Eat More, Not Less... ESPECIALLY for New Moms (even while br

Eat More, Not Less... ESPECIALLY for New Moms (even while breastfeeding)

Thought I'd add my 2 cents on the issue of eating more / not less, especially for breastfeeding moms: I'm a new mom - had my babe 12/14/11... I'm losing weight significantly faster than I thought by doing this very thing, As of 3/31/12, I've lost 63 lbs (I'll be generous and call 30 of that baby/amniotic fluid). I kinda stumbled upon this easy weight loss by not trying to lose weight too quickly because I didn't want my milk supply to dip, so for that I'm thankful. :-) Here's the numbers- for those of you breastfeeding or exercising, or both, you may want to read. I used www.fat2fit.com to calculate my figures. I also explain how I arrive at TDEE because I'm not sure if it's explained quite right in some other posts on MFP. If you want a MUCH simpler way of figuring these figures out, go to http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm - you should come up with roughly the same figures if you want to experiment- this is assuming you want to arrive at a reasonable, healthy body fat percentage.

Anyhoo - using www.fat2fit.com: My current Katch-McArdle BMR at 187lbs is 1450 calories. If my goal is to be 145 lbs, my TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure- TOTAL IT TAKES TO MAINTAIN MY CURRENT WEIGHT) is 1712 (BMR @ sedentary) ***plus*** 20% for a grand total of 2054- what this means is if I exceed this number, I will gain weight. **Based on a sedentary level of activity, 1712 is the number of calories that I will be able to eat to lose weight now and maintain my goal weight. in other words, if I start eating like the thinner me, I will eventually become that thinner person. As I get closer to my goal weight, my weight loss will start to slow down, but initially it is OK to eat a few hundred calories less than my 1712 per day to speed up my weight loss at this point. (typically 200-300 less *but I should not reduce enough to be at or below my BMR of 1450!!).... why don't I want to eat at or below my Katch-McArdle BMR? Because I don't want to be losing my lean muscle mass.... I want to burn fat, not muscle.

What's the importance of knowing your TDEE?? To know what you need to not exceed in order to not gain weight - Let's say you want to cheat a little one day, but still want to not "gain" really... staying at your current weight's maintenance level will allow you to do that, you just can't do it too many times. :-)

Now, from www.freedieting.com - again, set to little or no exercise to figure out the base figures it says:
Maintenance 2041 CALORIES/DAY
Fat Loss 1633 CALORIES/DAY
Extreme Fat Loss 1496 CALORIES/DAY

I would then add my breastfeeding (plus 500) and exercise (via MFP adding back) to these figures.

This is not too far from what was figured above- either way will get you in the ballpark you need to be in.

CONCLUSION: my goals, set up in MFP, should be about 1500-1700 NET calories per day before any exercise (plus 500 cals for breastfeeding (I add this -500 via the meal section under breastfeeding and it bumps my caloric goal up) for a grand total daily of 2000-2200/day *consumed* (but not to exceed 2554) - wow! Far different than the school of thought of 1200 cals/day! :-) This is pretty much what I've already been doing and it's working! See below for my results. :-) ***and I STILL need to eat my exercise calories back as well - ex: daily caloric intake of 2000-2200 now turns into 2200-2400 w/ a 2 mile walk burning 200 cals. It's working... nuff said. :-)

If you give this a month, and understand that you can initially gain 2-4 lbs at first, you'll be very pleased in the long run. Your body is re-setting itself, preparing for a different way of life in simple terms. My first month, I lost over 11 lbs, my second month I lost a little over 8 lbs. Am I happy I tried this?? You bet I am! Do I think this trend of loss will continue? Absolutely. No longer am I afraid to eat... no longer will I struggle! Finally!

