Breastfeeding, Macros, Safe Calorie Deficit

amberlongsine
amberlongsine Posts: 215 Member
edited November 20 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm just curious, how much of a calorie deficit would be too much?

Especially with Breastfeeding...

I tried looking up on forums and other websites trying to find out what a safe deficit is and what too much of a deficit would be classified as.

I did 2 hours of Zumba and also breastfed/pumped about 20-22oz today.

Everything I've read says 300-500 extra calories the first 3 months of BF then 200-300 calories after that.

To maintain, I would need 1800 calories give or take 100. So I added 200 calories to it for my "breastfeeding calories" putting me up at 2000 calories.

I get sucked into Zumba and other dance workouts so I have a tendency to do over an hour before I get tired and stop. Then I do more later.

But I can't seem to find what a safe calorie deficit would be, especially while BF.

I don't want to overdo it but I want to be effective in losing weight while keeping my supply.

My macros are
Carbs: 30%
Protein: 50%
Fat: 25%

I'm 5'4" and 237lbs

Is a 1,500-2,000 calorie deficit too much despite eating 1800-2200 calories?

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I have recently read a few posts from women who have said that they set their MFP account to maintain and then instead of trying to add in extra calories for breastfeeding, they use those calories as their deficit. In other words, if you are burning 300 extra calories per day by breastfeeding, that would be your deficit instead of you going in to pick a half pound or a pound per week.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    amberlongsine wrote: »
    I'm just curious, how much of a calorie deficit would be too much?

    Especially with Breastfeeding...

    I tried looking up on forums and other websites trying to find out what a safe deficit is and what too much of a deficit would be classified as.

    I did 2 hours of Zumba and also breastfed/pumped about 20-22oz today.

    Everything I've read says 300-500 extra calories the first 3 months of BF then 200-300 calories after that.

    To maintain, I would need 1800 calories give or take 100. So I added 200 calories to it for my "breastfeeding calories" putting me up at 2000 calories.

    I get sucked into Zumba and other dance workouts so I have a tendency to do over an hour before I get tired and stop. Then I do more later.

    But I can't seem to find what a safe calorie deficit would be, especially while BF.

    I don't want to overdo it but I want to be effective in losing weight while keeping my supply.

    My macros are
    Carbs: 30%
    Protein: 50%
    Fat: 25%

    I'm 5'4" and 237lbs

    Is a 1,500-2,000 calorie deficit too much despite eating 1800-2200 calories?

    where are you getting that your calorie deficit is 1500 to 2000?
  • madeeley
    madeeley Posts: 8 Member
    I'm 5'4" and 217lbs. I pump around 20-22oz a day as well. I aim for 1830 calories a day, 40% carbs, 35% fat, 25% (or more) protein. I put my activity in as sedentary with a goal of losing 1lb per week. This gives me 1600 cals per day. I then add 200-250 calories for breastfeeding/pumping by editing my custom daily goals to 1800-1850. Then as I lose weight I just recalculate my goal calories and adjust for breastfeeding so my daily calorie goal goes down slightly over time.

    Another way of thinking about it-- I estimate my BMR (without breastfeeding) to be around 1500 or so (a little lower than what MFP tells me, which is around 1670), and add 300ish calories.
  • lovetolose17
    lovetolose17 Posts: 31 Member
    IME, that's not enough calories. But, watch and see how your supply is. The going estimate is 20 calories per ounce pumped, but I find that to be really low for me. Are you an exclusive pumper? If you're nursing on top of what you're pumping, it's definitely not enough.

    I'm nursing two toddlers. I pump once a day just because I don't want to deal with clogged ducts, and I lose weight eating 2200 calories a day with about 45 minutes of working out.
  • Malyssam27
    Malyssam27 Posts: 28 Member
    I have to reply to this.
    Don't do what I did!
    I wanted to lose weight after my second child. I restricted my calories and exercised a lot.

    I was successful at losing weight. I lost 25 pounds in 6 weeks BUT my exclusively breast fed baby went from the 50th to the 5th percentile in weight. I stopped dieting. He was very small for his age for years.

    At 17 he is 5'9. His dad is 6'2 and his brother is 6 ft tall. I will always wonder is my extreme dieting when he was depending on my milk hurt his growth.

    Babies need you milk for such a short time-- only 6 months exclusive breastfeeding. Don't jeopardize your supply. Eat healthy and when he is taking solids, then diet.
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