Breastfeeding and weight loss?

julieh391
julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just started to get serious about exercise and counting calories within the last week. My baby is 5 weeks old, and until now I've had more than enough milk for him (and I've always overproduced with all of my kids.) Now I'm definitely noticing a decrease. I set my activity level to "very active" in my profile to allow for some extra calories while breastfeeding, and I've only been doing very light exercise. I'm about 40lbs overweight, and my calories are set at 1570 daily. Any tips?

Replies

  • dehaunch
    dehaunch Posts: 11
    In the section where you add foods, type in breastfeeding. Then pick how old the baby is. This will deduct the number of calories you need to figure in :)
  • bfbooty
    bfbooty Posts: 189 Member
    assuming you are exclussively breast feeding as in no formula top ups you NEED to add 500 cals extra a day and you NEED to eat ALL your calls including all your exercise cals you will lose weight and it shouldn't effect your milk supply.

    If you still find your supply is being effected you can increase it by
    drinking 2-3 cups of fennel tea a day
    3x3 fenugreek tabs (works better if you can take blessed thistle with this also but that can be hard to get)

    you can also take motillium (domperdone) 3x3 a day I think though in the states that is only available on perscription, you can check out Dr Jack Newman's website for more info on this he is a BF expert and knows everything there is to know about BF.

    eating porridge oats daily is also great at keeping your milk supply up along with adding things like fresh garlic and ginger to your cooking also helps.

    there's actually loads of natural foods that help with increasing milk supply and other natural herbs also you can take.

    If you go onto rollercoaster.ie onto the bf forum the ladies there will be able to advise on other ways to increase supply too many of them are experts lactation consultants and know their stuff so will be able to help with any BF question or problem.

    dieting does not have to cause any problems with milk supply so long as you do it right I have had no problems and have a few bf friends losing weight with no problems :-)
  • Skylar41812
    Skylar41812 Posts: 1
    The problem may be that you are only netting 1570 calories per day. You should be netting 1800-2200 while nursing.
  • moepwr
    moepwr Posts: 335 Member
    You need to up your calories. I am breastfeeding my 5 and a half month old and I added cals and I eat everything back. Happy baby, happy life! Congrats on your little one!:flowerforyou:
  • moepwr
    moepwr Posts: 335 Member
    You need to up your calories. I am breastfeeding my 5 and a half month old and I added cals and I eat everything back. Happy baby, happy life! Congrats on your little one!:flowerforyou:

    Oh and add me if you like!
  • bikinibeliever
    bikinibeliever Posts: 832 Member
    I can only add from my memory (baby is 16 years old :laugh: )....I was eating a lot when breast feeding! I was losing weight and eating between 2800 and 3000...So I would say you are not eating enough.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    Add in the 500 calories from breastfeeding, you will find it if you search in the food tab. When I was undereating, my own weight loss stalled, and my little girl was gaining just below the lowest acceptable weight gain. When I increased my calories, the weight started dropping off of me (I've been losing an average of a pound every 4 days), and my daughter's weight gain increased to between 6-10 ounces a day
  • blondiemama09
    blondiemama09 Posts: 3
    My DD is about 15 weeks old and I started using MFP I want to say around 5 weeks also? I can't remember. Anyways, I make sure I eat around 1800 cal per day. I have read that whatever you were eating before (being pregnant), add 500 calories to that, and that should be good for BFing. I've been pretty successful w/ losing weight by counting calories and haven't noticed a decrease in my supply ...
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
    You should be adding at least 500 extra calories for breastfeeding. You would be better off selecting your true activity level then adding those calories. Information that I have read states that you should not go below 1700-1800 when breastfeeding.
  • Btrfly2541
    Btrfly2541 Posts: 14
    I am having the same problem!. I started counting calories and doing light exercise last week then started Insanity and have done two modified days. I noticed yesterday that my baby wasnt nursing as long and I didnt feel as full. I weighed myself this morning and have gained three pounds!. I set my calorie intake to 1650 because it seemed like I had way to many calories at 1800. Should I reset my information as if I wasnt bf and then add the bf food intake everydsy?. from past experience this would likely put me around 1700 cals.
  • rowyourboat
    rowyourboat Posts: 125 Member
    I breastfed two preemies. I don't know...I wouldn't count calories or diet this early on. Your body will tell you what to do. Just make healthy choices.
  • HeidiHoMom
    HeidiHoMom Posts: 1,393 Member
    Definitely add 500 calories to the 1570 you are already eating!

    I am nursing a 5 month old. I eat 1600 calories, plus 300-500 for breastfeeding (he is starting solids which is why I use the range of 300-500 depending on how many solids he has in a day). Plus I eat my exercise calories back. So on average I am consuming over 2000 calories per day and at the very least netting my BMR which is 1600.

    I'm actually thinking of upping my calories even more!
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
    Have you figured out your BMR or TDEE? You said that you set MFP to very active but I am not sure if you are actually very active or if you just did that to get more calories to account for breastfeeding?

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