Breastfeeding and losing weight

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BambiKing2
BambiKing2 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I breastfeed my daughter she's 4 months old. I guess that's 500 extra calories a day???? Tips???

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  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
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    Yeah, 500 for exclusive bfing is the recommendation. Just be sensible with your diet, try to get out and moving every day, and see what happens. Some people find the weight just falls of with bfing, some don't. I found 9 months in I still had a good 6 or so kg I wanted to lose, so I started counting calories. I dropped too much and felt awful, and lost a bit too quickly too, I've upped it now and have found a good level. Try to be more sensible than me: take it slow!
  • BambiKing2
    BambiKing2 Posts: 13 Member
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    She is about 90% breastfed. I did the cabbage soup diet and lost 9 pounds final weigh in after 7 days. I'm back to moderate eating. My diet calls for 1200 calories a day to lose two pounds per week. I have about 40 more tht I want to lose. I've done pretty well I think. Just don't want to deprive my baby. ;( she's doin fine though. It did fall off in the beginning but has stopped. Then I gained 10 back. Lol it's been a battle. So did u stick to recommend calories with this program??
  • cosmo_momo
    cosmo_momo Posts: 173 Member
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    Get a food scale and start weighing everything and logging accordingly. I'm no doctor, but you obviously have your baby's health in mind. Please, please, PLEASE, don't be doing any "diets" while you are breastfeeding. Eat a balanced diet with a small deficit and you will lose weight.
  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
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    No, I manually set myself at 1700, and I've lost about 4kg (about 8ish lbs I think?) in a month.
    I started at 1500 (1200 and 300 for bf) and that was Not Good. Apart from how I felt, I'm fairly certain my milk supply was affected as bubba was smacking my chest like crazy at each feed. So I've upped it 200 and things are much better.
    I'd say start at *at least* 1700.
    Over the course of the 2-and-a-bit years I've been a mum, I've found kellymom to be a great resource for things like breastfeeding etc. she has a couple of pages about dieting while breastfeeding, including one on calorie requirements: http://kellymom.com/nutrition/mothers-diet/mom-calories-fluids/

  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    If you are trying to lose weight, eat at maintenance without adding extra calories for breastfeeding. Set MFP to not lose or gain, and then just do not count breastfeeding. It is about 300 calories for a baby this young, so it will result in a reasoble weight loss, without starving. If you go lower, you will feel the effects yourself first, before affecting the baby.
  • jorinya
    jorinya Posts: 933 Member
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    Please think of your baby first. It is not recommended to diet until you have finished breastfeeding as it effects the milk supply and the nutrients your baby is getting. Take my advise if you want but I have breastfed all four of my kids. Once you stop then fire away. Drink plenty of water and milk and eat iron rich foods for your own health. You baby is taking all the calcium and iron from you so you need to replace that every day for your own health. I would sit with a glass of water beside me (sometimes a big bottle) and drink when my baby was sucking. Never had any problems with my milk supply.
    I'm here if you need me just drop me an email. Good luck!!!
  • jasperdog52554
    jasperdog52554 Posts: 115 Member
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    I am currently breastfeeding a 6 month old who has never had formula. I have been able to lose 6-8 pounds per months without much change in supply. I have noticed periodic dips, but usually just in my pumping efforts. I do think it is ok if done sensibly. I am dairy free out of necessity for my baby and go back and forth with gluten free for other reasons. I do make sure to get plenty of carbs from fruits and other whole foods. Best of luck
  • BambiKing2
    BambiKing2 Posts: 13 Member
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    Thank you so much for all of the advice. I'm trying to lose moderately. I'm new to this app.. just learning.. how to you add breastfeeding to your daily diary?.?? I try to eat plenty of healthy foods.. lots of fruits n veggies... I need my body back. My hips and knees hurt immensely from all the weight gain... ;(( more energy for my daughter and my three sons. Olivia loves to nurse. Has always supplement about 6 oz or so of formula per Dr. My milk supply is great now. So I'm hearing 300 to 500 calories extra?? Lots of water... ;))))
  • shinisize
    shinisize Posts: 105 Member
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    Don't deprive yourself of protien. Your body will strip it's own muscle off to make your milk nutritious enough, and the more muscle lost the harder it will be to shed the baby weight (every pound of muscle burns something like 50cals/day just to maintain itself, so losing muscle literally slows your metabolism down).
  • BambiKing2
    BambiKing2 Posts: 13 Member
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    Wow!! That's good advice on the protein! I didn't know that!! I'll keep that in mind for sure....

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