Breastfeeding and setting a goal.

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Sammileann1314
Sammileann1314 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’ve read online to account for breastfeeding by adding 200-500 calories to your diet a day. So should I put it on a pound a week, and add to that amount of calories(1630cal+bf cal), or should I put it on an half pound a week (1930cal+Bf cal) and add calories to that number? I’m also not sure what amount I should add because 200-500 is such a large range.
My goal is 82 pounds away. I exclusively breastfeed my 4 month old. I’ve also thought about just doing a 2000 calorie diet, but I didn’t know. I just don’t want to under feed my body because I don’t want to lose my supply. I’m just not sure where a good starting point is, because I used my fitness pal to lose 30 pounds in the past successfully I’ve just never had to account for breastfeeding.

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  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    When I was breastfeeding I set my goal to maintain current weight and didn't worry about breastfeeding calories. That created enough deficit to lose weight very easily.
  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
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    Breastfeeding accounts for ~20 calories per ounce of breast milk. By 4 months, they are typically consuming 24-30 ounces daily. Usually the estimation is 450-500 calories. Based on your stats, you would be ok losing 1 lb/week, but I would not recommend higher than that so it doesn't effect your supply. If you would like to log it that way, you could do the 1630+bf calories. Or, you can set your calorie goal to maintain your current weight, and let your breast feeding calories account for your deficit. A deficit of 500 calories a day will allow you to lose 1 lb/week which is about how much your are using for breastfeeding.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    For women exclusively breastfeeding the average calorie burn is 500 calories/day. It depends on you output so if you pump you can use that as a way to measure and calculate more exact numbers for you. If not you just have to guess and 500 is a good place to start.

    Some women cut calories quite successfully, some immediately see a drop in supply. My advice would be to start at maintenance, and slowly drop your calorie amount. Maybe take away 100 calories a day for a week, and see how you do. If its working out then drop another 100cal/day the following week. Make sure you keep drinking plenty of water, my supply was most responsive to water intake when I was breastfeeding. Its always a good idea to have supplemental nutrition on hand for the little one in case you do see a big drop in supply.

    This post has lots great info about calorie needs and different ways to log breastfeeding in the second half:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10176233/gaining-weight-during-pregnancy-and-losing-it-post-partum
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
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    Be careful about too big of a reduction because that can affect your breastmilk supply. I agree with the others to set to maintenance and let breastfeeding create the deficit for you.
  • Sammileann1314
    Sammileann1314 Posts: 13 Member
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    Thank you all!! I will set to maintenance. 😊

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