restricting calories while breastfeeding

[belstaff]

does it affect milk production? how low on cals can you go before milk if affected?

Would have to be starvation levels to really impact but will make yourself very tired and run down if you try to cut down too much. I have a 9wo and am b/feeding but trying not to overeat. Sigh.

I am breastfeeding a 15 week old and tried to do weightwatchers with the 10 extra points you get for breastfeeding but really struggled as I am so hungry all the time.

So I am TRYING but failing to cut back on all the crap like chocolate and cake and biscuits and eat nice healthy things like wholewheat cardboard bread and pasta instead.

Trouble is our house is currently groaning at the seams with easter eggs so it's not going too well....

Your body will do everything to keep milk production up, so you have to starve to really affect it. However, really not a good idea to go below 1500 calories a day anyway as your metabolism will change and make it harder to keep the weight off.
Sensible eating and moderate excercise the best way I'm afraid.

Somewhere n the back of my brain I remember reading an article about this - but I can't remember where/when I saw it, so if you are interested you may want to research it further.

Anyway ... if you loose the weight you gain whilst pg when you are breastfeeding your milk will be fine. However, if you start to burn 'old' body fat this can release toxins into your milk.

What the effects of these toxins are I don't know, so as I said earlier if you are interested then please research. This isn't meant to scaremonger, more just to make people aware.

i am hoping to lose about a stone, currently breastfeeding 8 week old. eating healthily but thinking bran flakes for breakfast say 100 cals, salad for lunch say another 100 cals then a chicken and rice dinner maximum 500 cals plus snack say 300 cals. all approximations but knowing bfing burns 500 cals a day whether eating 1000 cals a day is enough?? thats how i ate before i got preg.

wow, v impressed by all of you, when i was bf i just ate what i felt like, although it isn't supposed to affect supply i found that on days when i skipped meals ( v rare!) or didn't drink enough my ds got vry stressy like he wasn't getting enough milk. Or maybe i was just trying to tell myself this

Im sorry but please eat normally and more so you need the extra calories. I put on 3 stone when I was pregnant and only started off at 8 stone. I lost 2 stone within a month and the other stone fell off by 6 months when DD started solids the weight shifted off me naturally. Enjoy your baby and your food and keep BFing it will drop off naturally.