Anyone breastfeeding during weight loss?

I have a friend who is trying to lose weight while breastfeeding so I researched it a little, and on the biggest loser club website it says you need to consume 500 calories more for the breastfeeding. But if the baby is a frequent feeder etc and you are still hungry I think you could stretch that to a bit higher. So long as you are still losing weight it doesn't matter. Baby has got to come first anyway of course!

I learned in my health class the other day that you actually burn A LOT of calories during breast feeding, so don't feel bad at all if you are consuming more cals to make up for that!!

If you are still losing, dont worry what others think. I took lactation classes...Just keep your body well hydrated and eat good foods for yourself. Just like being prego the baby will take from your body what it needs so think of your nutrition...good fats, carbs, digestible whole proteins, and fruits and vegetables. All things in balance.

I asked this question because sometimes I get discouraged when i see that others are always under their calorie goal and I never am. Even though I know that I still have to consume more calories because I'm breastfeeding I think that people who don't know that just think I'm a total failure. I have eaten between 300-1000 extra calories a day but I am still losing weight. I just would really like to know if someone else is going through the same thing.

I am! I've been adding in 300 calories under the exercise section each day to give me room for more food but this week I didn't lose much weight so I'm going to try without doing that for a few days and see how I feel hunger-wise. I've also heard we need 300-500 extra per day.

I exclusively breastfed for 9 months and lost weight without trying (ate anyting I wanted). I have seen some breastfeeding mothers put in their breastfeeding as calories burned under Cardio.

Don't stress about what others think you are or are not doing. You need to concentrate on your health and the health of your baby. That's it.

When I stopped breastfeeding, I started working out and dieting.

Enjoy this time that you get to eat and burn calories just by giving nutrition to your bundle of joy!

There is a way to subtract the calories from your food diary... when logging food search breastfeeding and there are multiple options that come up. You can track by the oz, or whether you are breastfeeding exclusively or one time a day, etc! It puts the calories in as negative amounts...some of the entries even subtract from your macros too, so you know how much more protein, etc you should eat!

You're nursing twins?? Congratulations!!! Please take note of this - if you are exclusively breastfeeding both of them, you should be adding 500 calories/day for EACH baby, and working really hard to stay properly hydrated. You can add it into your diary under "food", just look for "breastfeeding twins".

All the best to you!!!



Here is some info for you from Storknet:

Eat to appetite. Don't restrict your intake too severely in an attempt to lose your pregnancy weight too quickly. If you are losing more than 1/2 to 1 pound per week, you probably aren't eating enough. (If you were overweight before pregnancy or gained excessive pregnancy weight, losing up to 2 pounds per week may be appropriate)

If you are exclusively nursing twins or more, you may need an extra 500 calories and 10 grams protein per day for each baby you are nursing. You may need to eat 6 - 8 times per day to achieve this. Drinking extra milk, fruit juice, fruit smoothies and milkshakes can help boost your intake.

Take a multivitamin with minerals to help ensure you are meeting your needs for micronutrients. If you aren't choosing 4-5 calcium-rich foods each day, you may need an extra calcium supplement.

Keep up your fluid intake. Drink water, milk, or fruit juice each time you nurse. Lactating mothers of multiples can be producing 2 or more liters of milk per day!

When I had my son (7 years ago) I wasn't even conciously trying to lose weight... Ate well but balanced meals (5 a day). After putting on all that weight during pregnancy I saw it as a perk! My son was a hungry baby though, ate FAR more than anybody elses baby!!!

WOW! Good for you for nursing twins... that is a huge accomplishment. I would look at La Leche League and Kellymom as great resources for nursing women. I think they say that you should aim for a lb of weight loss a week, more than that and you might put your milk production at risk. Most women who are exclusively breastfeeding one child need an extra 300-500 calories a day, so you need close to double that, most likely. Try to make them healthy calories, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, avocados, etc.

I breastfed my single baby during my 40 lbs weightloss last year. I have been maintaining since August, and my 2.5 year old just recently weaned. It is possible to breastfeed and have a healthy weightloss.

Kudos to you for breastfeeding your little ones.

I am breast feeding as well. I give myself and extra 350 calories a day for it. I actually put it right into my food diary and it works out the calorie count for me.

I was wondering about this. Ive been breastfeeding or pregnant since 2005, and my last is now 1 year old, he turned 1 on the 7th. I wasn't logging the breastfeeding and doing good. But I dont feel like Im loosing as much as I should. Im not going to log the breastfeeding tomorrow and see how he does. I know my body hangs on to weight while bf and as soon as Im done it falls off like nothing. Ive been nursing since 9/3/09 with my 3rd and then had my surprise IUD guy and weaned her at about 20 months it was so hard tantum nursing, and my daughter was like a vaccuum, that was so hard to do. I want my body back after all these years of being stuck, the weight is coming off and I know I need patience and I know i can't fully concentrate nursing. But Im logging and exercising and can't wait for that day.

I nursed and ate fewer than I was suppossed to and my milk supply went down. I uped my caloric intake, made sure I ate back all of my exercise calories and drank a TON of water and milk. Also make sure you take your vitamins. You can do it. DON"T worry about what other people think. I think there is a way to add the calories your body uses to make the milk to your exercise out put so that it will still say that you are under your calorie goal if you feel like that would help you. I know that seeing that red number for some reason bugs, even if you know you are eating the right amount. You can do it. You are doing something really important for your baby, make sure you take care of you!! Good for you!!!