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When to stop adding calories

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veganbettie
veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
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I'm still nursing my 2 and half year old, with no plans on weaning, until he is ready...but my weight loss is stalled....probably because i'm not being as accurate but it's got me thinking...

When do you guys stop adding breastfeeding calories? I'm just adding 200 at this point, but my little guy still nurses a ton, but i'm not sure I really need those extra calories at this point. I mean, obviously my supply is super well established.

maybe just stop eating my exercise calories back?

I just want to jump start the weight again.

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  • sarahelizaaaa
    sarahelizaaaa Posts: 30 Member
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    I stopped adding when I was only breastfeeding my son once in in the morning and once at night. The sessions were very short, so I figured I wasn't burning a lot of cals by that point. I also wasn't pumping anymore.
  • sheepotato
    sheepotato Posts: 600 Member
    edited December 2014
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    You could estimate if you have an idea how much he/she is still consuming.

    Producing 1oz of breastmilk burns about 26 calories

    Babies take in an average of 25 ounces of milk per day: From 1 month old to 6 months old, babies take in an average of 25 ounces of milk per day. The normal range is from 19 ounces to 30 ounces.
    It probably averages around 25oz per day from 6 months to 12 months too, starting out slightly higher (perhaps at around 30oz) and ending somewhat lower (around 19oz) as the baby slowly incorporates solids into his diet.
    Between 12 and 24 months, average intake is 14 to 19 ounces
    and between 24 months and 36 months the average intake is 10 to 12 ounces per day.


    I don't know how accurate this is I found it on this site, but it could work as a better approximation than 200. http://www.phdinparenting.com/blog/2008/11/25/the-calories-and-breastfeeding-rollercoaster.html
  • Mshukh
    Mshukh Posts: 24 Member
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    I stopped around 12 months when I didn't see any changes in weight. I figure the slight adjustment is enough to offset any underestimating I may do with food because no matter how accurate I try to be, there will be some.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
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    I would make sure you're being really accurate with your intake before changing anything. Weigh all your food. I only eat back half of my exercise calories to make sure I'm not overeating there. How often is your son nursing still? If it's often, I would think 200 is ok. When I was nursing a few times a day I was logging 200-300 and losing weight steadily.

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