Eating back exercise calories and breastfeeding

pkksmama · January 2012

I just posted in the exercise message board but I want to get the most responses I can to make sure I get the correct way of doing things! Hope you can help me!

I am breastfeeding a 9 month old and have had no problems with supply but I am just now really introducing regular exercise into my diet and need advice. I add in 300 extra breastfeeding calories a day and I pump about 20 ounces at work and she eats throughout the afternoon and night from me so no clue on how much I am producing than.

I am working out now to the point where I am set at 1320 calories (2 lbs a week) and I eat those plus the 300 breastfeeding I add in as food to ensure that I eat them back but when I work out I am burning on average 400-700 a day so far and it brings me down to a net of 500 sometimes.

Should I be eating those back? I do not want my milk to suffer but so far I have been blessed with a very large supply. I am worried that the calories in the milk will not be as high for her. She is 23 lbs at 9 months old which is like 98 percentile so I know she is getting what she needs so far but like I said before I am jus now adding working out in and this is my first week.

Sorry kind of a rant still and not very structured. Help me if you can understand what I am looking for!

TheLuSir · January 2012

I would ask your doctor and maybe do a bit of research on WebMD or other respectable sites. If nothing has changed since you've started, I think it is safe to continue. But honestly, only a doctor could give you the specifics.

pkksmama · January 2012

Thanks I will contact them to make sure it is ok to exercise as much as I am!

quietpotato · January 2012

I love this topic. I'm also breastfeeding a 9 month old! Well, exclusively pumping. I eat my exercise calories, but do not account for the produced milk. I wonder if I'm doing it right.

theoneandonlybrookie · January 2012

First, good job on making the decisions to nurse your baby and lose weight at the same time! It sounds like you are very focused on a healthy lifestyle for you and your baby.

It is very tricky to lose weight while breastfeeding but it can be done. I did it twice. I ate back my exercise calories always while nursing. So yes, I definitely think you should eat back the entire amount. Hopefully you have pretty accurate burn estimates.

If I felt like my supply was dropping, I ate more to compensate.

It's tricky because I always felt like it was a balancing act (but what aspect of motherhood isn't?) and I was constantly readjusting.

I will say this, also. For me, personally, I found that there were a few stubborn pounds that I couldn't drop until I quit nursing. For some women, your bodies just want to hang on to that extra padding. Some of my friends did not find this to be true, however.

Best of luck!

erickirb · January 2012

The short answer is yes eat them back. If your goal is 2lbs/week you must eat them back or your deficit will be even larger than a 2lb/week loss. That being said, while breastfeeding I think 2lb/week goal is too aggressive. I would change your goal to 1 lb/week and eat the 300 breastfeeding calories plus eat back what you burn from exercise to keep your deficit at 500 cals/day.

Even if you were not breastfeeding a 2lb/week loss goal is too aggressive with only 35lbs to lose. Here is a guide for setting appropriate weekly weight loss goals, in every situation below you should be eating your exercise calories back:

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

Not eating them back or having too large of a deficit before exercise may lead to losing a lot of lean muscle along with fat. So you have to ask your self do you want to lose weight, or lose fat.

If you have the proper goal set and eat back exercise cals you will be a lower BF% at your goal weight then if you had larger deficits, although it may take longer to get there.

RachelM0717 · January 2012

I agree that 2 lbs/week is an aggressive goal to work toward. Most women naturally lose weight while nursing so if you're also TRYING to lose weight, you may be losing too much and might work yourself in to a drop in supply. I would focus less on the amount of calories you're eating and focus more on making sure the calories you do eat are quality. Meaning, drop empty calories with no nutritional value, like those found in soda and junk food. Make sure you're eating plenty of fresh vegetables and lean protein --- the staples to any successful diet. I would also start eating oatmeal for breakfast to help counteract any possible drop in supply that might be caused by the aggressive dieting/exercising. Hope that helps! Great job at choosing the healthiest route for your precious baby!

pkksmama · January 2012

I was set at 1 lb/week and stopped losing. I have been using Myfitnesspal since she was 2 months old and have lost 51 lbs so far. Breastfeeding has been amazing and I am glad I did it and am continueing it. I only lowered my calories to 2 lb a week when I stopped losing. Now I am to the point where I am barely losing 1 lb a week yet I am set at 2 per week. I use my Polar ft7 when I am working out to try and give me an accurate burn. If I need to eat back all of the calories I am burning plus the breastfeeding calories I am afraid it will bring me back to the platue I have been in. I am working out to get healthy and not just lose weight and I do not want to lose to fast. I have 35 lbs until my goal and I was just hoping to get there before she turns 1 if possible. If I notice a drop in supply I will definitely pick it back up. I am just concerned that if I eat all of the bfing calories back I will stop losing again.

thanks so much for your feedback so far! It is great to hear!

theoneandonlybrookie · January 2012

Wow - great job on losing 51 lbs! You're obviously doing things right. Keep it up, mama! (And what an adorable picture of the two of you. She's a cutie.

)

pkksmama · January 2012

Wow - great job on losing 51 lbs! You're obviously doing things right. Keep it up, mama! (And what an adorable picture of the two of you. She's a cutie. )

Thank you! I am doing what I can! Just want to lose everything healthy and look good!

pkksmama · January 2012

The short answer is yes eat them back. If your goal is 2lbs/week you must eat them back or your deficit will be even larger than a 2lb/week loss. That being said, while breastfeeding I think 2lb/week goal is too aggressive. I would change your goal to 1 lb/week and eat the 300 breastfeeding calories plus eat back what you burn from exercise to keep your deficit at 500 cals/day.

Even if you were not breastfeeding a 2lb/week loss goal is too aggressive with only 35lbs to lose. Here is a guide for setting appropriate weekly weight loss goals, in every situation below you should be eating your exercise calories back:

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

Not eating them back or having too large of a deficit before exercise may lead to losing a lot of lean muscle along with fat. So you have to ask your self do you want to lose weight, or lose fat.

If you have the proper goal set and eat back exercise cals you will be a lower BF% at your goal weight then if you had larger deficits, although it may take longer to get there.

Thank You for these guidelines! I will go up tot 1 lb/ week but I cannot ensure that I will eat that much. I cut out a lot of bad out of my diet and snack twice a day place 3 small meals. It is hard to get a lot of calories in unless it is bad food. I will try to use these guidelines with my weightloss! 1 lb a week is ok for me! Thanks again!

Eating back exercise calories and breastfeeding

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