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Question about calories

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mdelynn01
mdelynn01 Posts: 176 Member
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Hi. I posted this in the breastfeeding too but it seems like there is more action in Tiggers group:) So I'm trying to get help. If you look at my diary I eat a lot of quick grab and go things. But with my 18 month and 4 week old it's the best I can do sometimes. Thanks again for any help.

I am ebf my 4 week old. I also am pumping about 8+ ounces a day. I usually put 20 oz for what my little guy eats then add the extra in. I have it set up in my foods with the negative macros it affects so I can just do it by oz. I want to continue to lose a pound a week and not compromise my supply. How would the rest of you treat the calories. I'm set to 1200 then add the milk.

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  • newmama_lols
    newmama_lols Posts: 18
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    Hi! I'm exclusively breastfeeding my 8 week old and also pumping 1x/day. However, I'm not doing any fancy calculations. I'm just putting -500 calories for EBF (there are some if you search breastfeeding under foods) and going with that. I know it might vary slightly from day to day but this is the average.

    That said, I just don't eat enough to eat back the -500, so I'm usually under.
  • mommyrunning
    mommyrunning Posts: 495 Member
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    How many calories are you adding back for the milk? Since you are exclusive I think 500 is a safe bet. Since your little one is so young I would be careful not to go too low on calories. I would give your milk supply a little more time to stabilize. At first you will produce a lot but it can change quickly. Is there a lactation specialist you can see? I never could get a good answer of losing weight while breastfeeding from my doc.
  • heatherz104
    heatherz104 Posts: 70 Member
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    Yeah, I agree, about 500 calories for the milk so maybe somewhere around 1700-2000 calories a day depending on your activity level. I also believe when little one is EBF and young you wouldn't want to go too low on your calories. So what you're doing sounds good:)
  • 88meli88
    88meli88 Posts: 238 Member
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    hey as you know i struggle w this too. :) before baby i was on 1600 cals a day plus exercise calories, and losing steadily 1-2 pounds a week. this is slightly above my BMR and I managed to lose 20 pounds. Now w baby, I decided that I wanted slower weight loss, so i set my calories to 1800 plus exercise and added 300 for milk a total of 2100 plus exercise. my milk supply reduced in 3 days fairly drastically, so i raised my calories to 2300 plus exercise and I make sure I evenly distribute it through the day through 5 meals. It is now working much better and Im not hungry anymore. lets see if I lose any weight at this level - hard to believe but for now milk is more important w LO 7 weeks old only.
  • mommyrunning
    mommyrunning Posts: 495 Member
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    My milk supply droppped early on due to birth control and my lactation consultant recommended fenugreek supplement pills. I found them at GNC. Of course consult a doc or lactation specialist first but just wanted to pass that tip on. Lots of water helps too.
  • MandyMason7
    MandyMason7 Posts: 185 Member
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    I calculated my BMR (what my body would burn if I were in a coma) and then added the 500 for exclusive breastfeeding and set my own custom goal with those numbers (that way I don't have to plug in the 500 calories every day).

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