Weightloss while breastfeeding

[Pittcuecothecookbook]

Question about weightloss - I'm eating 1500 calories a day but there is a suggestion online that I need to eat at least 1800 to maintain milk supply. I'm currently overweight and looking to lose weight so tracking what I eat on myfitnesspal. This will mean I lose 1lb a week according to mfp.

I'm not as active as I was pre pregnancy as I cycled a lot and baby is too small to come out on my bike with me yet. I'm going for short walks during the day and the odd swim but eating 1800 calories is unlikely to result in me losing any weight.

I don't want my supply to drop though either. 1500 is fairly easy at the moment, and I'm not crash dieting.

Example meals:
B - overnight oats (200 calories)
S - fruit (150 calories)
L - soup, salad or wrap (300-400 calories)
D - various: tonight breaded quorn fillet and roasted veg, last night veg thai curry and rice (500-600 calories)
S - something sweet: dark chocolate or banana & custard etc (100-150 calories)

Will this affect milk supply?

[mycheapshoes]

I started dieting when ds was about 6 months so still breastfeeding but beginning to replace some feeds with food.
Have to say the weight dropped off!
No noticeable decline in supply either.

[INeedNewShoes]

How old is your baby? To be honest if they are young enough that they are not able to go in a bike trailer and if breastfeeding is their main form of nourishment I think you shouldn't be thinking about dieting at this point.

My GP advised me to up my calories to support DD's weight gain so I spent the first few months focusing on making sure my diet was as rich in nutrients as possible.

It just doesn't seem like the right time to lose weight unless there's a medical reason for it.

The minute the baby starts walking you'll be getting more exercise chasing the baby, you'll be able to take them out on your bike, run around the park kicking a ball etc.

I know I would have been hungry on your meal plan when I was breastfeeding which probably would impact supply.

[BrokenLink]

You don't say how old your baby is, but in my experience losing one to two pounds per week did not result in problems for the baby. Since all mums and babies are different, the recommended calories can only be a rough guide.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

There is a great article on Kellymom, which is of course evidence based. I found it useful when I was Bfing.

I do like MFP but I’ve always found that the underestimate the calories you need. I’d move your target to 1800 for a few weeks and you might actually lose more weight.

Have you tried any exercise with baby type classes? Round here they do Pram/Buggy Fit, Mum & Baby Yoga and Dance with Baby. Some Post-Natal Yoga might help too.

[honeysucklejasmine]

I am currently bfing an 11 month old. I am eating ~1400 cals a day. No supply issues. I've been calorie counting since baby was 4 months old, and started out with about 1800 cals a day as my limit.

[Whatifigglepiggleandpeppadated]

I’ve eaten crap and am the smallest ive ever been. Have been feeding dd since feb16 and ds since October 17

[TooMinty]

Make sure you drink plenty, keeping hydrated is important when bfing. Your typical eating sounds similar to me when breastfeeding and I (unintentionally) lost about a stone in 6 months. Baby gained weight well so no supply problem. If you are up lots in the night you will be burning calories when you'd normally be sleeping.

[Pittcuecothecookbook]

My baby is 3 months old. There's no medical reason for me to lose weight, but my bmi was classed as obese when I conceived and I'm about half a stone heavier than that now. I'd like to lose 2 stone between now and when I go back to work in April next year which would put my bmi at 28ish, still overweight but for me that's a manageable weight abd a size 12.

I'm probably being impatient but I don't want to be obese any longer and especially when my baby starts crawling/walking, I'll need to be fitter for her!

[Pittcuecothecookbook]

Sorry, bmi of 26ish*, not 28

[Mindchilder]

I did SW so didn't count calories, plus you eat some extra dairy/fibre options while breastfeeding. Didn't effect supply at all and I lost 2.5 stone when baby was between 4 and 10 months.

[Pittcuecothecookbook]

I did do slimming world before but the meetings really got on my nerves and I disagreed that all the processed meat products and mugshots etc were free but I had to syn avocado and soya yogurt.

Perhaps it's better than counting calories while bfing though!

[Pittcuecothecookbook]

Also, my step tracker said I burnt 1800 calories yesterday and I ate 1500. Deficit of 300, which, plus another 350 from breastfeeding, is a deficit of 650 total for the day. 650*7 = 4550 per week. That's about 1lb - 1.5lb a week weightloss.

Does this sound sensible?

[NationalShiteDay]

I'm 14weeks pp and put on 4 stone whilst pg. in the first 10 weeks I lost 2lb a week just by eating normally and resting. My supply was plentiful and I've got a big 91st centile baby to feed too.

I think 1-2lb per week is absolutely fine (ive read up a lot on this).

I've not lost an oz in the past few weeks so I think I'll need ti step it up a gear soon

[MumOfTwoMasterOfNone]

I put on a 5 stone while pregnant with DS. My BMI was around 19 when I conceived. While breastfeeding, I lost 6 stone from my heaviest point while pregnant, so I ended up underweight. My milk supply was plentiful and it actually made him a very sicky baby (and a little chunk) as he guzzled too much.

My diet was pretty restricted as DP worked away and I couldn't get DS off me (literally).