Dieting and breastfeeding

[RatherBeACyborg]

Hello,

I posted this in the diesting section and it was suggested I also post here for advice...


DD2 is 7 months old and I have a spare stone I'd like to lose. I signed up for My Fitness Pal and it has given me an allowance of 1200 calories a day. I'm pretty certain this isn't enough while bf. Does anyone know how many calories I should allow to lose weight but not affect my milk supply. Or would my milk supply not be affected by now? I am 5ft 6 and currently weigh 10st 7lb.

Thanks

[Ragwort]

I did Weightwatchers when breast feeding and was given an allowance of 1800 calories - 1200 sounds far too low - 1400 is about what is recommended for 'average height' non-breastfeeding women who can do about 40 minutes exercise a day.

PS: I know a lot about dieting but can never stick to one

[RatherBeACyborg]

Thank you. I thought 1800 was a bit more like it but so far in life I have been lucky enough not to have to diet so know nothing about it. I wasn't sure if I was deluding myself with calorie allowance but 1200 seems like such a small amount.

[chloeb2002]

Hi i use my fitness pal too... i balanced out the weightloss amount untill it gave me 1800 cal.. ive now settled into it and its fine. ive obnly lost a bit but the biggy is that ive not gained any more! with dd and ds i gained 2 stone bf ing!I beleive its very very hard to actually loose whilst feeding as your body will hold onto fat in case of famine! ( fat chance). however as my obs doctor pointed out women in poor thirld world countries feed babies too and eat very little! ( maybe not quality milk tho!)

[mollycuddles]

It seems variable. I'm bf dd2 - just turned 1 on Tuesday and I've lost 6 stone plus so far. It comes off quite easily and I aim for about 1500 calories a day (I'm only bf twice a day but at 7 months I was feeding a lot more so 1800 sounds about right). I have also taken up running in the last 3 months and that helps a lot. My quality and quantity of milk have never led dd2 to have cause for complaint.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

See how you go with about 1800 calories. Then see how much weight you are losing. I'm on Weightwatchers and they give you lots of extra points for BFing. They say that you shouldn't lose a lot more than a pound a week (which is exactly what I have been losing).

I have a completely untested theory that thinner people keep their weight while BFing and fatter people like me lose weight easily while BFing. I think my body is happy to drop the extra while, if you are naturally thinner your body stores so that the baby has a margin.

[nearlytherenow]

I think it depends how established on solids your baby is? Your calorie allowance will obviously go down as you feed less. 1200 does sound very low though, and it's really important to avoid going into ketosis, which can / will affect your milk (quality and content as much as supply), and would not be good for your baby. Can you try gradually cutting your calorie intake each week until you get to a point where you find that you are losing about 1lb a week? I would start with about 1800 calories, as MrsTerryPratchett suggests.

[RatherBeACyborg]

Thanks, I will do as suggested and start with 1800 and see how I go.

[AppleAndBlackberry]

I am losing weight on 2000 calories, but am ebf a 3 month old so it's probably a bit less if she's weaned. 1200 is definitely too low, 1800 sounds ok but if you find you're losing much more than a pound a week you should increase it.

[chocolatemacadamias]

If you search for "exclusive Breastfeeding" under the foods section of my fitness pal it comes up with several allowances you can add as foods eaten. A bit weird but ends up giving you additional calories in your allowance-500 I think which added to the 1200 would get you nearer to the 1800 that seems to be recommended. HTH

[Tortu]

Hey, yeah, I'm using 'myfitnesspal' too and just tick 'breastfeeding' as one of the forms of exercise I do each day and thus it adjusts the calories I'm allowed.