Breastfeeding Moms?

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Is anyone here breastfeeding? I am currently breastfeeding my 4 month old and plan to do so for the first year. If you are breastfeeding, how much/how intense of exercise are you doing and how many calories are you eating?

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  • serenetranquility
    serenetranquility Posts: 125 Member
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    Ive been breastfeeding for 5 years straight right now and am currently nursing my 19 month old. Im right about 1800 a day and this includes my exercise calories some days closer to 1900. Be careful since your little guy is so young and still EBF. Youll need 500-900 more calories a day at least. Please whatever you do dont buy into this 1200 calorie a day nonsense while you are nursing.
  • jmcarter13
    jmcarter13 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thank you! I am trying to hit 1800-2000 calories per day. When you say your calorie total is 1800-1900, is that your net amount? What type of exercise do you do? Did starting an exercise regime ever affect your supply? Sorry for all the questions, I'm a first time Mom and am hoping to lose weight while breastfeeding as well. I'm trying to watch what I'm eating, still get enough calories to be able to feed my son, and exercise to keep my body healthy as well.
  • serenetranquility
    serenetranquility Posts: 125 Member
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    I always get confused with the "net" calories. I am supposed to eat about 1640 a day then I factor in the 210 or so I get from exercise so I'm at about 1850 with that. Since I am only nursing 3-4 times a day now (long durations, but still) I don't count in my BF calories and add them too but I would imagine it would be between 200-300 now. I also walk a lot ( a few miles most days) at a brisk pace but only use those if I need them...which some days I do. I've learned that while yes, calories DO matter they are not the say all end all and you've got to eat to give your body fuel especially while breastfeeding.

    In all honesty, and doing this for many years now I can tell you if you go at this too aggressively and you don't eat enough and exercise too hard your milk supply will be effected and you'll feel like crap. Luckily, I learned this after my 1st and now on my 3rd I am wiser. I went about it all wrong when I was a 1st time mom and paid for it dearly. Your guy is still young and you're still recovering, sleep deprived and your body is working hard to meet his needs. The very most important things right now are to make sure you're eating enough, eating every 2-3 hours, getting the best sleep you can and be active.

    I am doing the 30 day shred right now and can tell you when my babes were 4 months old there is no way I could have done it with nursing every couple hours. I had recurrent mastitis and the impact would have been too much and too draining. I would do some lower impact exercises, strength training and walk, walk, walk to start. If you're wearing your babe like I did and still do you burn even more :)

    Feel free to message me if need be. My best advice is to take it slow, don't go into super crazy 2 hour a day exercise/starve yourself mode and you'll be fine. Make sure you're eating enough, drinking enough and moving to stay healthy and it will come off.
  • serenetranquility
    serenetranquility Posts: 125 Member
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    BTW, depending on your weight now, body type etc. If you're exclusively breastfeeding you need to be at or above 2000 for now. I wouldn't go below 2000 at all and would suggest even a tad higher. Your body needs the calories to make the milk :)
  • rasptorte
    rasptorte Posts: 29
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    I thought I would be one of those moms who drops all of their baby weight while breastfeeding. Not so. I tried restricting my calories when my daughter was about 3 months old, but my supply suffered immediately. I actually gained weight around month 5. It was not until month 6, when solids were introduced that the weight started to come off without even trying. If I had known about MFP back then I would have used it to track the quality of food that I was eating. If you stick to healthy, unprocessed foods and stay away from sugar, the weight will eventually come off. At one year post-partum I was the thinnest I'd ever been without really tracking calories, and not doing any exercise. I was eating healthy food and still nursing my little one. I guess what I'm trying to say is be patient, because the weight will go. Eat healthy foods, and stick to around 2000 calories a day while doing moderate intensity workouts. However, having said all that, my friend went back to kickboxing at 2 weeks post-partum, lost all of the baby weight by six weeks, and claims that she exclusively breastfed for the first year, besides the addition of solids at around six months. Everyone is different I guess. Sounds like you are putting your little one first, so you shouldn't have any problems. By the way, congratulations on breatfeeding for 4 months already. It is not easy, that's for sure!
  • Sytera
    Sytera Posts: 75
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    I'm EBF my 6 month old and will EBF until he is 12 months. I put 500 calories in as an exercise and make sure to eat all those back. On top of that, I do the elliptical for 30-60 minutes a day and walk whenever we can. I eat around 2,000 calories a day, but don't Net that. My net is usually around 1250 by the end of the day.

    As for my supply, it has actually gone up in the last week. I've been at this for 17 days and have been eating so much healthier that I really think it has helped my milk production. If you do notice a drop, I recommend taking some fenugreek.
  • jillthemom
    jillthemom Posts: 31 Member
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    I am nursing my 16 month old. He nurses about 3 times during the day, then a few more during the night. I chose the breastfeedi.g older baby optionthat gives me an additional 300 calories. I walk and do the 30 DS for my exercise. I make sure to eat mostof my calories back. I have been at it for a month, lost 7 pounds, and have not noticed any drop in my supply
  • jmehere
    jmehere Posts: 108 Member
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    I'm still breastfeeding my 2 year old, but I don't count it. We are at the end of our time nursing.
    Everyone is different, some people produce abundantly and far more than their baby's need, some are at the opposite end of the spectrum struggling to produce enough. While your baby is young, err on the side of eating a little more than less. If you are resolved to keep breastfeeding, generally you want to eat 200-500 more calories than you would to maintain your current weight. And that would be a net... meaning you do need to eat back your exercise calories. That said, you might be one of those people that produces abundantly without having to eat much extra. If you have issues with always being engorged, you could probably go down in calories a bit more.
  • danifo0811
    danifo0811 Posts: 542 Member
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    I'm EBF my 7 month old and plan to until she is 12-18m. If I eat well, I loose 1-2 lbs / week at 1800 calories. Up until 6 m I was just walking and doing one Kickboxing class / week. I was aiming for 1800-2000 and 2000-2200 on Kickboxing days.

    Now I'm doing a gym class 4 times a week and walking. MFP says I should be at 2400 on exercise days. I didn't gain at 2400 but I didn't loose either. This week I'll try 2200. I think I do need to eat back my exercise calories but right now I'm still trying to figure out what the real number is.

    If I don't eat more than 2000 on the days I exercise I do have supply issues and my daughter wants to constantly nurse to get enough. That does cause me food issues so I know I need to stay over that point.

    I think you have to figure out what works for you. Good luck!