Breastfeeding calorie goal?

kristinawhite1987
kristinawhite1987 Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
I am breastfeeding and want to make sure my calorie goal is correct. Here is my info:

I am 26 years old, 5'6'', and am 174 lb. I am working on eating healthy and exercising. Myfitnesspal says my calorie goal is 1200 calories, but I want to make sure my milk supply does not go down while trying to eat healthy. Should my goal be higher since I am breastfeeding? I am not going to skip meals to meet my goal, but I want to be sure I am doing the right thing.

Also, I am just starting out. I would love motivation if anybody is in a similar situation or just wants to be friends, feel free to add me!

Replies

  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    Add 300-500 calories to your daily goal to account for breastfeeding. You can log it in your food diary, just do a search for breastfeeding, and it will adjust your daily calorie goal.
  • kristinawhite1987
    kristinawhite1987 Posts: 6
    So my calorie goal should be 1500-1700 calories instead?
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    300-500 is the range of calories for a mom who is exclusively nursing. It's up to you how many calories you add in each day based on how often your baby nurses, your supply, etc, but it should be somewhere in that range. You're going to need to play around with the numbers. Add 300 to your calorie goal, eat that, and see how it goes. If your supply seems to drop, add more calories to your daily goal until you find the place where you maintain supply. You really need to eat the extra calories if you want to maintain your supply, so don't cut from your breastfeeding calories thinking it will help with weight loss. The deficit for weight loss is already built in to your daily goal.
  • kacarter1017
    kacarter1017 Posts: 651 Member
    Yes, your calorie goal increases when you're breastfeeding.
  • Jfox2014
    Jfox2014 Posts: 25 Member
    I am adding the 500 calories extra found in food and my supply is ok. I only had one day where it went down but that was due to an extremely hot day when I didn't hydrate myself properly I think.

    Best of luck:)

    J
  • STARG1RL
    STARG1RL Posts: 44 Member
    I'm not 100% sure how many calories I should be having either. I'm Ashley & I'm 5 weeks PP, EBF-ing (9 times per day) & currently set to a "1670" cal allotment. Trying to lose no more than .5lbs per week.

    Thoughts?!
  • Kmfk2468
    Kmfk2468 Posts: 3
    I added 500 calories to mine and it seems to be fine. My son nurses around 10 times a day right now. I think the best thing you can do is start with the 300 and see how that works for you. If it doesn't, then add more and don't forget to stay hydrated.
  • STARG1RL
    STARG1RL Posts: 44 Member
    Awesome! I'll start there... Thanks :smile:

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