For breastfeeding mamas, 1,200 cal a daysafe?

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littlebabekitty
littlebabekitty Posts: 388 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi i am a young wife and mama of two . My youngest is 10 months old and i am breastfeeding him partime as he eats solids. I wanted to know is it okay if I do the 1,200 calories a day i order to accelerate my weight loss? Will that be kay will it harm my milk supply or not give him enough nutrients? I am doing the two protein shakes and one meal a day diet. I am currently overweight at 160 lbs and i am 5'4". Thank you
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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Even without breastfeeding you don't need to eat so little to lose, so no, it's not safe
  • crackpotbaby
    crackpotbaby Posts: 1,297 Member
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    If you can access a lactation consultant or dietitian they would be able to offer appropriate guidance with that.

    Not sure which country you are in, but the nursing mothers or breastfeeding association local to you would have trained counsellors to help with this kind of question too. They are usually free.

    .......................

  • Lolalikeslolagets
    Lolalikeslolagets Posts: 142 Member
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    At 10 months you're likely only burning 200-250 cal from breastfeeding since your little one is eating and it's not exclusive. I saw a nutritionist about that and they put me at 1430 cal to loose a pound a week (I'm 5'5" but in my 40's, and my little guy was around 1.5/2 years old still nursing). You can use an online calculator to get your tdee (like this one https://tdeecalculator.net) and then account for the breastfeeding cals.. or MFP has some entries for breastfeeding at 500 cal, I would just half that number... if you're younger though you'll need more energy, and depending how active you are? 1200 is like, bare minimum, it's going to make you feel like crap eating that little I would think!
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
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    When my kids were 10 months old, I was eating 300 calories extra a day to support bfing. I would estimate abou 1800-1900 calories a day (5'3 and around 130-135lbs).

    I don't think 2 protein shakes and 1 meal is a great idea. See if your local hospital has a lactation consultant and nutrionist. Usually those services are free or cheap.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    Most likely that will hurt your supply. Since it sounds like continuing to breast feed is important to you, the best way for you to apprach it is to go slow. Figure out your tdee as guided above ^^^^^. Add 300 to that, that is your maintenenace while breastfeeding, eat that for a week and see how your supply does. Then cut out 100 calories, see how your supply does. If that works cut another hundred a week later. If you notice your supply diminish then you went to far, eat maintenance for a couple days to help get supply back up, and slowly return to the number where you did not lose supply. That is the most you can lose while breastfeeding.

    Make sure to have supplimental nutrition for baby on hand so if you do lose supply they have enough still.

    Good luck!
  • zlagv
    zlagv Posts: 10 Member
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    I eat around 1200 calories a day, some days up to 1600 but usually around 1200. I am breastfeeding an older infant (almost 10 months) and have had no drop in my supply or ill effects. I think it depends how many times a day you are breastfeeding. In the beginning, when she was nursing every two hours, I NEVER would have considered a caloric deficit. She is only nursing 4x a day now and it's no problem, though.
  • zlagv
    zlagv Posts: 10 Member
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    To add to my post above, I think it also depends on your supply as it is. I never had any problems with low supply. If that's something you've struggled with at any point in your breastfeeding journey, I wouldn't recommend cutting calories, it's too risky.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    1200 is low.. considering you are burning at least some of the cals what are you left with for yourself? Food = Fuel. Keep an eye on your supply and energy levels.

    I don't think I would ever go below 2000 for a toddler personally. I am 5'7" and my child is 13 months. When I cut in a month I am going to stay around 2500 cals which is on the low side for me.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
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    I lost weight while breastfeeding (90 lbs total, started losing when he was 1 month old and had met my goal by the time he was just over 1 year old). When he was 10 months old, I was losing (quickly and easily) eating 1800-2000 a day. And I'm super short! That amount was with exercise. So a lot will depend on your activity level, how much you have to lose, and your height. But I can almost guarantee that 1200 is way too low.