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Replies

  • raebels
    raebels Posts: 45 Member
    I was thinking about messaging you to find out what your plan was. I remember your friend request mentioned that you had something that was working really well. Thank you SO much for sharing!! I am definitely going to check this out and try to go this route instead. The whole 1200 calories a day deal makes me feel as if I am starving myself at times and I think that has a lot to do with me not following through with my weight loss goals. I am going to check out the website now. Once I really get going, I will check back with you and update you on my results. Thanks again! =)
  • I was thinking about messaging you to find out what your plan was. I remember your friend request mentioned that you had something that was working really well. Thank you SO much for sharing!! I am definitely going to check this out and try to go this route instead. The whole 1200 calories a day deal makes me feel as if I am starving myself at times and I think that has a lot to do with me not following through with my weight loss goals. I am going to check out the website now. Once I really get going, I will check back with you and update you on my results. Thanks again! =)

    You're welcome! I just hate seeing so many people struggling with their weight loss. 1200 calories is the old school train of thought. Yes, you'll lose weight to a point, maybe even a great deal of weight if you have been over-eating for a long period of time before dieting, but you can't maintain that high of a calorie deficit for a long period of time without hitting plateaus because your body adapts and thinks it needs to hang on to the weight due to starvation. You're right too... you end up giving up because you're hungry and frustrated with not seeing the results you anticipate for putting in such hard work!! I'd love you to check back with your results - I've been seeing a lot of the moms in my weight loss group I run on Facebook turn their plateaus into losses after eating more, even the ones that weigh close to their goal weight. :-)
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    I've found the same thing is very true! I eat a minimum of 2100 calories a day, which is basically my bmr+bfing calories, and try to eat back my exercise calories. Another thing I've found is that by eating more, my little girl is gaining weight so much better - from just under 4oz a week when I was eating 1800, to 6-10oz a week now.
  • labtracks
    labtracks Posts: 108 Member
    Excellent information. My son is 2 months old today and I've lost 23 pounds... but haven't lost a thing in 5 weeks!
    I've been trying to eat about 1500 a day (I'm only 5') but subtracting breastfeeding calories and eating exercise calories I'm supposed to be eating over 2000 a day. That's a lot of food for me and I feel like I'm stuffing myself and eating when I'm not hungry so I rarely make it.
    My BMR is 1185 and my TDEE is 1744 so I figure 1500 is a nice "middle".
    I eat a lot of big salads with many veggies, black beans and a protein, I often egg-white eggs with spinach and broccoli for breakfast, and lots of fruit as snacks.
    Even though I feel like I'm eating what seems like large volumes of food all the time the calories of these "healthy" things just don't add up quick enough. So do I throw in some "unhealthy" things just to up the calories?

    I do treat myself with the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches and I love York peppermint patties, but I only eat so many so those only add 100 to 150 calories per day.

    I completely agree that eating more calories is what I need to do, after reading SO many posts that say this, but I'm just not sure how to add more calories.

  • Even though I feel like I'm eating what seems like large volumes of food all the time the calories of these "healthy" things just don't add up quick enough. So do I throw in some "unhealthy" things just to up the calories?

    I do treat myself with the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches and I love York peppermint patties, but I only eat so many so those only add 100 to 150 calories per day.

    I completely agree that eating more calories is what I need to do, after reading SO many posts that say this, but I'm just not sure how to add more calories.

