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avalentineb
avalentineb Posts: 58 Member
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I went to the Dr yesterday because my son is sick and I've been feeling under the weather lately too. She said I might have the early stages of a sinus infection but it's more likely I'm just worn down and that I am in no way eating enough calories to be healthy while breastfeeding. I've noticed I haven't been engorged as much as normal but I thought that was a product of going back to work and not having time to pump every day. Originally I thought I could squeak by with 1500 calories a day. Now with my supply going down, feeling weak, and prone to illness maybe I NEED 1800 just to keep myself well! It was hard, when the Dr told me that I felt like I had failed in someway. I know I'm still hormonal but I seriously almost started crying! I know the weight will come off, and I'm already under my pre-prenancy weight but I guess I want to be better so badly I'm taking it too far and making this weight loss mean too much.

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  • cakesmooth
    cakesmooth Posts: 122 Member
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    My goal was just over 1900 calories a year after my son was born and I was still breast feeding. I lost about 20 pounds in a few months. I definely think you need to increase your calories. But please go easy on yourself. Mistakes are learning opportunities and trust me, you'll have lots as we all have and still do as moms.
  • raeCR
    raeCR Posts: 23 Member
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    I think since you are breast feeding it is more a matter of where your calories are coming from than how many calories. Increase your calorie allowance but make sure those calories come from healthy, good food. Hope you feel better.
  • SWink06
    SWink06 Posts: 73 Member
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    I can relate, I've always needed to be careful of my food intake while breastfeeding or my supply would go down. I'm still bf'ing my 13 month old and, still, I need more calories than I would otherwise. If I get too low and try to lose too much too fast, I get extremely fatigued and worn out. She still nurses a lot, so that contributes.

    Try to focus on being healthy and the big picture. You're doing a great thing for your baby and you can still lose weight, just increase your calories a bit until you find what works for you. If I stay at 1900-2000 calories (goal set at 1 lb a week) I feel great and lose weight, just more slowly than I would like, lol.

    When I had set my goal for 2 lbs a week and 1500 calories I was exhausted and I wasn't losing weight, either. It was too low for me while bf'ing.

    Hang in there.

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