Breastfeeding

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kayleamoi87
kayleamoi87 Posts: 4 Member
in Getting Started
I just created a cardio exercise that burned 500 calories and called it breastfeeding. Is there another way to add the additional calories you need as a breastfeeding mama? Or would this work well enoug?

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  • thepainmaker88
    thepainmaker88 Posts: 365 Member
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    I think this is what I've seen other mom's do in the past, except I don't think it was quite that high of a cal burn....I envy my wife because in 2 months shell be burning the cals nursing while I'm still trying to run and cut cals :(
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
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    kayleamoi87 wrote: »
    I just created a cardio exercise that burned 500 calories and called it breastfeeding. Is there another way to add the additional calories you need as a breastfeeding mama? Or would this work well enoug?

    A lot of women set their goal to maintenance and allow the breastfeeding to create a deficit. I haven't looked myself, but I have also seen other users mention that there a breastfeeding entry in both the food and cardio databases.
  • kayleamoi87
    kayleamoi87 Posts: 4 Member
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    Thanks! I'm currently nursing two, so I opted for the higher calorie burning number.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
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    Per Mayo clinic it's 330-400 calories, was just researching this yesterday for my wife.
    https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/in-depth/breastfeeding-nutrition/art-20046912
    thepainmaker88 wrote: »
    I think this is what I've seen other mom's do in the past, except I don't think it was quite that high of a cal burn....I envy my wife because in 2 months shell be burning the cals nursing while I'm still trying to run and cut cals :(

    Don't be that guy. Your wife and her body is and will go through enough, she won't want to hear you complain about cutting calories (or about anything, really). 300-400 calories really isn't all that much either, tbh, depending on your relative sizes your TDEE will likely still be a bit higher than hers, especially during the first 4-6 weeks postpartem until she's cleared to start back exercise and what not.

    Source: Guy who has a 7-week old at home and still feels the searing heat of the look his wife gave him when he bemoaned how hard it's been to cut low enough to justify bulking between stress/anxiety and poor eating habits.
  • DomesticKat
    DomesticKat Posts: 565 Member
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    It's unknown how many calories an individual mother burns daily from breastfeeding as it is unique to each mother/baby pair and their breastfeeding habits. There are lots of estimates, and any of them could be right or wrong for you. Since we don't have ounce markers on our breasts like bottles, and babies nurse more or less for a huge variety of reasons every day, the best method for determining your daily calorie expenditure from breastfeeding is to collect your own data over time. The easiest way to do that is to set your account to maintain your current weight, log your calories faithfully for about 6 weeks, and track your weight loss with a weight trending app (like Libra). As a nursing mother, you should aim to lose no more than one pound a week. Adjust your calories as you go along.
  • DomesticKat
    DomesticKat Posts: 565 Member
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    kayleamoi87 wrote: »
    Thanks! I'm currently nursing two, so I opted for the higher calorie burning number.

    Are you nursing twins? If so, it's possible to burn 1000+ calories a day while nursing two exclusively. If you're nursing a toddler and infant, I would assume at least 500 calories a day but it's possibly more than that.
  • kayleamoi87
    kayleamoi87 Posts: 4 Member
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    DomesticKat wrote: »
    kayleamoi87 wrote: »
    Thanks! I'm currently nursing two, so I opted for the higher calorie burning number.

    Are you nursing twins? If so, it's possible to burn 1000+ calories a day while nursing two exclusively. If you're nursing a toddler and infant, I would assume at least 500 calories a day but it's possibly more than that.

    I am nursing a toddler and an infant.
  • DomesticKat
    DomesticKat Posts: 565 Member
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    kayleamoi87 wrote: »
    DomesticKat wrote: »
    kayleamoi87 wrote: »
    Thanks! I'm currently nursing two, so I opted for the higher calorie burning number.

    Are you nursing twins? If so, it's possible to burn 1000+ calories a day while nursing two exclusively. If you're nursing a toddler and infant, I would assume at least 500 calories a day but it's possibly more than that.

    I am nursing a toddler and an infant.

    I would suggest starting at maintenance and log your food as accurately as you can for 6 weeks. Get a food scale if you don't have one already. Everyone can offer estimates but I'd rather offer a more conservative suggestion rather than encourage anything that could reduce your milk supply. My calorie needs have been all over the place in the last (almost) two years of breastfeeding. None of the estimates or calculators were accurate for me (I ended up needing to eat a lot more than I expected) so I used my own data and manually adjusted my calorie goals.
  • Sammileann1314
    Sammileann1314 Posts: 13 Member
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    kayleamoi87 wrote: »
    I just created a cardio exercise that burned 500 calories and called it breastfeeding. Is there another way to add the additional calories you need as a breastfeeding mama? Or would this work well enoug?

    I have mine set on to lose a pound a week, I’m pretty sedentary but put it on lightly active to account for breastfeeding. Adding 500 was too much for me. How I have it set now gives me 1970 calories, and I have been consistently loosing 1 pound a week for four weeks. It’s a lot of trial and error. With nursing two I would say start at the highest which is what you’re doing and watch the scale. You don’t want to loose to quickly because I did this three times and always go over board and my supply dips tremendously. I finally have it adjusted okay for now.
  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
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    kayleamoi87 wrote: »
    DomesticKat wrote: »
    kayleamoi87 wrote: »
    Thanks! I'm currently nursing two, so I opted for the higher calorie burning number.

    Are you nursing twins? If so, it's possible to burn 1000+ calories a day while nursing two exclusively. If you're nursing a toddler and infant, I would assume at least 500 calories a day but it's possibly more than that.

    I am nursing a toddler and an infant.

    I would say 500 calories is a good starting point. Since your toddler is eating solid foods, it is safe to say that breast milk is no longer their primary source of nutrition, so they will not be nursing nearly as much as your infant. Typically, an ounce of breast milk burns ~20 cal. Infants typically require 20-30 ounces per day for the first 6 months of their life. This would be about 380-600 calories per day. The standard recommendation is to eat your maintenance calories and let your breastfeeding create your calorie deficit. Creating too large of a deficit while breast feeding can cause a drop in supply.

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