5 lbs a day for two weeks. That was too much! So in my case, to maintain a healthy weight loss of 1-2 lb. weekly, I eat 1,800 cals.

    If I was not breastfeeding, I only need around 1,100 calories to loose/maintain while dieting. You just have to play with it for a week or so and find your balance.

    Hopefully that helps.
  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
    Just make sure when reducing calories you do so gradually, so you don't impact your milk supply. 1800 calories had my milk supply drop drastically (to the point of nursing hourly and still needing to supplement and take domperidone at the max dose to get my 4-month-old to gain weight). If you've had any milk supply issues at all, I would t risk it--I would eat maintenance. But if you've got a good supply, you're probably fine to cut calories a bit.
  • carrieuoregon02
    carrieuoregon02 Posts: 2 Member
    I just wanted to agree with the posters who said--be careful not to jeopardize your supply. Nothing is more upsetting than a hungry baby! I can never lose weight while nursing, but have nursed 5 kids nonetheless. I always lose it quickly once I stop, so if you happen to be someone who puts weight on while nursing even while eating carefully, don't despair, just eat sensibly, and you can address it as soon as that baby is weaned.

    Congrats on your little one!
  • Fuamami
    Fuamami Posts: 38 Member
    I have never been so hungry as when I was breastfeeding, but I also lost weight. Sorry to say that was just through exercise and not capture reduction, though, so it doesn't really answer your question.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    MFP calorie goal plus 300-500 calories if exclusively nursing. You'll have to play with the calories a bit to find the sweet spot. Keep in mind that frequency of nursing, age of the baby, any solids or supplements will affect that number. I'm still nursing my 20-month-old, we nurse twice a day and she eats table foods. My nursing calorie needs are much lower than a mom with a 3-month-old exclusively nursing. And drink lots of water, that is very important to maintaining supply.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    I just wanted to agree with the posters who said--be careful not to jeopardize your supply. Nothing is more upsetting than a hungry baby! I can never lose weight while nursing, but have nursed 5 kids nonetheless. I always lose it quickly once I stop, so if you happen to be someone who puts weight on while nursing even while eating carefully, don't despair, just eat sensibly, and you can address it as soon as that baby is weaned.

    Congrats on your little one!

    Speaking of upsetting a hungry baby. They have talked about this(while I was in school)

    The mother will suffer from lack of nutrients before the baby will. Apparently making milk is priority over the mother's nutrition. LOL
  • dmzf
    dmzf Posts: 47 Member
    Thank you so much for everyone's input.
  • jayjay12345654321
    jayjay12345654321 Posts: 653 Member
    When nursing, I aim for 1800-2000 calories per day. Some women will lose while nursing, and some won't, so don't get discouraged if the pounds seem a bit stubborn.

    I was one of those who did NOT lose weight while nursing. Not a pound. When I tried to cut down on calories, I lost my milk. After my daughters were weaned the weight just fell away. I guess I was metabolically challenged while nursing!

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