Breast Feeding

amquance
amquance Posts: 1 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I just started and I am trying to figure out how to add breast feeding in here. There is not an option for it and I search the internet for how many calories it burns and there are so many different numbers I am not sure what to go by. Any one have any ideas? Should I put it in under exercise? How many calories?

Replies

  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    There is an option for it, under food.
  • ShanaGore
    ShanaGore Posts: 58 Member
    Breast feeding burns about 20 calories for every ounce produced. So it really depends on the age of your baby and how much milk he or she is consuming each day. That is why the range is so big, very young babies are not consuming very many ounces a day, while older babies may be consuming 30+ ounces a day. Because MFP doesn't have a special category for nursing mothers, you can't rely on MFP. Make sure you are working with your doctor or lactation consultant to determine how many calories a day you need to be consuming. Most nursing mothers need to consume a minimum of 2000 calories per day to keep up adequate milk production. I would say if you want to use MFP just to keep track, you could add "breastfeeding" as your own exercise and then manually input the calories. Of course if you are not pumping the milk first, you really have no way to know how many calories your baby is consuming. I would use 500 as a good estimate, and if you end up burning more, then that is just a bonus for you. But as long as you are consuming an extra 500 calories a day to accommodate for the milk production, you should be good.
  • shaki1616
    shaki1616 Posts: 1 Member
    HI There,
    If you type breastfeeding into the food database it will come up. There are several different options and it is added to your food diary as negative calories. For example my little guy is a bit older and nurses between 3-5 times a day so I choose that option (breastfeeding 3-5 times per day -400 cals) every morning as part of my breakfast,: it adds negative 400 calories to my food diary which basically gives me an extra 400 cals per day. If your babe is younger and nursing with more frequency you are probably burning 500 cals a day with nursing.

    My doctor says moms need about 500 extra cals a day when nursing...I chose the 400 cal option cause as I said my little guy is a little older and eating solid foods as well as nursing. I have been losing steadily. Good luck!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories