New mom breastfeeding and trying to lose weight

awheat2012
awheat2012 Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
I have a 6 week old daughter and I'm breastfeeding.I'm moitvated to lose weight, but dont want compromise my milk supply- any suggestions?
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Replies

  • LeenaRuns
    LeenaRuns Posts: 1,309 Member
    Start walking. Just grab the stroller and head out the door. I lost all my baby weight doing that.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    You can track breast feeding as exercise - just be sure to eat the calories you burn breast feeding and not set your daily calories too low (ie go with the lose 1 pound a week setting) and you should be fine.
  • Michelle81285
    Michelle81285 Posts: 107
    you lose so many calories just breastfeeding alone!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    Do the same thing as you would if you were not breastfeeding but add 500 calories.

    What I would do, if I were breastfeeding, is set my goal to "maintain current weight." You will burn calories by breastfeeding, creating a deficit.
  • annarborave
    annarborave Posts: 1
    Breastfeeding burns tons of extra calories. Lots of information on - breastmilkcounts dot com. It's a department of health site - not commercial. Good luck!
  • Spanaval
    Spanaval Posts: 1,200 Member
    Make allowance for your BF-ing. If you go under food, you can look for breastfeeding, and it gives you extra calories (500 since you're still early in the game) to factor in. If you find that your supply tanks when you calorie restrict, you can always eat more to bring it back up. Eating stuff like oatmeal is good for you and good for your supply. If you are having supply issues, I wouldn't mess with it at all.
  • FitCurves444
    FitCurves444 Posts: 169 Member
    Start walking. Just grab the stroller and head out the door. I lost all my baby weight doing that.

    Good to know. :wink:
  • PanteraGirl
    PanteraGirl Posts: 566 Member
    Continue to eat healthy, stay away from junk and start walking and move into exercising when you are cleared by the doctor. You still need to get all your nutrition so don't diet....just eat healthy. The baby needs it. Good luck and congrats!
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
    like someone else said, go walking! any exercise will help you. yoga!

    i had a carrier strapped to my chest for when i walked around the mall, that made me tense my abs/back the entire time.
  • bewitchinglife
    bewitchinglife Posts: 167 Member
    Congratulations on your new baby!

    First off. Eat. Eat all the good and healthy food your body desires. Don't deprive yourself right now. You need the healthiest of food to make the healthiest of food. Don't forget to drink tons of water. Keep a bottle next to you always.

    Second. Exercise.

    Some gals don't lose as fast while breast feeding, and that is OK. You don't want to have your body thinking that you are starving or your milk will go away.

    I've breastfed three kids for over 6 years total (not all at the same time thank goodness!). If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.
  • TinkrBelz
    TinkrBelz Posts: 866 Member
    As a mom of 6 and I did breastfeed all of them for 14months-2.5years.

    Do not do anything right now. I KNOW you want to lose the weight, but your milk supply is more important. I was always able to lose most of my baby weight without worrying about it. I also noticed that if I did not eat enough or drink enough, my milk supply would go down.

    So get plenty to drink and eat healthy, but do not cut back too much. I think on here ( I am not sure because I was not on here when I nursed) there is a "Breastfeeding" that gives you 500 calories. Just make sure that you do not set yourself too low, Like sedentary/ lose 2lbs per week. That will put you at 1200 calories and for a nursing mom, that is not enough. AND, if you are exercising too....please do not get your calories too low.

    For my first 5 kids, I was within 10 pounds just within a few months, then at 6 months that last 10 came off, without doing anything. I should add, I did gain 50-60lbs per baby. HTH and congrats on the new baby girl!!!
  • FlamingJune67
    FlamingJune67 Posts: 96 Member
    I lost 35 lbs while breastfeeding my last baby. Just make sure you add around 500 cals to what would be your regular diet calorie goal (at 190 lbs I ate 1700-1800 cals a day) and lose the weight slowly. It took me 9 months (avg. 1 lb a week) but the dieting was not hard since I could eat 1800 calories and still lose :D Oh, and drink lots of water!
  • ElviraCross
    ElviraCross Posts: 331 Member
    I have a 9 month old and I'm still breastfeeding her. It burns so much calories that I never did anything to work out and I lost all of my weight and then some. Not saying that will happen to everyone but it definitely helps. I wouldn't worry too much about losing your supply, I would do the walking thing like others suggested
  • WaxMama
    WaxMama Posts: 369 Member
    I'm also nursing, although my baby just turned 1 this month. I set my diary up like this: Nursing, Breakfast, Morning Snack, Lunch, Afternoon Snack, Dinner. For nursing, I go to add the food and it's under breastfeeding. One oz is 20 calories. I make sure to eat that back and it has yet to affect my supply. Another tip, which I'm sure you've heard, is water! Water! Water! I can't stress how important it is! I drink 10+ cups a day and if I go below that, it totally affects my supply. Good luck, feel free to add me!
  • WaxMama
    WaxMama Posts: 369 Member
    I'm also nursing, although my baby just turned 1 this month. I set my diary up like this: Nursing, Breakfast, Morning Snack, Lunch, Afternoon Snack, Dinner. For nursing, I go to add the food and it's under breastfeeding. One oz is 20 calories. I make sure to eat that back and it has yet to affect my supply. Another tip, which I'm sure you've heard, is water! Water! Water! I can't stress how important it is! I drink 10+ cups a day and if I go below that, it totally affects my supply. Good luck, feel free to add me!

    Oh, and CONGRATS on your new little one :)
  • FlamingJune67
    FlamingJune67 Posts: 96 Member
    I would also add that there is a difference between losing weight you gained while pregnant and weight you had before pregnancy. During my first few pregnancies it was a breeze to lose the weight I gained during pregnancy through breastfeeding alone (no need to diet) However, I actually weighed less after my last baby than before I got pregnant due to being sick the whole pregnancy, and my goal was to lose extra weight I'd been carrying around for years. This is harder. So keep that in mind when you are reading responses. If you were not overweight before pregnancy, chances are your body will only need a slight push to lose that extra weight. Just make sure take anything you do is slow and balanced and your milk supply should be fine.
  • jah0217
    jah0217 Posts: 51 Member
    So my little guy is 6 weeks old as well and I am someone who has a lot harder time than most loosing weight. We went through pretty nasty emergency csection, but I was cleared by my doctor to do what I did/am doing. I was about 180 pre-baby and 215 right before I had him. I'm currently down to 185 in the last 6 weeks. My doctor said that I could set my calories at about 1200 and add 400 for breast feeding. I was completely cleared for full exercise at 6 weeks, but was allowed to do a lot of walking, "physical therapy" type exercises, etc prior to that. I find that as long as I am pretty close to 1600 calories, my milk supply doesn't diminish at all. Keep in mind, I'm generally drinking 10-14 glasses of water a day, plus milk, juice, etc. Obviously everyone is different, so just play with what works for you. Read through all of this advice, but take it with a grain of salt because your body won't necessarily loose it as easy as other people's will (I am personally fighting this right now!) I also wouldn't get into the mindset that just because you are breast feeding that you have a free ticket not to worry about your diet or exercise. The longer you go doing nothing, the harder it is. The walking is a great idea, I have done tons of it will my little guy in a Mobi and now a front pack. Good luck and take time to enjoy your little one!
  • joslin2005
    joslin2005 Posts: 138
    You may want to wait until your baby is about 3 months old so you can establish your milk supply.

    My baby is 8 months old and I lost all but 16 pounds of the weight I gained while pregnant. I gained about 60 pounds (that is not a typo) and didn't do anything but nurse my baby. Now I am working on the weight I put on before baby....If you want to help the weight come off, eat healthy but DO NOT DIET while breastfeeding. Take a whole foods prenatal. You can start exercising but don't overdo it. When you are breastfeeding, your body is working extra hard to create the milk. You burn an extra 500-750 calories. If you choose calorie counting, you will need to add these extra calories.



    Check out kellymom.com. It has alot of useful information regarding breastfeeding and weight loss while breastfeeding.(http://kellymom.com/nutrition/mothers-diet/mom-weightloss/)
  • AprilBurns86
    AprilBurns86 Posts: 60
    Congratulations on your new addition!! I'm also a breastfeeding mama to my 6 month old. I have three main suggestions for exercising while bfing-

    Drink TONS of water. I would say at least 10-12 servings (8 oz each) of water. This will help prevent issues with supply, as well as aid in weight loss.

    Wear a high quality non-underwire sports bra. Underwire can promote clogged ducts in your armpit areas. If you are busty and have trouble finding a high quality bra (or if you can't afford one) then double up on the cheapies. I suggest the nursing sports bras found at www.motherhood.com or the La Leche League ones at www.herroom.com.

    And finally, if you feel soreness in your breasts, take a break from the high-impact exercises. Do some yoga, pilates, calisthenics or whatever that doesn't require bouncing..because soreness will make you tense, and the more tense, the more problems you can have with letdown. I also suggest that if you know you are going to do a high-impact exercise, nurse the baby BEFOREHAND. That can help you twofold- one, you will be less full and therefore more comfortable while you work out, and two, it's POSSIBLE that exercising can impact the taste of milk for your baby, which may cause them to turn up their nose at nursing.

    Oh, and on a side note, when you log your food for the day, you can search "breastfeeding" and add it as a food, which will add -500 calories to your daily total, to allow for the calories burned just feeding your baby.

    Again, congratulations, and good luck!! You are doing the BEST thing for your baby and yourself! Feel free to send me a friend request if you want!
  • ReneeCK
    ReneeCK Posts: 63 Member
    YAY for breastfeeding!!! Nothing else to add because everyone's advice seems spot-on!
  • AprilBurns86
    AprilBurns86 Posts: 60
    As a mom of 6 and I did breastfeed all of them for 14months-2.5years.

    I just wanna say that this is really amazing to me. Congratulations on doing the best for your babies!! =)
  • danifo0811
    danifo0811 Posts: 544 Member
    Do the same thing as you would if you were not breastfeeding but add 500 calories.

    What I would do, if I were breastfeeding, is set my goal to "maintain current weight." You will burn calories by breastfeeding, creating a deficit.


    this. I find if I go below 1800 my baby gets cranky because there isn't enough milk.
  • misslouisiana
    misslouisiana Posts: 37 Member
    like someone else said, go walking! any exercise will help you. yoga!

    i had a carrier strapped to my chest for when i walked around the mall, that made me tense my abs/back the entire time.


    I love that idea. It sure beats taking a stroller out every time.
  • Recovering_for_cupcakes
    Recovering_for_cupcakes Posts: 57 Member
    Everyone here is saying it perfectly. Take healthy steps to make you feel good about your efforts and your progress but try and remember that like someone said: "You need to eat the healthiest food to make the healthiest food." I was too worried about my body and my weight when I was BFing and I tanked my supply and couldn't get it back. My daughter is wonderful and healthy and happy and nursed for 4 months but I regret almost daily that I wasn't able to do what was best for her.
  • Lainn
    Lainn Posts: 281 Member
    Congrats on your little one!
    What I suggest (and what I did) was to set my calories at 1700. It might seem high, but while nursing every 2-3hours your body really needs that to maintain it's supply. One of my friends on here even found me an article that said bf moms shouldn't go below 1650. So until my daughter was older and only nursing a few times a day that is what I did.

    Or you can set it lower and then add breastfeeding (you can find it under foods) which gives you a added 500 calories for the day.

    As for exercise like pp said walking with the stroller is great! I have a mommy group that meets every thur at the park and instead of driving my kids and I walked. I started walking to the grocery store instead of driving and things like that. Since I have younger kids my rule was if it takes longer than 30min (walking) we will drive. Luckily we live in a pretty central area and restaurants, library, grocery store, ect are all in walking distance.

    If you want a more intensive exercise you could always ask your OB when you are allowed to do such exercise and maybe even get tips on how to ease back into harder exercises.

    Don't push yourself too much...your body does need this time to heal from birth and to return itself back to a postpartum state (takes about one year).
  • theaimster30
    theaimster30 Posts: 63 Member
    #1, your milk supply is more important than your weight loss. You can focus more on your weight after weaning.
    #2, OATMEAL is an excellent choice for breakfast. Healthy AND it boosts milk supply. Not sure why this is, but I learned it in my Breastfeeding meetings.
    #3, Mothers Milk Tea & Fenugreek are great for increasing milk supply. They can be found in health food stores & health food sections of some grocery stores (Kroger/Fred Meyer, etc. ) For the Fenugreek supplements to be effective, take 3-4 capsules 3-4 times a day.
    #4, have a glass of water everytime you sit down to nurse.


    I hope that helps!
  • sbrBirdy
    sbrBirdy Posts: 224 Member
    Congratulations!!

    Everyone has already given you great advice - I would just add that I had a very difficult time losing weight while breastfeeding, as I was starving all the time. Definitely avoid crash dieting. If you stick with clean, healthy foods, I would say eat as much as you need. You'll be sleep deprived so you might not feel like doing crazy workouts, but strap the baby in a carrier while you're doing chores or getting some fresh air outside. It's soothing to them and will help you burn calories.

    Best of luck to you and the new little one!
  • AprilBurns86
    AprilBurns86 Posts: 60
    Eating stuff like oatmeal is good for you and good for your supply.

    Yes, I forgot to mention this!! Steel-cut oats, Mother's Milk Tea, and Lactation Cookies can all help with supply, should issues arise.
  • mmmyotwnz
    mmmyotwnz Posts: 119 Member
    Congratulations on your new addition!

    As far as loosing weight for a diet, there isn't really anything you can do. You have to have the extra calories for milk production or your supply will become limited over time. Be aware that around 8 & 12 weeks your baby will probably hit a growth spurt and you will increasing your milk supply. You may be doing a lot more nursing/pumping than you realize. That being said, there are a lot of things you can do to tone up. One of the benefits of breastfeeding is that your body will help take care of some of the baby weight for you.

    The things you can do....
    Walk, walk a lot! Not only does the baby love being outside but the she/he will be soothed by the stroller, especially if it is a fussy day. This allows you to increase your heart rate, work up a sweat a bit and kick up your metabolism and you will benefit from the endorphins from exercise.
    Drink tons of water....more so than the recommended 8 glasses. Don't forget to take your vitamins and eat plenty of veggies, fruit and protein.
    Stretching- nothing saying you can't stretch your muscles out, you have had a busy 6 weeks.
    Yoga/Pilates - very good for working out the muscle groups. Go easy at first.
    While the baby is napping- you can do lunges with some low weights, push ups, crunches(taking care if you had a C) reverse crunches, jumping jacks etc...

    Good Luck.

    I've nursed all 4 of mine, including a set of twins.
  • Mindmovesbody
    Mindmovesbody Posts: 399 Member
    Congrats!!! When I first started I just used MFP's calorie settings, added in the food diary 'breast feeding' and it gives you an extra 500 calories. As long as you are eating enough you can safely exercise, breast feed and lose weight! Make your calories count when you eat! Good luck!!!

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