    And maybe you get lucky and are able to maintain your milk supply eating 1200 a day. But why risk it when you can more than likely still lose weight eating more than that? There's no rush with any of this.
  • sodaceratops
    sodaceratops Posts: 36 Member
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    For me, it would be safe to eat 1200 calories a day and not have my milk supply hindered by it. Every woman is different and I can't say the same for you. I definitely don't believe people when they say that you need an extra 500 calories a day if you're overweight and breastfeeding.
  • SierraFatToSkinny
    SierraFatToSkinny Posts: 463 Member
    edited March 2017
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    I think dieting as severally as 1200 calories while breastfeeding isn't very smart.

    Of course your milk is going to be altered.... The quality and quantity won't be the same as a woman who is eating 2200 calories. How could it not? Dieting is a stressor besides. Best to avoid low calorie diets.

    Edited to temper my tone.
  • lbride
    lbride Posts: 248 Member
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    I did WW when my son was 8 months old, you add "points" for BF. In total, I was eating approx. 1800-1900 per day and the weight literally fell off. (My 8 month old still nursed A LOT). 1200 I would think is too low and I would have been miserable. I would start at 1800 or so, see if you are losing weight after a few weeks and if not, then slowly reduce.

  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    Came back to add:

    This is a great post that covers calorie counting while breastfeeding. You may find it useful.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10176233/gaining-weight-during-pregnancy-and-losing-it-post-partum

    ~Best wishes
  • AgidGirl
    AgidGirl Posts: 138 Member
    edited March 2017
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    I breast fed my 3 boys for the first year of their lives. Please make sure you are eating enough! I made the mistake of trying to go on a 'diet' with my 2nd kiddo and cut my calories WAY down and I could actually see the difference in my milk. It became thinner and more blue in color (crazy right!). Once I went back up to 2000 calories a day it went back to the thick, creamier consistency. You can totally lose weight while breast feeding though, just choose your calories well! Have oatmeal for breakfast and half a light beer at dinner (treat yo-self mama, you earned it)!
  • Move4Abs
    Move4Abs Posts: 22 Member
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    I know some people say that breastfeeding did wonders for their post baby weight loss. I wasn't so fortunate. I continued to eat healthily though and worked out as able. My weight was stable but no loss. To try and tone up, I cut my calories to 1500. I didn't see a difference in my supply until the 3rd day...when every session gave me only half of the norm. Day 4 and 5 were the same and I had to go into my frozen stash to keep the baby fed. I stopped the diet on Day 6. I pumped so I actually saw this happen...it was pretty amazing. I imagine if you are breastfeeding directly, you may not be able to tell as clearly. If your supply goes down and you are not aware of it, you may be setting yourself up for baby's food/sleep regression, fussiness, tears and headache. I decided to maintain my 1800 calorie healthy died, feel good, have a happy and content baby and diet when she no longer needed me. For yourself and your baby...just eat healthy. All those veggies, fruit, meat acids and tastes are in your milk...the sooner and longer the baby is exposed to a healthy diet, the more likely the baby will be ok eating healthily as a toddler. Look at the science behind taste development through breast milk, it's really interested and really encourages the mama to eat those greens, yellows, oranges, and reds!!
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,949 Member
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    Nope, you'll lose your milk. Plus starve your baby of nutrition while losing it.

    Nothing under 1800 will do, and you'll want to eat back exercise calories. Depending how tall you are, even that may not be enough.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,982 Member
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    rodsteph777 wrote: »
    Hi i am a young wife and mama of two . My youngest is 10 months old and i am breastfeeding him partime as he eats solids. I wanted to know is it okay if I do the 1,200 calories a day i order to accelerate my weight loss? Will that be kay will it harm my milk supply or not give him enough nutrients? I am doing the two protein shakes and one meal a day diet. I am currently overweight at 160 lbs and i am 5'4". Thank you

    What's your weekly weight loss goal? At 160 lbs and 5'4", anything over a pound a week creates too aggressive a deficit. 1200 calories per day is only appropriate for women considerably shorter or older than you.

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