    Some high calorie items you may want to try are nuts, cheeses, peanut butter, dried fruits, and liquid fats (olive oil for example) if you're having a hard time getting all your calories in. Try upping your calories at each meal also to spread out the calories. I was doing good but then I slipped up getting too few calories at breakfast and lunch, ending up with a very large amount of calories to still consume for dinner. It's hard to do sometimes, but you can definitely do it! :-)
  • diaz2012
    diaz2012 Posts: 28 Member
    wow,thank you so much iv been trying to figure this out and you just answerd all my questions:happy: i started very low at 1320calories and i bf adding the -500 plus im excercising and was not even getting close to my bmr, so a week ago i upped it to 1520 plus -500 my bmr is 1921 plus 20% is 2305 WOW..doing light excercise, im doing 30DS?? and my tdee is 1903 to mantain and 1522 to lose so do you think im doing my calculations right? so if i eat 1520 plus my 500 bf i would be consuming 2020 calories a day not counting excercise?? i did notice a gain but didnt mind since figured it would happen, im excited to see what happens since i havent lost nothing sticking with low calories and making my milk supply suffer,,,:cry: haha well thanx a million:flowerforyou:
  • tiaxox
    tiaxox Posts: 5 Member
    this sounds super interesting, as i am a new mom and breastfeeding as well. but i am confused about the -500 part for breastfeeding. what does that mean?
  • eksb
    eksb Posts: 93
    Yes! That's about what I did and now I'm smaller than I was in high school! I didn't lose anything with my first and so when I got pregnant with my second, I was still 15 lbs heavier. Now, my first baby weight is gone, my second baby weight is gone and my chunky teen weight is (almost) gone. I ate about 1800-2200 calories regularly. Now that he's about 1, I'm nursing less and having to adjust a little but I still probably average about 1900 calories a day. Yum!
  • prettygirlhoward
    prettygirlhoward Posts: 338 Member
    BUMP
  • arogers98
    arogers98 Posts: 38 Member
    Eat More, Not Less... ESPECIALLY for New Moms (even while breastfeeding)

    Thought I'd add my 2 cents on the issue of eating more / not less, especially for breastfeeding moms: I'm a new mom - had my babe 12/14/11... I'm losing weight significantly faster than I thought by doing this very thing, As of 3/31/12, I've lost 63 lbs (I'll be generous and call 30 of that baby/amniotic fluid). I kinda stumbled upon this easy weight loss by not trying to lose weight too quickly because I didn't want my milk supply to dip, so for that I'm thankful. :-) Here's the numbers- for those of you breastfeeding or exercising, or both, you may want to read. I used www.fat2fit.com to calculate my figures. I also explain how I arrive at TDEE because I'm not sure if it's explained quite right in some other posts on MFP. If you want a MUCH simpler way of figuring these figures out, go to http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm - you should come up with roughly the same figures if you want to experiment- this is assuming you want to arrive at a reasonable, healthy body fat percentage.

    Anyhoo - using www.fat2fit.com: My current Katch-McArdle BMR at 187lbs is 1450 calories. If my goal is to be 145 lbs, my TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure- TOTAL IT TAKES TO MAINTAIN MY CURRENT WEIGHT) is 1712 (BMR @ sedentary) ***plus*** 20% for a grand total of 2054- what this means is if I exceed this number, I will gain weight. **Based on a sedentary level of activity, 1712 is the number of calories that I will be able to eat to lose weight now and maintain my goal weight. in other words, if I start eating like the thinner me, I will eventually become that thinner person. As I get closer to my goal weight, my weight loss will start to slow down, but initially it is OK to eat a few hundred calories less than my 1712 per day to speed up my weight loss at this point. (typically 200-300 less *but I should not reduce enough to be at or below my BMR of 1450!!).... why don't I want to eat at or below my Katch-McArdle BMR? Because I don't want to be losing my lean muscle mass.... I want to burn fat, not muscle.

    What's the importance of knowing your TDEE?? To know what you need to not exceed in order to not gain weight - Let's say you want to cheat a little one day, but still want to not "gain" really... staying at your current weight's maintenance level will allow you to do that, you just can't do it too many times. :-)

    Now, from www.freedieting.com - again, set to little or no exercise to figure out the base figures it says:
    Maintenance 2041 CALORIES/DAY
    Fat Loss 1633 CALORIES/DAY
    Extreme Fat Loss 1496 CALORIES/DAY

    I would then add my breastfeeding (plus 500) and exercise (via MFP adding back) to these figures.

    This is not too far from what was figured above- either way will get you in the ballpark you need to be in.

