Calorie goal while breastfeeding

penguinmama87 wrote: »

tequierosince06 wrote: »

penguinmama87 wrote: »

Congratulations on the birth of your baby! I'm glad you know not to overdo it. Too steep a deficit at present could really wreak havoc with your healing and milk supply so gentle is good!

I'm also 5'6" and started careful calorie counting in February a little over 200 lbs, and breastfeeding exclusively (baby #5 was a little over 6 months at the time.) I'm now in the high 160s. My weight loss at the beginning was very rapid, too much so, and a lot of that was due to the fact that I underestimated my calorie burn from breastfeeding and so I adjusted quite a bit upward. Exclusive nursing is for me in the realm of 700-800 calories and possibly more; we've been doing some solids since then and even at over a year postpartum now I estimate over 500 calories burned per day from nursing, though it will be interesting to compare once we wean (no idea when exactly that will be.)
!

You mentioned you were losing weight too quickly at first. How much weight loss is too much?

I had set a rate of 1.5lbs/week but was averaging over 2. At first I felt fine and rapid weight loss can be very common when starting out. But after a few weeks I began to feel very fatigued and like I couldn't do my regular daily tasks, much less exercise. My baby also started fussing a lot more and wanted to nurse nonstop, and started waking up a lot more at night to feed, even though she hadn't been like that before. I also realized that I had quit ever feeling "full" of milk even if I did get a long break between feedings, so I knew my milk supply was dropping.

I did a "diet break" where I ate at maintenance for a week, then when I went back to a deficit I added a couple hundred calories, and I still kept losing at a good clip (1-1.5 lbs/week on average) but my energy levels went back up and my milk supply is still good.

penguinmama87 wrote: »

tequierosince06 wrote: »

penguinmama87 wrote: »

tequierosince06 wrote: »

penguinmama87 wrote: »

Congratulations on the birth of your baby! I'm glad you know not to overdo it. Too steep a deficit at present could really wreak havoc with your healing and milk supply so gentle is good!

I'm also 5'6" and started careful calorie counting in February a little over 200 lbs, and breastfeeding exclusively (baby #5 was a little over 6 months at the time.) I'm now in the high 160s. My weight loss at the beginning was very rapid, too much so, and a lot of that was due to the fact that I underestimated my calorie burn from breastfeeding and so I adjusted quite a bit upward. Exclusive nursing is for me in the realm of 700-800 calories and possibly more; we've been doing some solids since then and even at over a year postpartum now I estimate over 500 calories burned per day from nursing, though it will be interesting to compare once we wean (no idea when exactly that will be.)
!

You mentioned you were losing weight too quickly at first. How much weight loss is too much?

I had set a rate of 1.5lbs/week but was averaging over 2. At first I felt fine and rapid weight loss can be very common when starting out. But after a few weeks I began to feel very fatigued and like I couldn't do my regular daily tasks, much less exercise. My baby also started fussing a lot more and wanted to nurse nonstop, and started waking up a lot more at night to feed, even though she hadn't been like that before. I also realized that I had quit ever feeling "full" of milk even if I did get a long break between feedings, so I knew my milk supply was dropping.

I did a "diet break" where I ate at maintenance for a week, then when I went back to a deficit I added a couple hundred calories, and I still kept losing at a good clip (1-1.5 lbs/week on average) but my energy levels went back up and my milk supply is still good.

I lost 3lb this week. Iknow I need to eat more, that was my struggle this week. Im officially 3 weeks postpartum so I know its still early but if this continues, at what point do I say this weightloss is too fast?

It would be nice if I had more time so that my body could self regulate itself first and then start on my weightloss journey and its not necessarily Full hardcore weightloss that I want. I just need to lose a little to fit in my dress. But It has me questioning what is normal.

And btw, this is my 2nd baby. I was very sick with my first so i lost so much weight (40lb) with morning sickness that I didn’t gain much weight during pregnancy & lost it all by 1mo. So postpartum weight loss wasn’t even a thing for me. I was so happy to finally enjoy food after giving birth that I ate everything. But gained weight later with my birtcontrol.

I understand that it's your wedding and you want to fit into the dress you've had a while, but your health is more important. The first 6-12 weeks at the very least postpartum are going to be crazy weight wise. A 3lb loss at 3 weeks postpartum is a lot different than a 3lb loss 6 months out or 12 months out. For my first few babies, I lost almost all the pregnancy weight within the first 6 weeks without doing anything, which can be totally normal. With my last couple, I only lost about their birth weight right away. That can also be totally normal. The rule of thumb I have always read and been told is "nine months in, nine months out" - to apply to weight and a lot of the other physical aspects of pregnancy and giving birth. It doesn't mean you can't do *anything*, but it might not be wise to try to jump back immediately into things as if you hadn't given birth at all, because the rest of your body just isn't going to cooperate with that.

I very strongly feel that intentionally attempting to lose weight in the immediate postpartum period is a mistake. I know hormones are high right now. I know you've been wanting this wedding for a long time. But honestly? It's just a dress. Don't sacrifice your health and well being for a dress.

penguinmama87 wrote: »

tequierosince06 wrote: »

penguinmama87 wrote: »

tequierosince06 wrote: »

penguinmama87 wrote: »

tequierosince06 wrote: »

penguinmama87 wrote: »

Congratulations on the birth of your baby! I'm glad you know not to overdo it. Too steep a deficit at present could really wreak havoc with your healing and milk supply so gentle is good!

