Breastfeeding and weaning

tyediri
tyediri Posts: 183 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all! I'm currently losing 0.5lbs a week while breastfeeding my 5 month old, trying to get rid of the baby weight without affecting my supply. I log breastfeeding as a negative calorie adjustment (500kcals).
I will be weaning my baby on to solid food soon. Over the next 6 months or so, she will gradually take more solid food and less milk, and therefore the amount of breastfeeding calories I burn should also reduce?
My question is how to I account for this when counting (other than trial and error) and has anyone else managed this and how did you log it? I'm also starting work in a month after maternity leave so I don't want to get it wrong and affect my milk supply as I'd like to continue to feed for at least a year, but I also don't want to gain much weight (I haven't got a lot of wiggle room, losing 0.5lbs a week).
Any ideas/suggestions/experience?
Thank you!!! 😊

Replies

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    If the 500 has been working for you, prorate accordingly. For every 20% reduction in feeding, reduce your calorie burn by 100 cals.
  • dsg2000
    dsg2000 Posts: 38 Member
    edited September 2019
    The standard that I've always seen mentioned is that 1 oz breastmilk = 20 calories burned; theoretically you can get a pretty good estimate with that... if you know how much your baby is eating! :) You could be pretty accurate while pumping, if you're going to be pumping at work. But if you're just breastfeeding it's going to be difficult to estimate, especially as your baby transitions to solids and ends up taking less milk as a result.

    So... I don't know that there is a way of doing this "exactly". I can say that I'm currently in a similar boat as you: my second LO is nine months old. I lost all the baby weight I gained (as well as a few extra pounds) by putting my activity level in MFP as "lightly active" instead of "sedentary", and counting that as my breastfeeding calories; and then inputing that I wanted to lose 1 lb a week. I'm also very active (running) and ate back all my activity calories from that. I was also initially concerned about milk supply but it hasn't been an issue, even as I've been increasing my running and am now below my pre-pregnancy weight. From what I've read milk supply at this point is pretty well established (not like in the first month or two postpartum), so I've kind of just concluded that with a sensible approach and not restricting dramatically, that side of things will be OK.

    That said, everyone's experience on this score tends to be very different. I count myself lucky that I haven't had serious difficultly losing my pregnancy weight with either of my kids and actually dropping lower (!) after each of them, and my milk supply was not affected by it either time.
  • Lindsay375
    Lindsay375 Posts: 49 Member
    So I wouldn’t count on reduction in milk until the one year mark. While food is introduced milk will be the primary source of nutrition for a lot longer. I’d recommend staying the course until at least 10-11mo and then slowly cut down the calories you are giving yourself from breast feeding.
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