    CONCLUSION: my goals, set up in MFP, should be about 1500-1700 NET calories per day before any exercise (plus 500 cals for breastfeeding (I add this -500 via the meal section under breastfeeding and it bumps my caloric goal up) for a grand total daily of 2000-2200/day *consumed* (but not to exceed 2554) - wow! Far different than the school of thought of 1200 cals/day! :-) This is pretty much what I've already been doing and it's working! See below for my results. :-) ***and I STILL need to eat my exercise calories back as well - ex: daily caloric intake of 2000-2200 now turns into 2200-2400 w/ a 2 mile walk burning 200 cals. It's working... nuff said. :-)

    If you give this a month, and understand that you can initially gain 2-4 lbs at first, you'll be very pleased in the long run. Your body is re-setting itself, preparing for a different way of life in simple terms. My first month, I lost over 11 lbs, my second month I lost a little over 8 lbs. Am I happy I tried this?? You bet I am! Do I think this trend of loss will continue? Absolutely. No longer am I afraid to eat... no longer will I struggle! Finally!

    17881265.png
  • Jennifer7Five
    Jennifer7Five Posts: 13 Member
    This is really helpful! Thank you!
    I am still nursing my little one, but not exclusively anymore- so it's really difficult to figure how many calories I should add for that. I am on board with eating more to lose more, but I am kind of guessing at this point. I'd love to see
  • wow,thank you so much iv been trying to figure this out and you just answerd all my questions:happy: i started very low at 1320calories and i bf adding the -500 plus im excercising and was not even getting close to my bmr, so a week ago i upped it to 1620 plus -500 my bmr is 2165 doing moderately active since im doing 30DS and my tdee is 2326 so do you think im doing my calculations good? so if i eat 1620 plus my 500 bf i would be consuming 2120 calories a day not counting excercise?? i did notice a gain but didnt mind since figured it would happen, im excited to see what happens since i havent lost nothing sticking with low calories and making my milk supply suffer,,,:cry: haha well thanx a million:flowerforyou:

    You're welcome! :-) I always figure the numbers at sedentary because there may be a day that you might miss a workout for some reason or another, or you might get sick and aren't feeling up to working out, or you might really step it up a notch and do a really hard workout and burn more calories.. **AND** if I'm recording my exercise on MFP, it's adding those calories back for me to eat already, so if I have a higher goal set including the exercise, I could really be over-doing it calorie wise! That's why I prefer to leave it as sedentary and add the exercise calories "back" via recording my exercise in MFP. Also, exercise is just such a variable thing I think, at least for me it is. Also, what's moderate to one person, might be a great deal of exercise to another - it leaves too much room for error in my opinion. I guess if you're absolutely positively never going to miss your workouts and they're always the same, then select your level of activity to go by if you'd rather not bother "adding back" your exercise calories or logging your exercise on MFP, but then your daily goal will need to be set higher . :-) See how it gets to be a little confusing? :noway: I would still suggest figuring out "sedentary" and adding back, but that's me. If it were any other site tracking my calories, I might do it different, but since MFP adds back your calories for your activity entered, you don't want to over-do it!! :happy:
  • arogers98
    arogers98 Posts: 38 Member
    Is not your NET calories "after" exercise as MFP calculates? If you are logging your exercises?

    F/E: Goal: 2015
    Food: 1863
    - Exercse: 400
    NET: 1463

    My BMR is 1263 so NET needs to be 1463 (200 over BMR).

    My TDEE is 2015 because I exercise 6x a week and log those exercises (400/day).

    So going in reverse says I need to eat 1863 calories but not go over my TDEE of 2015.

    I understood that if you are logging your exercises then the activity level is based on your "actual" daily activity not just what type of job you have like sedentary or lightly active as a nurse. So I am essentially not "eating back" my exercise calories because I have to Net my BMR+200.

    Goal is to eat the correct amount first then create the deficit with exercise?
  • 2fit4fat
    2fit4fat Posts: 559 Member
    Bump to read later!!
  • this sounds super interesting, as i am a new mom and breastfeeding as well. but i am confused about the -500 part for breastfeeding. what does that mean?

    If you're exclusively breastfeeding your baby, you need to allow yourself extra calories for milk production. On average, the typical infant, up to 6 months will consume anywhere from 24-30 oz/ day. Each oz. of milk produced takes roughly 20 calories to produce.... here's where every little bit adds up! Doing the math, that's 480-600 calories that you need to eat in addition to your calories you figured out that you need to eat.

