Who else is a nursing mama on MFP?

lesliemk · January 2011

I am!

I'm just wondering who else out there is and how many calories per day you give yourself, what is your carbs/protein/fat set up like, and how are you doing with losing weight? I think that losing while nursing isn't easy!! How are you doing with it all?

I've lost about 15lbs since September and I'm just taking it slow as I don't want to jeopardize my supply. My calories are currently set to 1900 per day, plus I usually eat back 50-75% of my exercise calories. I'm doing a pretty intense weight training & circuit program, so I feel like I'm always starving. Adding extra protein has really been helping me though.

LinzD · January 2011

I'm breastfeeding too. I give myself 200 calories, but I think you can go as high as 500. I think it depends on how oftern you nurse. I am at every 3 hours.

CullensMama · January 2011

I am a nursing mama too! I didn't really start MFP until my child was a little over 8 months old. He is almost 14 months old and we are still nursing, but just in the morning and at night, so I don't give myself any extra calories. I found it VERY challenging to try and diet when nursing was his sole source of nutrition, because it did jeopardize my supply initially. I believe that you TECHNICALLY only need to add an additional 500 calories for nursing, but I'm not sure about the protein, etc. I think, if you are hungry, EAT

Good luck! I'm curious to see what you find out, as I intend on nursing any other chidren I have

briar_rose · January 2011

I'm a nursing mom. I give myself an extra 150 since she is eating solids now. I haven't had any issues with my supply. I nurse around every 4 hours.

Alleghany · January 2011

Hey, Mama! Congrats on your weight loss! :flowerforyou: That's AWESOME! I'm still nursing my soon to be 1 yr-old at the moment. When I was trying to lose, I gave myself 300 - 500 (before he started solids) so if I was still trying to lose the weight at this point, I'd probably cut it down to 250 since he's eating plenty of solids but still drinking often. Taking it slow, like you said, is the best way since keeping that milk flowing is most important (if you plan to continue BF). Everyone is different...I could lose on 1600 cals while still keeping the milk flowing but a friend of mine who was the same size/height as me could not keep the milk flowing unless she ate 2000 cals but then also wasn't able to make the scale budge. It may also have to do with what you eat...lots of fresh fruits and veggies and nuts worked for me.

Not sure if this helps at all but it's always nice to meet another BF Mama out there! GL!

mandster · January 2011

I stopped a couple of months ago. I couldn't have dieted before my little ones were were on solids as bf did make me ravenous! I bf tll about 20 months with both of mine and I could have started cutting down when the feeds were down to 1 or 2 a day but if I'm honest I used it as a great excuse not to!

I trained as a bf peer supporter and we were told that your body needed 500 cals for exclusive bf. I would say that if you are your baby's sole source of nutrition then obviously that comes first and just try to make more sensible choices and do some exercise when you can fit it in - or just generally be more active. Personally I just saw it as a phase of my life and didn't really try to lose anything (except just before I went back to work both times to fit into work clothes again!)

If your baby is older and on solids too then you won't need all 500 extra calories but you might be in the habit of eating them by now! I think this was my downfall :-) That and not doing any exercise. You'll just have to judge how often you feed but as the previous poster suggested 200 cals extra is probably a good number to work on.

lesliemk · January 2011

Finley is 7m old and I'm her sole nutrition at this point as she really dislikes solids. She just doesn't seem ready yet, so I'm still nursing every 3hrs. So I computed that my base caloric intake should be 1400 per day to lose about .5lbs per week and then I added in 500 cals per day for nursing. So that's how I got to 1900 per day. I've read that full-time nursing moms who are trying to maintain weight (like who would that be?!?!) should eat about 2400 cals per day, so I sometimes feel bad for only eating 1900 which is why I eat a lot of my exercise calories. My new HRM should be in the mail today or tomorrow, which I can't wait for--I'm hoping that helps me get a better gauge on what I'm really burning. I feel like I'm in this for the long haul though (I nursed our first daughter until she was 16m), so I'm just slowly moving along with .5-1lbs losses which I'm okay with right now. I guess I feel like the biggest thing is that the strength training is already really changing my body shape and well, muscle weighs more than fat, right?!

It's so great to meet other nursing mom's on here! I often feel like I'm the only one on here eating for two. : D

lesliemk · January 2011

If your baby is older and on solids too then you won't need all 500 extra calories but you might be in the habit of eating them by now! I think this was my downfall :-) That and not doing any exercise.

Yes! That was so me after having our first daughter. She was EBF for the first six months and then we started solids. And then I never really modified my calorie intake as she got older and was eating more table foods. I'm pretty sure I was eating those extra 500 cals per day whether I needed them or not and I wasn't exercising--it was a bad combo! I then gained another 10lbs when I was done nursing Audrey at 16m old. I'm definitely trying to be more proactive this time around... really trying to eat a clean diet, lots of organic foods, limit sugar, etc... All those things that your body needs anyway and so does baby. I figure this is a lifestyle change, for me and for my family, so I know the healthy choices have to already be in place while I'm nursing.

mandster · January 2011

I had a burst of excessive exercise 3 months after my C section and was scared I did some damage with it so it put me off and I didn't do anything for a while (another great excuse!) I found out a couple of wks ago that I had put on 10lbs since then! (I didn't weight myself but it was logged on the wii.) Can't really call that baby weight if I put on nearly a stone afterwards!

Lovely as they are, having little ones does drive you towards the chocolate some days too ;-)

Who else is a nursing mama on MFP?

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