Breastfeeding.. starving every few hours!

I feel you, I am still breastfeeding my 14 month old. How old is your nursling? If she is still under 6 months I'd say make sure you aren't trying to cut too many calories, as she is very dependent on your milk and your supply can suffer while in a deficit. It helped me to really eat a lot of veggies, like a HUGE bowl of raw veggies with low calorie dressing every 4 hours. Good luck! I've lost almost all of the 60 pounds I've gained from pregnancy! It took this long, but Yay!

sarah9150 wrote: »

Hi, Awesome for losing the baby weight! Could I ask your advice as someone who's been there...my LO is 9 months now and still breastfeeding. I have also been wary to cut calories. MFP suggests I should eat 1280 calories a day which I think is way too low to lose 1lb a week. Do you think if I restrict to 1800 and include gentle exercise it'd be OK. (My problem is snacking at night or not eating consistently.) I don't want to screw with my milk but I also don't want to be this fat. lol. I have like 18 lbs to get to pre-baby weight and an extra 28 to get to healthy weight.
Any advice you have or ideas of where to look would be so gratefully received!

Yes I think that's a good plan. I lost my weight by eating an average of about 1650 a day, and maybe lost a little too fast, over a pound a week!

Thank you both! I think I'll try the 1700/1800 ish for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

safashanneb wrote: »

Had my baby 17 weeks ago and am exclusively breastfeeding. Now also on a dairy/soy free diet as LO has an allergy to cow milk products.

So, should I not even try the 1200 calorie goal that the app set for me by default? Its been hard to stick to honestly...I do feel hungry all the time, just not sure if its actually because of the breastfeeding or because my body got used to over eating.

I really wouldn't restrict yourself calorie wise yet. Especially as low as 1200. Stick to just eating as healthy as possible. As you are exclusively breastfeeding your baby is relying on you to provide a balance in nutrients and also you are using around 400 calories a day just for BF.
Restricting calories can affect your supply especially if you do it quickly.
The recommended amount of calories per day for BF mum wanting to lose weight is 1700-1800 calories and to do it by losing no more than 1-1.5 lbs per week. There will be mums who extreme dieted and didn't suffer any consequences but there will also be those who did.

Be kind to your body and be kind to yourself - recover gently.
As an alternative you could up your activity level on the app to high (as you are burning lots of calories - just through breastfeeding rather than exercise but it's having the same effect.)

I feel hungry too, and when i'm actually breastfeeding I feel so thirsty too.

suzannesimmons3 wrote: »

Some say eat at maintainance and let BF be your defecit

I like this idea! That way, you know you're not eating too little to support your little one.

Definitely don't try to limit your calories too much... but have you considered that your feelings of "starvation" may actually be thirst? Drink more water and see if that helps.