Eating for the body you want vs the body you have

CLM1227
CLM1227 Posts: 61 Member
edited November 17 in Food and Nutrition
First some background: I lost about 5 lbs on mfp after a month of using it (1lb/week goal) before getting pregnant. I'm 34 weeks in now and haven't consistently used the app since morning sickness started. 6 months of near constant vomiting does that to you.

I'm currently excited to have the world of food opened up to me again and have been planning daily menus for post partum. I think it would be easier to have this stuff planned out before I'm too exhausted to think for myself. I haven't gained much this pregnancy and will finish close to the weight I started. Before pregnancy, I was 232 at about 30 - 33% bf. About 154lb of lean mass worst case.

I've been planning on eating for the body I want. I lost my weight on 1500 cal and some new studies on breastfeeding says you don't need to add cals to your diet to maintain supply... so I'm going to start at 1600 and alter from there to maintain 1lb/week of loss.

So the question: I want to lose weight while maintaining my muscle mass... should I aim for my first goal of 200 (a little more than 10% of "current" weight) at 26%bf by macros aimed at that? So rather than 154 g protein (1g/lean mass) to maintain my current lean mass, I eat 148? Or is the diff small enough that it doesn't matter?

And then fat is .5/lb of weight... so... 232/2 or 200/2? (This is for hunger and satisfaction control).

And then my carbs are the difference with 25g fiber.

I know this seems like a lot of work for a "beginner" of sorts, but I've spent a ton of time in the gym, modifying workouts: hiit, steady state, weights, calisthenics, mixture of everything...

I know my fail is diet and that is mostly because i have a lower bmr than any calculator gives me credit for... calories for 1-2 lbs at my weight should be closer to 1700. I don't want to screw with my metabolism any more than i have hence the slow weight loss goal and my concern about maintaining muscle mass.

Sorry for the long post :p

Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    What carbs are you planning on having left with the calculations you've done for protein and fat?

    Personally I don't agree with dieting when you're trying to provide for you and a baby. Regardless of what studies say. There is also a big difference between dieting and maintenance.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    These are good thoughts.
    The difference between 154 and 148 does not matter.
    232/2 or 200/2? --- that is a personal thing. Make a choice for what you want.
    It is great that you have a plan to keep muscle mass.
  • CLM1227
    CLM1227 Posts: 61 Member
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    What carbs are you planning on having left with the calculations you've done for protein and fat?

    Personally I don't agree with dieting when you're trying to provide for you and a baby. Regardless of what studies say. There is also a big difference between dieting and maintenance.

    With 30-33% bf, there's plenty of fat to go around. A proper, well planned, and well balanced diet should cover nutritional needs (bm provides a full profile of fatty acids regardless of what i eat). Aiming for 1lb/week while bf-ing could mean my calories go up. There's hardly anything irresponsible or damning about my goals, but at 232 weight even my doctors will be recommending weight loss.

    Now the actual PERTINENT question: with the calorie restriction, its about 44 carbs planning for body i want rather than the one i have. I'm not concerned about carbs if i'm getting the fiber and vegetable servings i need.
  • 5feline5
    5feline5 Posts: 5 Member
    I was told the reason I should not calorie restrict while my kiddo was exclusively breast fed (first six months, in our case) was that the byproducts of metabolizing too much of my body's fat stores would pass to my milk and weren't the best for baby. In your shoes, I would talk this over with an IBCLC and see what they think, and then work from there.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    First of all, I think you are way over thinking this and of course you are pregnant. IMO you should be thinking of your unborn child first.

    I personally think you need to get some help from your doctors and maybe even a dietician or nutritionist to figure all of this out (take your history of dieting, and take you current numbers and goals for where you want to be) to safely form plans for you:

    1). Diet and exercise plan for while your are pregnant
    2) Diet and exercise plan for breast feeding
    3) Diet and exercise plan for getting your hormones back on track and then adjust the plan for getting the body you want.

  • KellieTru
    KellieTru Posts: 285 Member
    Congratulations to you and all the best on the impending birth :)
    That said, I would strongly caution you against restricting calories after the birth; particularly when breast feeding. As it stands, you'll need good nutrition and calories to repair your body after the pregnancy and delivery. You also will require more calories when breast feeding. I think you need to concentrate on making sure your diet is as nutritious as possible. I totally agree with other posters who are recommending you speak to your Dr or Dietitian...they'll let you know when it'll be appropriate to start your weight loss.
    Take care!
  • CLM1227
    CLM1227 Posts: 61 Member
    KellieTru wrote: »
    Congratulations to you and all the best on the impending birth :)
    That said, I would strongly caution you against restricting calories after the birth; particularly when breast feeding. As it stands, you'll need good nutrition and calories to repair your body after the pregnancy and delivery. You also will require more calories when breast feeding. I think you need to concentrate on making sure your diet is as nutritious as possible. I totally agree with other posters who are recommending you speak to your Dr or Dietitian...they'll let you know when it'll be appropriate to start your weight loss.
    Take care!


    I had planned to "feed" unrestricted until recovery is over.

    This is my 3rd, though, and I have a history of gaining 10-20 lbs while breastfeeding. I just want healthy structure while maintaining healthy weight loss. Its supposed to be "common" to lose weight while breastfeeding. I'm not trying to be excessive and if i lose more weight on the calories expressed than 1lb a week, the calories are going up until it IS just 1lb. So regardless, i'm not looking at serious weight loss here.

    And I certainly am not starting til after baby is here. Just planning for after.

    I'm really not needing to justify this. I don't plan on starving myself or losing 20lbs in a month. If those were my goals... yes, tell me not to by all means! But 1lb a week isn't going to leave either of us hurting nutritionally. Looking at what i have for 1700 calories, i'm pretty certain i'll be satisfied... minus the lack of ice cream so far.

    That said, i did massage the numbers a bit and I think I'm going to aim for 208 at 30% bf with 1700 cal to start (will be adjusted to slow down weight loss). Macros at .8g/lm protein, .4g/lb fat... which makes it far easier to support a balanced diet and gives me 99g of carbs (inc fiber).

    The protein requirement for maintaining lean mass is hard to meet on a whole foods diet :/
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