Breastfeeding

[youaremychocolatecake]

I know from reading posts and t'net in general this is a controversial subject and not recommended but are there are breast feeding mummies here successfully doing 5:2 on an increased fast day allowance? Not actually doing it before anyone jumps on me. My weight is falling off naturally so far. I am just interested to know x

[CalltheMadwife]

that should be 1000 cals and allow not aloo damned autocorrect

[CalltheMadwife]

Just a quick question for those who have been doing this a while, on your NFD how many calories do you allow yourself? I'm planning on 1000 calls on a fast day but unsure whether to stick to 2000 on a NFD or aloo myself more? I'm breastfeeding my 7 month old currently, who has started on solids but still has plenty of breastfeeds a day and a couple at night.

Thanks

[TalkinPeace]

Its interesting that people obsess about a daily calorie intake, rather than thinking across weeks and months
and the fact that most of us have over 10,000 calories safely stored across the back of our hips ready for future use

If I remember right from the early 5:2 threads (around the 9-13 mark if I remember right) several people coped well BF and doing 750 calorie fasts
but making sure they stayed WELL hydrated

[BigChocFrenzy]

That's brilliant, Labracadabra Very well done

[Labracadabra]

I posted here a few months back do thought I would update. I'm still doing 5:2 whilst BF DD2 (now 10 months old) and have lost almost another stone (so almost 3 stone in total over the past 8 months) with no impact in supply or DDs growth. I'm now around 8st 3. Also been exercising (JM 30 day shred interspersed with other YouTube workouts).

[BigChocFrenzy]

< blatant bumping >

We advise BFers to start at 1000 cal FDs for 5:2, then gradually reduce to 700 if they feel ok. Some BFers even go down to 500 cals, but they need to be careful not to binge on NFDs.
Health and supply are the priorities. A loss of 1lb per week is sustainable longterm and safe.

You can always return to 1000 at growth spurts.

If you decide to do 4:3 or ADF (Alternate Day Fasting) then keep to 1000- cal FDs, as advised by Dr Varady.

[dizhin79]

yes I classed it as extra exercise

[MrsGSR]

Can I jump on the bandwagon? Really pleased to find this thread, I'm ebf a 4 month old and was worried about doing 5:2. I've only done one fast day so far but felt fine, I'm going to get DD weighed every week for the first 6 weeks to check it's not effecting her.

Did you take breastfeeding into account when working out your TDEE for NFDs?

[dizhin79]

hi all, lost the app off my phone, so not so easy to post anymore. Have no chance of fasting this week as feeding frenzy is here. Have been doing really well so am not too bothered about skipping a week. hope you're all well x

[TobyLerone]

First FD here. Am currently stuck under sleeping DD but when she wakes up I shall scramble an egg with some spinach.

Hope the baby was ok, dizhin.

[dizhin79]

hi all, fd here today and my lo has his 1st set of jabs, I wonder if I'll survive or whether I'll have a little sleepy clingon

Was hoping to be out and about walking the dog and gardening today so will just have to see how the day pans out.

Glad you enjoyed your fd lidl

[LiDLrichardsPistachioSack]

somewhere yes I saw that, I didn't realise you stopped for that reason! Had my first 1000 cal day yesterday, I feel totally fine today. This is also despite a cranky teething baby comfort nursing all night!

Are you back at it now?

[somewherebecomingrain]

Lidlrichard did you see my upstream posts? On 500 cal Food was like heroin - i'd kill for it - it became Antisocial! This was bf a 6-8 months old. I had to stop and wished i'd done 1k fasts.

[TobyLerone]

Thanks :) We've been googling FD recipes all afternoon.

[LiDLrichardsPistachioSack]

Today for my first 1000 calorie FD I've had coffee and tea with splashes of milk, a small pitta with egg whites and spinach, a bowl of sweet potato ginger soup, and tonight will have a bit of lean turkey mince with tomatoes and more spinach. Yum! Bit sleepy today but otherwise feeling good.
I have a little food scale that I weigh stuff with on FDs. I track on MFP too.
Good luck TobyLerone!

[TobyLerone]

Excellent. Thank you :)

My sister is going to do it with me and we're excited!

[Labracadabra]

About 4 months! I have been tracking my weight as I go and I would say don't be surprised if your weight bounces around a bit across the course of a week or two, stick with it as your weight does go down - I've found that each week it kinds of finds a new, lower set point which then fluctuates a bit from day to day (if you're crazy like me and weigh every day) but goes down overall if you compare it from week to week.

[TobyLerone]

That's amazing! How long have you been doing it?

[Labracadabra]

Toby, forgot to say, I do 500 cal FDs (although when BF you could do up to 1000 cal) and have lost 2 stone and gone past my target weight of 9 stone (I'm a small framed 5'4") I'm now working out whether I want to lose a bit more or maintain for a while. I've totally changed shape too. This really works!

[Labracadabra]

Toby it's a FD for me today (EBF a 6 month old who doesn't eat solids yet). I have had one mug of tea with 1% fat milk, several glasses of iced fizzy water with a wedge of lime. For supper I plan to have two soft boiled duck eggs with asparagus spears as soldiers! Should have enough cals for some fruit (orange + apple) for pud. Best of luck!!

[TobyLerone]

I want to start. I'm ebf 18wo DD. It's good to know it's ok to do 5:2 while BFing.

I'm a complete novice, though. What are you all eating on FDs/NFDs? I will be starting next week, so I can shop for ALL THE VEG and protein at the weekend.

[LiDLrichardsPistachioSack]

BCF that's interesting. Pre-baby I was also a greedy gym bunny..god I miss it. Tossing heavy weights around my living room just isn't the same. Thanks for the tips!

[BigChocFrenzy]

Lidl I'm a 5'3" mesomorph with lots of muscle and I also lost weight on 800-900 cal FDs. As a greedy gym bunny, it took months before I could get down to 600 cals (25% of my TDEE)

I was already (just) a healthy BMI, but reduced to 22.5, which feels about right for me.
At age 57 I obv wasn't burning BF cals either !

Anyeone having a tough time on FDs, or on the day after:
Give yourself an easier time and accept maybe a slightly slower loss, for a sustainable WOE.

[dizhin79]

I'm 5'10" started out at 12st pre preggers but had been losing weight prior to getting pregnant.

I want to get down to 11 or maybe 10st 10.
I'm loving how this woe had surprised me that I have lost weight so easily. if lost the baby weight 2weeks post birth so the rest is just what I had wanted to lose iyswim

[LiDLrichardsPistachioSack]

It doesn't seem to matter what I eat--I'm eating to my TDEE, and like I said it's pretty much healthy balanced food. It seems to hit hardest after my second fast day. Ah well. I'll do 900-1000 cal FDs and see how I go. That's inspiring that you've lost weight doing a higher cal fd! Can I ask how much you're trying to shed? I'm 5'4 and 10 stone down from 10.9. Ideally want to get down to 9.5 or so but I'm a muscly mesomorph so that's a really lean weight for me.. Might wait til dd is weaned before trying to get that ripped well done on squeezing a nap in!