    Also, from kellymom.com, there's suggestions for older babies:

    **Because of the great variability in the amount of solids that babies take during the second six months, the amount of milk will vary, too. One study found average breastmilk intake to be 30 oz per day (875 ml/day; 93% of total intake) at 7 months and 19 oz (550 ml/day; 50% of total energy intake) at 11-16 months.** (note: see the percentages if you're not feeding too many solids)

    **Several studies have measured breastmilk intake for babies between 12 and 24 months and found typical amounts to be 14-19 oz per day (400-550 mL per day). Studies looking at breastmilk intake between 24 and 36 months have found typical amounts to be 10-12 oz per day (300-360 mL per day).*** there's a chart at the bottom of the page if you want to see the various ages / stages: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html **

    So to sum it up: at minimum you should allow yourself an extra 200 calories if 10 oz , 600 cals if 30 oz (assuming 20 cals burned per oz), and more if you're pumping (and storing that milk)!! This is essential so you don't go into starvation mode or affect your milk supply.

    as far as the -500 goes, usually what most women are doing is adding 500 calories to their daily goal. You can do this a few different ways, but my favorite way is to set up a section specifically just for breastfeeding in my food diary by doing the following... Go to:

    Settings
    Diary Settings
    Change Meal Names
    add "Breastfeeding"

    Each day, go to that section of your diary and add Breastfeeding - -500 Cal, 1 serving (for example) There are several options.

    I like to do it this way because it doesn't get lost in the shuffle and I don't forget to add it either.

    HOPE THIS HELPS!! :smile:
  • This is really helpful! Thank you!
    I am still nursing my little one, but not exclusively anymore- so it's really difficult to figure how many calories I should add for that. I am on board with eating more to lose more, but I am kind of guessing at this point. I'd love to see

    I posted more info on that subject - perhaps it will be useful to you! :-)
  • tiaxox
    tiaxox Posts: 5 Member
    this sounds super interesting, as i am a new mom and breastfeeding as well. but i am confused about the -500 part for breastfeeding. what does that mean?

    If you're exclusively breastfeeding your baby, you need to allow yourself extra calories for milk production. On average, the typical infant, up to 6 months will consume anywhere from 24-30 oz/ day. Each oz. of milk produced takes roughly 20 calories to produce.... here's where every little bit adds up! Doing the math, that's 480-600 calories that you need to eat in addition to your calories you figured out that you need to eat.

    Also, from kellymom.com, there's suggestions for older babies:

    **Because of the great variability in the amount of solids that babies take during the second six months, the amount of milk will vary, too. One study found average breastmilk intake to be 30 oz per day (875 ml/day; 93% of total intake) at 7 months and 19 oz (550 ml/day; 50% of total energy intake) at 11-16 months.** (note: see the percentages if you're not feeding too many solids)

    **Several studies have measured breastmilk intake for babies between 12 and 24 months and found typical amounts to be 14-19 oz per day (400-550 mL per day). Studies looking at breastmilk intake between 24 and 36 months have found typical amounts to be 10-12 oz per day (300-360 mL per day).*** there's a chart at the bottom of the page if you want to see the various ages / stages: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html **

    So to sum it up: at minimum you should allow yourself an extra 200 calories if 10 oz , 600 cals if 30 oz (assuming 20 cals burned per oz), and more if you're pumping (and storing that milk)!! This is essential so you don't go into starvation mode or affect your milk supply.

    as far as the -500 goes, usually what most women are doing is adding 500 calories to their daily goal. You can do this a few different ways, but my favorite way is to set up a section specifically just for breastfeeding in my food diary by doing the following... Go to:

    Settings
    Diary Settings
    Change Meal Names
    add "Breastfeeding"

    Each day, go to that section of your diary and add Breastfeeding - -500 Cal, 1 serving (for example) There are several options.

