Breastfeeding + Exercise Calories???

s2mcconkie
s2mcconkie Posts: 3 Member
edited December 25 in Food and Nutrition
Hey! I am about 4 months postpartum and am starting to try to lose weight as of tomorrow now that I'm somewhat sleeping and have a good milk supply. I've looked at different calorie/TDEE calculators and have gotten wildly differing recommendations for how much I should be eating to lose steadily and not lose my milk.

My question is this: are there any of you who have successfully lost weight while nursing? If so, how many calories were you eating each day and what kind of workouts were you doing?

(Just FYI I'm 5'6", currently 156lbs, and thinking about doing 2000 calories a day along with the BBG workouts.)

Replies

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I have heard nursing burns anywhere from 300-500 calories, so either adding that to your intake or eating at maintenance and letting nursing create your deficit.
    Just make sure you keep an eye on your supply.

    I have lost weight 3x post baby while nursing. I didn't track my intake this time but last time I ate at maintenance which was around 2800-2900 cals for me (5'7", ~150lbs after birth) I was lifting weights 3x per week.
  • s2mcconkie
    s2mcconkie Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks! That’s good to know—I may need to go higher than 2000 (which would be great haha)
  • louruff1
    louruff1 Posts: 2 Member
    I’d be interested to hear answers to this too :-) I am 17 weeks postpartum and haven’t been tracking. I’m mostly eating healthily but I snack a lot and suspect that is adding up. I’m ok with my weight but would like to slowly lose a few more pounds so that I can wear my old clothes again!! I’m happiest at about 135-138lbs, I was 140 when I got pregnant, put on 30lbs during pregnancy and I’m now 143lbs. So only a few lbs to lose but they don’t want to come off!
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    s2mcconkie wrote: »
    Hey! I am about 4 months postpartum and am starting to try to lose weight as of tomorrow now that I'm somewhat sleeping and have a good milk supply. I've looked at different calorie/TDEE calculators and have gotten wildly differing recommendations for how much I should be eating to lose steadily and not lose my milk.

    My question is this: are there any of you who have successfully lost weight while nursing? If so, how many calories were you eating each day and what kind of workouts were you doing?

    (Just FYI I'm 5'6", currently 156lbs, and thinking about doing 2000 calories a day along with the BBG workouts.)

    Calories from breastfeedin on demand are 300-500, 500 as the baby is older, close to a year (which is the opposite of what you would expect) or during growth spurts. So from your stats 2000 is your maintenance, with breastfeeding. You will need to lower calories to lose weight.
  • Kaktusgirl
    Kaktusgirl Posts: 1 Member
    Hello :)
    I am currently breastfeeding a six-month-old.
    I do think that 2000 a day should be sufficient in order to lose weight while breastfeeding and at a rate that does not affect your milk supply negatively. I lost around 12 pounds a couple of month ago, sticking to 2000ish calories (sometimes slightly more) and exercising a bit.
    Essentially, the calorie deficit that is created though bf will be enough to lose between 1 and 2 pounds a week. Calories you burn through exercising on top of that are just a little bonus and you may even eat back some of those calories and still lose weight. That is what worked beautifully for me without a decrease in milk supply and/or starving myself in any way.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    By the way,to lose your milk, you will have to starve. Worrying about 100 or 200 calories more or less, there is no reason for this. Now, if maintenance is 2000 and you decide to cut to 1000, then yes, you will have a problem after a while, but do not worry too much about e.g. 1700 or 1800.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    LKArgh wrote: »
    By the way,to lose your milk, you will have to starve.Worrying about 100 or 200 calories more or less, there is no reason for this. Now, if maintenance is 2000 and you decide to cut to 1000, then yes, you will have a problem after a while, but do not worry too much about e.g. 1700 or 1800.

    This is not always true. Many women find that even if they cut calories a bit too high their supply drops. It can be a tricky balance.

