Calorie intake and breastfeeding

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denisebrodie13
denisebrodie13 Posts: 1 Member
in Getting Started
How can I adjust the recommended daily calorie intake to include calories used to make breast milk? I think the 1200 calories a day it's suggesting for me sounds far too low.

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  • brittneelaine86
    brittneelaine86 Posts: 2 Member
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    Some people add the calories in as an exercise. The typical amount is 500 calories a day before they start solids, and 250 a day after.
  • sheilaraesch
    sheilaraesch Posts: 6 Member
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    I added 500 calories as a "custom exercise" each day and changed my goal to maintain weight. I'm 5'2" and 125 lbs. I ate about 1700 calories or a bit more each day and did cardio and weights 4-6 times a week. I did feel that my milk dried up before a year was up because I was exerting more calories than I was taking in so make sure you eat when you are hungry :)
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    edited May 2016
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    IMO, i would track calories, withOUT reducing them for a week to see how many you are currently eating. Then reduce it by 200 for a week, then 100 more the next week, 100 more the week after that.

    If you reduce cals too fast while nursing, you run the risk of lowering your supply. Obviously this is less of an issue with an older baby who isnt exclusively nursing than for someone with a low supply anyways.

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