I'm also 5'6" and started careful calorie counting in February a little over 200 lbs, and breastfeeding exclusively (baby #5 was a little over 6 months at the time.) I'm now in the high 160s. My weight loss at the beginning was very rapid, too much so, and a lot of that was due to the fact that I underestimated my calorie burn from breastfeeding and so I adjusted quite a bit upward. Exclusive nursing is for me in the realm of 700-800 calories and possibly more; we've been doing some solids since then and even at over a year postpartum now I estimate over 500 calories burned per day from nursing, though it will be interesting to compare once we wean (no idea when exactly that will be.)
!

You mentioned you were losing weight too quickly at first. How much weight loss is too much?

I had set a rate of 1.5lbs/week but was averaging over 2. At first I felt fine and rapid weight loss can be very common when starting out. But after a few weeks I began to feel very fatigued and like I couldn't do my regular daily tasks, much less exercise. My baby also started fussing a lot more and wanted to nurse nonstop, and started waking up a lot more at night to feed, even though she hadn't been like that before. I also realized that I had quit ever feeling "full" of milk even if I did get a long break between feedings, so I knew my milk supply was dropping.

I did a "diet break" where I ate at maintenance for a week, then when I went back to a deficit I added a couple hundred calories, and I still kept losing at a good clip (1-1.5 lbs/week on average) but my energy levels went back up and my milk supply is still good.

I lost 3lb this week. Iknow I need to eat more, that was my struggle this week. Im officially 3 weeks postpartum so I know its still early but if this continues, at what point do I say this weightloss is too fast?

It would be nice if I had more time so that my body could self regulate itself first and then start on my weightloss journey and its not necessarily Full hardcore weightloss that I want. I just need to lose a little to fit in my dress. But It has me questioning what is normal.

And btw, this is my 2nd baby. I was very sick with my first so i lost so much weight (40lb) with morning sickness that I didn’t gain much weight during pregnancy & lost it all by 1mo. So postpartum weight loss wasn’t even a thing for me. I was so happy to finally enjoy food after giving birth that I ate everything. But gained weight later with my birtcontrol.

I understand that it's your wedding and you want to fit into the dress you've had a while, but your health is more important. The first 6-12 weeks at the very least postpartum are going to be crazy weight wise. A 3lb loss at 3 weeks postpartum is a lot different than a 3lb loss 6 months out or 12 months out. For my first few babies, I lost almost all the pregnancy weight within the first 6 weeks without doing anything, which can be totally normal. With my last couple, I only lost about their birth weight right away. That can also be totally normal. The rule of thumb I have always read and been told is "nine months in, nine months out" - to apply to weight and a lot of the other physical aspects of pregnancy and giving birth. It doesn't mean you can't do *anything*, but it might not be wise to try to jump back immediately into things as if you hadn't given birth at all, because the rest of your body just isn't going to cooperate with that.

I very strongly feel that intentionally attempting to lose weight in the immediate postpartum period is a mistake. I know hormones are high right now. I know you've been wanting this wedding for a long time. But honestly? It's just a dress. Don't sacrifice your health and well being for a dress.

I understand what your saying & I am honestly not doing much other than slowly trying to be more active & eating healthy. Not eating take out 3 or 4x a week. Or fast food & McDonalds all the time. Not eating ice cream & brownies & just eating anything I wanted like I did while pregnant. Making healthy choices & counting calories im eating.

Going back into my normal “routine” would mean that Im going back to eating 1600+ calories a day, doing a mix of hiit cardio and kickboxing 3 times a week and strength training 3x a week. Which im not doing, not even close. Im going very slowly, definitely not treating my body like I was never pregnant. I very clearly know Im still healing and have actually just started going to physical therapy

And I didn’t do much this week to warrant my 3lb loss, wasnt very active except for 2 days where I did light exercise. I didn’t cut back my diet in ridiculous amounts, I just didn’t hit my goal of eating minimum 2000 calories.
I was just wondering if this weight loss is normal or not because I wasn’t expecting that much this week, was expecting it to start slowing down. And if it continues at what point is this rate of weight loss not normal. I dont have anything to compare to because this pregnancy & postpartum period was very different from my last, thats why I asked.

Even at not postpartum times one week isn't enough to say you're at a certain rate of weight loss. It's one data point and you want to look at a trend.

How you lose weight immediately postpartum is going to be weird and vary and it might not say much about your calorie intake. Your womb is shrinking, you're adjusting to making milk, your sleep patterns are all crazy. There's so many moving pieces that it's very hard to say what "caused" that 3lb loss. I'm relieved to hear you're not trying to eat at an aggressive deficit because I was worried about that and trying could mean your body doesn't heal well. Choosing foods that are really nutritious is definitely good!

I'm not sure what your health care situation is, but in my case I've always had a six week postpartum checkup where they ask about bleeding, feel my abdomen to make sure my uterus has shrunk down completely, and maybe do a pelvic exam if there are any concerns there. At that point I would get cleared to start with exercise beyond walking and day-to-day activities, and if bleeding resumed or increased I was advised to slow down and call them.

In my head I think of those six weeks as its own time that is totally different than any other time in my life - it's a transition time where the regular rules in some ways just don't apply. CICO still applies, as it always does, but the "calories out" portion would be very tricky to calculate. It's worth eating sensibly, sure, but IMO not time to diet. If I were you, I'd assess the situation at that six week mark and make my plan then, focusing on a slow increase in activity and a cautious calorie deficit (first nailing down maintenance calories and adjusting down from there.) You might find that the dress fits - depending on the cut or other factors there might be some flexibility there anyway. But I'd pick a backup plan too and not orient my weight loss plan around the wedding day.

I started later - at 6 months pp - which is very different than 6 weeks. If I have more children I feel reasonably confident that I could start a sensible weight loss plan earlier in the postpartum period, just because I know a lot more about nutrition and have a stronger base of physical activity now, but I would not rush myself. Stress and pressure do not aid weight loss.