Newbie!! Hello-question on Breastfeeding Calories

oliveoil87
oliveoil87 Posts: 141 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone! I am new on this site and I am loving it so far!. Anyway, I am a mother of an 8 week old and three year old. Currently, I am nursing my 8 week old and have a question about the calorie intake.

Pre-pregnancy- to maintain my weight I needed to consume 1900 calories and 1500 to lose weight.

Since breastfeeding burns 500 cal, do I add the 500 on top of the 1900 calories which would give me 2400 in total?

I am also exercising 30min daily burning 250-300 calories. Anyway when I subtract the 2400-300(exercise)- 500(breastfeeding) I am down at 1600. Is that ok? I believe it's a 300 calorie deficit so I will be losing less than one pound a week? --Help. Thanks.

Replies

  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    Your math is a little confusing to me, but I don't think it's entirely right.

    The site is saying you need to eat 1900 calories a day to maintain your weight without factoring exercise or breast feeding. Adding breastfeeding and exercise would be 1900+500+(250 or 300), so that means your actually maintenance calories when you factor in breastfeeding and exercise is 2650-2700 calories. Anything you eat less than that is a deficit. So if you want to lose one pound a week, you would need a 500 calorie a day deficit. That means on days that you breastfed and exercised, you would lose 1 pound a week if you ate 2150-2200 calories a day.

    That make sense?
  • oliveoil87
    oliveoil87 Posts: 141 Member
    Sorry, my mind is a bit out of place! Anyway, I understood in a way up until you added my exercise calories. To maintain my weight pre-pregnancy it was 1900 . Now that I am breastfeeding it's 2400. Since 500 is burned already from breastfeeding, I am down to 1900, and since I exercise burning 300 calories, I am down to 1600.


    But how am I losing one pound a week on your strategy when eating 2200 calories a day. Because look--pre-preggo 1900 now I must eat 2400--since I am burning the 500 anyway it will bring me back to 1900---same thing. Therefore, with exercise I will be making a deficit. I hope I am making sense, lol. Sorry.
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    How many calories are you planning on eating a day? I am getting a little confused. If you tell me that I can help you figure out what your deficit will be, and how much you will lose per week based on your currently lifestyle.
  • oliveoil87
    oliveoil87 Posts: 141 Member
    I am eating 2400 and exercising everyday for 30min burning 300 calories. Sorry for the confusion! I think I am making it more complicated then it is!
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    Okay, if you are eating 2400 and burning 300 through exercise, then your daily deficit is 300 calories per day. This means that you should burn 2100 calories a week, which means that you will lose 0.6 pounds a week at that pace.
  • oliveoil87
    oliveoil87 Posts: 141 Member
    I guess I will go for 2200 calories a day then for a a 500 deficit, which brings me down to 1400 calories. I wonder if that is OK since I am breastfeeding?
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    I'd say a 500 calorie deficit is safe. You are already eating extra calories because you are breastfeeding, so you are taking that into account.
  • marber
    marber Posts: 118 Member
    The calories you need to stay the same is 1900 + any extra from exercise and breast feeding.

    1900 + 500 + 300 = 2700

    To lose weight you need a 500 deficit so

    2700 - 500 = 2200

    It might be easier to just put everything in your profile and let mfp do the working out :)
  • oliveoil87
    oliveoil87 Posts: 141 Member
    Never mind, i got it now!!! lol. Thanks.
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