    I am guessing that this is not what OP is talking about though, I mean she is not talking about really extreme dieting. So she has room to experiment, and not panic if 100 calories more or less would affect her, this is what I am trying to say, not to worry too much as she plans to be rather conservative about it anyway. Now if she had mentioned not knowing if she needs to eat 1200 calories or more, then yes,she should worry!
  • s2mcconkie
    s2mcconkie Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you, everybody! This is SO helpful. This isn't my first baby but it has been 7 years since I last breastfed (the baby before this one did formula, which was fine, but I'm happy my current little guy will nurse). Anyway. I feel like 2000ish was about what I ate to lose way back then so it's helpful to hear that's probably an okay place to start. I'll tweak up or down depending on what my supply and the scale do.

    And good luck to all of you other new mamas out there! Having a tiny baby to snuggle is wonderful but exhausting :) You are all warriors!
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    edited June 2020
    LKArgh wrote: »
    s2mcconkie wrote: »
    Hey! I am about 4 months postpartum and am starting to try to lose weight as of tomorrow now that I'm somewhat sleeping and have a good milk supply. I've looked at different calorie/TDEE calculators and have gotten wildly differing recommendations for how much I should be eating to lose steadily and not lose my milk.

    My question is this: are there any of you who have successfully lost weight while nursing? If so, how many calories were you eating each day and what kind of workouts were you doing?

    (Just FYI I'm 5'6", currently 156lbs, and thinking about doing 2000 calories a day along with the BBG workouts.)

    Calories from breastfeedin on demand are 300-500, 500 as the baby is older, close to a year (which is the opposite of what you would expect) or during growth spurts. So from your stats 2000 is your maintenance, with breastfeeding. You will need to lower calories to lose weight.

    That calorie estimate seems very off. You probably maintain on 2000 not including breastfeeding, and closer to 2450 with it right now. I was exactly where you are with my first kiddo. I'm 5'6" and I was 160 the day before he was born and like 150ish after he was born. I dont exercise. I ate 2100 calories a day and lost weight steadily (decreased slowly to 1900 after babe was about 7 months old and as I lost weight).

    When it comes to losing while breastfeeding there are things to consider:

    You shouldnt eat below 1800 cals a day unless you're sick occasionally (reference le leche league). Your milk needs those calories/nutrients to provide nutiriton to your baby.

    Its a good idea to start higher and slowly decrease... so say start eating 2300 for a week, 2200 the next week, 2100, etc until you see the rate of lose you think you should have on those calories. Doing so helps you not "shock" your supply. If you go too fast you might see a sudden decrease in breastmilk. If you have an oversupply you might not need to do it quite so slowly.

    Safe rate of loss while bfing is up to 1.1 lbs a week, not more.



  • a_candler
    a_candler Posts: 209 Member
    I think you are at a good starting point. You may need to play with it, up or down as you go. Milk supply could drop, if so make sure to hydrate and add 100 calories at a time until you find your ideal calorie intake to keep milk. Listen to your body and don't go extreme and you should be fine.
  • Peachesanddinosaur
    Peachesanddinosaur Posts: 15 Member
    I'm also 4m pp. I eat about 1500 a day of nutrient dense foods with no exercise and lose about a pound every four days.
  • Peachesanddinosaur
    Peachesanddinosaur Posts: 15 Member
    I also ebf and have had no supply issues.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    Part of this is going to depend on how long you are planning on nursing, as well.

    If you are planning on nursing for at least a year or more, it helps to remember that your baby is going to be eating a LOT more calories as they get older. And that means it will be harder for your body to make that amount of calories on a daily basis. This is when the fat stores you have now that you are dieting off might actually be really important, you know?

    Without them, it can be trickier to nurse successfully because you just feel like you are starving all the time and can't get enough to eat.

    I gained 60 pounds when I was pregnant. I did not diet at all or exercise much after baby was born. I didn't lose much weight at first, but by 12 months, when the baby was still nursing, I had lost the 60 pounds plus a few more, just due to my kiddo being a nursing fiend.

    Just saying this so that if, when you are losing weight, you start to feel REALLY hungry, that may be a good clue that the baby is starting to eat more than you can support while also dieting, you know? :-)
  • dixidarlin89
    dixidarlin89 Posts: 2 Member
    Kellymom recommends not going below 1800 calories per day for any breastfeeding mom. I'm 5'1" and the tdee calculator for me says I need 1989 calories per day.
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