Loosing weight while breastfeeding

krister897
krister897 Posts: 3 Member
edited December 4 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi
My Goal is 1750 calories per day. I am breastfeeding, should I increase my intake or keep it in 1750 calories?

Replies

  • JLPersall
    JLPersall Posts: 43 Member
    How old is baby?
  • krister897
    krister897 Posts: 3 Member
    He is 5 months now.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    If he's getting most of his nutrition from you, add 300-500 calories for breastfeeding. Once he starts solids, decrease in proportion to how much his nursing lessens.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    The math:
    Formula has 20 calories per ounce. Babies take approximately 2.5 ounces per pound of body weight in formula.
    Breastmilk has to have as much or more than formula, so the calorie counts your baby is getting are roughly similar. Enough similar that you can use the formula math to think about how many calories your baby is drawing off of you.

    It can be a lot, for a large baby that's not eating solids yet. Don't sell yourself short and don't cut your calories too low.
  • krister897
    krister897 Posts: 3 Member
    ok, I'll keep that in mind. He is a big boy and is only on breast milk :) Thank you :)
  • lissmayer
    lissmayer Posts: 86 Member
    I would add 500 for EBF. And eat back exercise calories as well.
  • JLPersall
    JLPersall Posts: 43 Member
    You might be able to add a bit. See how fast you are losing if more than 1.5 a week or if you feel ridiculously hungry then raise yr calories a bit. I started countin g when my son was about 3 months around 1750ish and lowered it slightly after a few months. Im now 1 yr postpartum I still nurse but he eats a lot of food now also. My goal is 1650 and I can lose slowly on that if I stick with it. Ive been struggling to eat than and ive been over quite often, but im very close to maintenance. I didnt have a supply issue but important to drink enough water! Good luck
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    How's your milk supply at 1750? I found when I was in a deficit my milk supply would go way down.
  • lissmayer
    lissmayer Posts: 86 Member
    Asher_Ethan wrote: »
    How's your milk supply at 1750? I found when I was in a deficit my milk supply would go way down.

    Yes. I could not do a deficit while I was EBF. Once baby was reliably eating solids around a year, I was able to lose the baby weight easily- but before that it was a choice between the weight or my milk supply.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    I didn't have to try for a deficit, so I can't speak to it affecting supply - but I nursed my 2nd from 10 pounds at birth to 28 pounds at a year, with only minimal solids (NOT my choice - she refused them until then). I lost weight like crazy and would find myself snarfing down eggs and cheese like there was no tomorrow....

    BUT: that happened because my body seriously resisted dropping below a certain weight while I was nursing. For me, that weight was a bit below my pre-pregnancy weight, but I started a bit overweight. It really made me believe in set-point theory, to be honest.
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