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Calorie-counting

Anyone on mfp and ebf?

8 replies

Lillamyy1 · 09/06/2015 10:36

Could do with some fellow breastfeeding dieters. Been doing mfp for about a week now but not very successfully as bf makes me so hungry, also I've only just found out how many calories I should be having per day (1500).
Trying to do relatively low carb too, as I read that bfing women should be eating 65% protein, although I don't know how much fat and carbs to adjust my goals to Hmm
Also be interesting to chat to others about low calorie foods... I'm trying to eat really healthily - no processed foods etc, but finding it hard as I have an addiction to biscuits, cake and ritz crackers! And of course chocolate Grin

OP posts:
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OrchidFlakes · 12/06/2015 21:23

Hello! EBFing a 3 week old and also using MFP. My calories are meant to be 1200 but I keep going over to 1600 or 1700, I just can seem to eat less and to make it worse i can't exercise due to surgery immediately after the birth Angry

I'm also struggling with low cal foods, I've not really dieted successfully before but have 20lbs to shift ASAP. What are you finding to eat?

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ButterflyOfFreedom · 13/06/2015 01:36

Hi,
I've been using MFP since new year and have lost 2 stones.
My LO is 8 months now but up until she was 6 months I was EBF-ING.
For the first couple of months after she was born I didn't diet or use MFP as I was concentrating more on getting used to my DD plus was so tired & hungry all the time I didn't have the energy!

Things seemed to settle down a bit once she was 2-3 months old which is when I started using MFP. I've found it really useful in helping me lose weight - just seeing what foods have the most calories and finding those 'hidden' calories that soon add up (ie. I wouldn't think twice about having a slice of bread with butter on as a snack but realised this was around 150 calories!).

It is hard when you're BF-ing though and are constantly hungry! It's not as if you're craving grapes either, it's pretty much biscuits all the way!

With MFP you need to tell it you're BF-ING as apparently it can use up to 500 calories.
My MFP says I should eat around 1200 calories a day though I often go over this as don't find that it's enough.
Some days I'll have almost double this, all it takes is a few chocolate biscuits!

Yesterday was pretty healthy though - I had:
Breakfast: bran flakes with milk, orange juice
Lunch: cheese salad sandwich
Dinner: broccoli & salmon stir fry with noodles
Snacks: apple, 2 satsumas, Jordans Fusili bar, muller light yogurt, 3 cups of tea

General tips:
have fruit to combat the sugar / sweet craving
smaller portion sizes
no alcohol
plenty of water
bulk up on veg
don't buy things to tempt you - if it's not on the house, you can't eat it!!

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superbfairywren · 16/06/2015 16:12

I'm breastfeeding my 6 month old dd, have just started weaning but she still feeds every 2hours in the day and multiple times at night. I am way overweight and have reinstalled mfp today to try to encourage me to log and reduce what I'm eating. My goal is 1200calories but I don't know if this is healthy while breastfeeding, I assume it is.

Going to go shopping for healthy foods tomorrow. Have reduced dramatically all snacks/biscuits etc in the last week but I am finding myself starving at every meal time.

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Titsalinabumsquash · 25/06/2015 23:21

Smile

Can I join you?

I'm ebf DD1, she's 10 weeks old and a little guzzler! I'm using mfp but apart from some gentle strolls I can't do a lot in the way of exercise, she's my fourth baby and my hips haven't quite been right since she was born, I think I finally pushed my luck too far! Confused (Luckily she's totally worth it)

Anyway, I'm a shorty at only 5'1 but 2 weeks post birth I was well over 13 stone (the only way i could keep pregnancy sickness at bay was to carb load) ShockBlush I'm now 12st 8, I weigh in on a Friday.

I'm on 1500 calories a day and I always stick under the limit but I go way, way over for sugar and carbs, if anyone has any tips on keeping those down I'd be grateful, I'm keen to make a real go of it, I am NOT going back to slimming world! Grin

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HelenF350 · 26/06/2015 03:58

Hi all, I'm not breast feeding yet as not due for a few days. I am really shocked at how few calories you guys are eating. Recommendations are that 15-1800 calories are needed to produce milk without putting your supply at risk. This is probably why you are all hungry. 1200 is below the BMR for most people without taking into account the extra calories (approx 300-500 per day) that are needed for breast feeding. I will be dieting when I start breastfeeding but I'll be eating 1800 calories per day minimum. Use a BMR calculator to calculate your normal min calories and add 400 calories to that to see what you should be eating. Keep yourselves healthy, give your body what it needs to function Smile

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Titsalinabumsquash · 26/06/2015 07:48

I'm not hungry and DD is gaining well, plus on mfp you can 'log' breastfeeding as a food (bizarrely!) and it adds on 500 kcal to that day.

I'm 11st 4 today. 2lb a week seems to be the pattern and I'm more than happy with that. Smile

I have wedding to go to on the first of August so I'd've chuffed with reaching the 10 stone bracket by then, it's a mini goal Smile

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Weekipper · 29/06/2015 21:06

Ive just completed my MFP for the first time and been around my 1700cals. My DD is 8 weeks and I want to lose the excess and get fit again. I didn't put on much and am back at my prepregnancy weight but that's 12kg over what I should be.

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Weekipper · 29/06/2015 21:06

I'm EBFing too

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