Breastfeeding while trying to lose weight

Yes! First drink tons and tons of water this will kill your milk production if you do not. Now I don't know your base weight but your milk production will take from you to create milk so you need to replace the vitamins and minerals. It will steal calcium from your bones if needed so be sure to replace it. Studies have shown that even moms in poor regions of the world who do not get even close to the calories needed still make calorie rich milk that is more than enough for a little one. You will need to gauge this carefully though. If your baby is growing on schedule and you are taking a good multivitamin and eating healthy every day you can do this. If you notice the little one is not putting on weight or you are eating junk instead of quality then this is not a good idea. You really have to be certain that everything EVERYTHING you put in your body is of quality if you are cutting calories while breastfeeding. Oh and your cravings are going to be insane so just be ready.

If you just eat as you would pre baby, breastfeeding alone will help you lose weight. Just remember, that while you will be hungry more, you should not eat more. Figure out how many calories you need to maintain your weight without factoring breastfeeding at all, and breastfeeding will be enough to lose. And remember to drink lots and lots of water. You will need to be literally starving, like getting consistently less than 1000 calories per day to have a problem, and then it will be your heatlh affected first, not your milk supply, so do not worry about eating extra to make milk.

I disagree with aggelikik: whatever you do, do not eat less than $1,700cal a day as it *does* affect your milk supply (both the amount and nutrition of your milk). Research shows that you should not lose more than 1.5lbs/week while breastfeeding. Here's a useful link: http://www.m.webmd.com/baby/features/8-tips-for-losing-weight-after-pregnancy According to this website : "No matter how much you want to lose weight, try not to dip below 1,800 calories a day, particularly if you are breastfeeding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPyramid site can help you design a personalized eating plan based on your age, activity level, and weight loss goals. The site even has a special section for breastfeeding mom".

I am currently breastfeeding my 3rd child. She's 3 months old and the chubbiest little baby! I read an article also about women in 3rd world countries that don't have good nutrion still produce milk good enough for babies. So I experimented when I stared mfp. I have stayed around1500 calories and have NOT seen any difference in milk production. Baby is doing great! I say try what works for you. As long as you are feeding on demand your body will produce milk no matter how much you eat.

meritage4 wrote: »

Losing weight while breastfeeding is much easier if you wait until Babe is 6 months old and on some other food too. Between 6-12 months was my favourite time-as babe can nurse more if you are out and about without suitable "food" or eat more if nursing isn't available.
So as a mother of 3 young adults my advice is to be gentle with yourself until babe is 6 months. Eat healthy but do not restrict calories. Go for walks.
and at 6 months start watching calories and amp up the exercise. My first 2 times I was back to my pre-pregnancy-healthy BMI by childs first birthday.

Took a little longer last time as I had a still birth at 20 weeks, waited a month and then got pregnant so it felt like a 14 month pregnancy. I was back to "healthy" BMI by age two.

I didn't do this on purpose but this is kind of how it worked out for me. I didn't even think about trying to lose weight until 3 months. I started out by setting MFP to maintenance and logging exercise. I didn't log carefully either. I lose some weight but not a whole lot. Only since he has been about 6 months have I picked up my exercise and log more carefully. I did change my goal to lose .5 lb a week but most days I eat at least 2000 calories and am losing.

I also never experienced the extreme hunger that people do.

OP - how far post partum are you? I wouldn't recommend cutting calories for at least 2-3 months when your milk is established. I would also recommend starting at maintenance and letting the breastfeeding create the deficit. If that isn't working then move to a small weight loss goal like .5 lbs a week.

Also bear in mind when comparing calorie goals, as pointed out, we all have different maintenance levels, activity levels, etc. but also, the other side of the coin is logging. Not everyone logs the same. This is all just an estimate. People who report their calories may be eating at that level, or slightly higher or lower (even more than slightly), myself included. Find the level that works for you but keeps your milk supply up. And keep your goal modest, it isn't a race.

ogmomma2012 wrote: »

It takes 500 calories or more to breastfeed a baby. So add that into your TDEE or to your BMR because too little calories can impact supply. Just nursing in and of itself will help you lose MAJOR weight. I lost all my baby weight in 3 months. Boy was my mother in law jealous as all hell!

That wasn't my experience at all. And while I wasn't tracking exactly, I wasn't going crazy on eating either. I did drop half my weight quickly, the rest was a little harder.