Any breastfeeding moms out there?

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chubbs415706
chubbs415706 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Any breastfeeding moms here? What did you set your goals to? I set mine to lose 1 lb a week but I'm losing super rapidly. Is that ok? Been at it about 2.5 weeks but down 9lbs. Obese to begin with so I'm sure that's why and I know you tend to lose faster at first. Haven't noticed a drop in my supply at all. I'm excited by the weight loss but wondering if it's ok while breastfeeding. I set my goals to lose 1 lb/week and lightly active.

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  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
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    Are you accounting for the 500 calories that breastfeeding uses? You're literally putting those calories from your body into your baby (assuming you're FT breastfeeding an infant between about 2 months and 12 months).

    If your supply is good, you can continue. If you're concerned, or if you notice your baby seems fussier/less satisfied, increase calories. You can also add in "breastfeeding" as a cardio activity to give credit for the 500 calories, or manually move your calorie allowance up.
  • akmomof7
    akmomof7 Posts: 162 Member
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    chubbs415706 wrote: »
    Any breastfeeding moms here? What did you set your goals to? I set mine to lose 1 lb a week but I'm losing super rapidly. Is that ok? Been at it about 2.5 weeks but down 9lbs. Obese to begin with so I'm sure that's why and I know you tend to lose faster at first. Haven't noticed a drop in my supply at all. I'm excited by the weight loss but wondering if it's ok while breastfeeding. I set my goals to lose 1 lb/week and lightly active.

    I think it is ok,but you should eat back some calories for your breastfeeding. When I started tracking,my twins were 11 months and I was eating an extra 500ish calories and still lost pretty rapidly. 3-500 calories is a pretty safe bet for a younger baby, and reduce that when they start taking in more solids. I just weaned my 2 and got a decent bump up on the scale as I adjusted to not having my cushion of extra calories, so keep that in mind when you decide to wean.
  • chubbs415706
    chubbs415706 Posts: 13 Member
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    Thanks for the input. My baby is 5 months so no solids yet. I don't add in the breastfeeding. I'm currently eating 1900-2100 cals/ day. Baby seems chubby and happy as usual. I love that breastfeeding burns so many calories. It's the easiest work out there is. I lay in bed and lose weight. Haha
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
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    You should be okay, considering the age of your baby (your milk supply is well established) and your calories. Congrats on your success so far!
  • emmarrgh
    emmarrgh Posts: 44 Member
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    Ah, lucky! I couldn't lose a thing while nursing on demand, but I was so freaking hungry all the time! Your calorie goal is high enough to get the required nutrition for you both, and as long as baby seems fine, keep it up! Are you taking a prenatal vitamin still? They say to keep it up while pregnant and nursing.

    I still nurse my 19m old and I set my goal to 1450 to lose 1.5lbs a week, I don't add in BF'ing calories as we only nurse 2x a day, and I wouldn't be super heartbroken to lose my supply anyway lol.
  • chubbs415706
    chubbs415706 Posts: 13 Member
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    emmarrgh wrote: »
    Ah, lucky! I couldn't lose a thing while nursing on demand, but I was so freaking hungry all the time! Your calorie goal is high enough to get the required nutrition for you both, and as long as baby seems fine, keep it up! Are you taking a prenatal vitamin still? They say to keep it up while pregnant and nursing.

    I still nurse my 19m old and I set my goal to 1450 to lose 1.5lbs a week, I don't add in BF'ing calories as we only nurse 2x a day, and I wouldn't be super heartbroken to lose my supply anyway lol.

    Hoping I can keep up the weight loss! What inspired me to lose weight is a trip we booked for September to Hawaii. I want to be able to hike and keep up with my kids on the beach. I know my little boy is going to be heavy by then and carrying him in the ergo is going to be a challenge.
  • smileformex0
    smileformex0 Posts: 2 Member
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    I am breastfeeding my 5 mo as well! Just started using MFP again and haven't figured out the best way to include breastfeeding. Any ideas? My recommended calorie intake is now 1200 ... I am at 146 trying to get down to 126.. Should I be eating 1700 calories??? Thanks!!
  • AEC50
    AEC50 Posts: 124 Member
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    I have nursed two babies and honestly, no matter what I set my calories at, my body just refuses to lose until they are on a decent amount of solids. Now I have a 4 year old and a 20 month old who nurses occasionally and have just started being able to drop weight like I did before kids. Make sure you are drinking a lot of water and look for those NSVs!! You will get there in time.
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
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    smileformex0 wrote: »
    I am breastfeeding my 5 mo as well! Just started using MFP again and haven't figured out the best way to include breastfeeding. Any ideas? My recommended calorie intake is now 1200 ... I am at 146 trying to get down to 126.. Should I be eating 1700 calories??? Thanks!!
    Yes, you need to eat at least 1700. Odds are you have your weight loss goal set too high (put it at 1 lb, not 2). If continuing breastfeeding is a priority, you may need to eat closer to 2000.

    I added it as a cardio activity and just set the calorie burn to 500.

  • xcaranicolex
    xcaranicolex Posts: 38 Member
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    I am exclusively pumping and have a target of 1800 per day. But the whole burning 500 cals thing seems weird to me. How am I pumping 45 oz a day and burning as much as someone putting out 24? The flat number irks me. I found a formula that says every oz is 20 cals but that seems a bit much...very frustrating for someone neurotic like me lol
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
    edited March 2017
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    xcaranicolex wrote: »
    I am exclusively pumping and have a target of 1800 per day. But the whole burning 500 cals thing seems weird to me. How am I pumping 45 oz a day and burning as much as someone putting out 24? The flat number irks me. I found a formula that says every oz is 20 cals but that seems a bit much...very frustrating for someone neurotic like me lol
    It's all an estimate; if you KNOW you're pumping 45 oz a day, while the average baby/milk output is closer to 30 oz a day, then you'll probably either lose faster or you can eat more. 20 cal/oz is also an estimate. Calorie content of breastmilk varies, and some calories would be consumed by your body to make the milk itself.

    Either way, the main point is that if you try to eat 1200 calories while lactating, something has to give and it won't go well for either you or your baby.
  • merewen314
    merewen314 Posts: 6 Member
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    I was just wondering about this. I have an 8 month old and I set my goal for half a pound a week, hoping to lose a pound a week after all the breastfeeding calories. (This set my calories at 1930.) Then I lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks. I took the weekend off, went for a burger, and I'm starting over today with my calorie goal manually set at 2200 to see where that gets me.
  • Puzzl3dunicorn
    Puzzl3dunicorn Posts: 30 Member
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    I am exclusively breastfeeding my three month old and I have my calorie count set at 2000. I just started about a week and a half ago and didn't want to drop my intake too drastically but will be going down to 1800 in 2 weeks. My main concern though are my macros which I have set at 45% carbs, 25% protien and 30% fat.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited March 2017
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    xcaranicolex wrote: »
    I am exclusively pumping and have a target of 1800 per day. But the whole burning 500 cals thing seems weird to me. How am I pumping 45 oz a day and burning as much as someone putting out 24? The flat number irks me. I found a formula that says every oz is 20 cals but that seems a bit much...very frustrating for someone neurotic like me lol

    The 500 cals/day comes from the fact that the average baby who is exclusively breastfeeding needs about 500 cals/day. If you're pumping a substantial amount more than that (or exclusively breastfeeding twins), you may well be "burning" more than 500 cals/day breastfeeding. Essentially, that's the calorie burn from feeding baby. Pumping is extra.

    And if 24 oz is average, that would be 20 cals/oz (for a total of 480 cals).

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