breastfeeding
oceanweed
Posts: 2
I am still breastfeeding my 9 month old and I am confused as to how many calories I should be consuming a day? I breastfeeding between 4-6x/day and I am at a stand still with any weight loss. I have cut back calories, and still I am at the same weight as what I started 2.5 weeks ago. Help!
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Replies
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I am also breastfeeding 4-6 times daily, and aim for about 1650 net calories a day. I eat back my exercise calories. I find that if I eat less than 1650 cals I feel weak/dizzy/tired. I recommend starting there and if you find you're not feeling very energetic to increase your calories until you feel balanced. I'm okay with only a small calorie deficit if it means I have energy to care for my little one. Slow and steady!
Good luck!0 -
I was always told that breastfeeding burns a good 500 calories a day... I would add that to whatever your min calorie intake is PLUS your exercise calories. The 500 burned is just from producing milk.0
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And don't forget to drink water- it helps your milk to let down, and you need it. I never counted calories when I was nursing. My baby brought in a lot of milk by nursing a lot, and I only knew he was gaining nicely, didn't concern myself with numbers. I didn't think I had lost a lot of weight, but when I look at pictures from that time, I was very thin, and I recall I was wearing size 10 jeans. I guess I still saw the chubby me in the mirror. You might look great, even if the scale hasn't moved. But drink that water, maybe it will help with losing weight.0
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I stopped breastfeeding in March, and my daughter was 8.5 months at the time ended. I didn't count my calories until January, when I started sparkpeople.com. It's for pregnant, and breastfeeding mothers, so it calculates a good number for you. At the beginning I consumed around 2000 calories and lost 1.5lbs a week, then dropped down to 1800 when my little one stopped demanding more then 2 feedings a day, and continued to lose at that rate.0
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You burn 20 cals for every 1 oz produced, if you know how much you're producing then you can log your calories burned (breastfeeding is under food, it gives you negative calories when you log it) and just eat back what you burn or a little less. You may not be eating enough because if you're getting less than 1700 calories you maybe actually consuming less than 1200 or less than your BMR and actually throwing yourself into starvation mode, try upping your calories by a couple hundred for a week or so and see if you notice any change. I upped mine about 150 and started losing again so it's worth a shot. Good luck!0
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You should eat at least 500 cals xtra while breastfeeding.0
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Thanks Everyone... You have all been a huge help!!! I believe I have been in "starvation mode" although I haven't been hungry. I have increased my water intake and have increased my caloric intake to around 1800. I will see what happens.0
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