    I like to do it this way because it doesn't get lost in the shuffle and I don't forget to add it either.

    HOPE THIS HELPS!! :smile:

    thankyou!!! this makes sense now
  • I wanted to post another update to further explain this concept because there may have been some confusion in how I worded the original post... Here's another few ways to look at this:

    Maybe I could have worded it better!

    I said: my TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure- TOTAL IT TAKES TO MAINTAIN MY CURRENT WEIGHT) is 1712 (sedentary) ***plus*** 20% for a grand total of 2054-

    I probably should have said "My recommended calorie deficit of 1712 plus 20% is equivalent to my TDEE figure of 2054 (aka Maintenance calories needed at my current weight).

    Keep in mind the average female needs around 2000-2100 calories (TDEE), so if your TDEE is not close to this, your figures are likely wrong. (maybe not so in extreme situations like morbidly obese or close to goal weight, but it helps to have an idea of what figures make sense)

    Again, how I arrived at TDEE in the original post was by taking my recommended deficit amount to eat according to fat2fit's calculator and then adding 20% to that figure to arrive at my maintenance or TDEE calories. It's kind of a backwards way to do it - a very confusing method if you ask me... I was so proud that I figured it out that I wrote that post. haha!!

    You could use probably any calculator and enter your current weight, and ask what it would take to "maintain" that weight... it should spit out your what people call your TDEE or maintenance calorie requirement at your current weight (keep in mind as you lose weight, you'll want to recalculate this, especially if you're stalling)- freedieting.com has a calculator that will recommend your maintenance (aka TDEE) and your recommended fat loss calories (aka in my example appx 1700) and if applicable your "extreme" level of fat loss, which I found to be close to the BMR figure.

    The only thing with the freedieting.com calculator is it doesn't take into account your body fat percentage, so the figures may be off a tad.

    More simply put, getting a 500 calorie deficit from 2000-2100 should put you in a range of 1500-1600 calories equaling about 1 lb/week loss.... and if you look at it even another way being 20-30% deficit from recommended maintenance levels) you arrive at the following:

    2000 - 20% (400) = 1600
    2000 - 30% (600) = 1400
    2100 - 20% (420) = 1680
    2100 - 30% (630) = 1470

    Given these figures, the typical female should "normally" be within these ranges **(net)** to lose weight at a healthy level, retaining muscle mass as much as possible: roughly 1400 to about 1700. And, these figures are based on **sedentary** activity level. This should also help you avoid plateaus!

    Any way you look at it, you should be close to those figures. Does that help??

    Now, for breastfeeding, add 500 calories to these figures if you're breastfeeding a younger baby (1-6 mo's old), and possibly less as you wean. * I have a theory though that as your babe starts "getting into things and walking" you'll be naturally increasing your activity level... so maybe not reducing your calories as they wean is key here - just a thought. In other words, you may need MORE calories. It's an idea worth entertaining! see this calculator for calories burned taking care of baby (light effort): http://www.fitday.com/webfit/burned/calories_burned_Child_care_standing_dressing_bathing_grooming_feeding_occasional_lifting_of_child_light_effort.html

    I also want to add a note on exercise: if you're working out, you should allow yourself extra "fuel" to be sure not to double up on your deficit... and keep in mind inches rather than pounds will fall off when adding activity- don't get discouraged with the scale not moving downward if you're exercising!!!! Just use a more appropriate measuring method, such as progress pictures and body measurements... even a caliper to measure body fat. It is entirely normal and a good thing to gain weight while you're exercising - therefore, the scale is often not the best tool to keep you motivated! Weight loss/changing your body composition is such a gradual process that you or others may not even notice the difference right away. It's incredibly helpful to "see" the difference instead of getting discouraged with the scale number. You may be tempted to further reduce your calories below the recommended levels (1400-1700) but trust me when I say cutting calories further is the last thing you want to do. If anything, adding "heavy" weights vs cardio is the best tool for losing fat and retaining muscle to supercharge your metabolism / keep it high!

    Hope this helps! :bigsmile: