How much food to eat when breastfeeding twins?

[Janberryxx]

Cheddar cheese or cottage cheese? I just want to eat like a horse but don't want to put onmore weight than I'll be able to get rid of when I finish breastfeeding. I keep reading that I need to eat about 1000 calories more then I would normally, but what on earth does 1000 calories look like?!!! How many Black Forest gateaux is that? (just kidding!)

I ate whatever I fancied for the whole year that I b/f. But I kept a vague eye on my weight & if it went up then I ate less.
But OMG what a shocker when I stopped b/f.
You get so used to eating loads...
And all of a sudden the weight piles on.
I didn't gain any weight while b/f but when I stopped I put on 1/2 a stone in 2 weeks. Ooops.

I say enjoy it while you can.

I went to WW after my 6 week check and because I was ebf twins I got double the daily points allowance of everyone else! It was great, I ate everything I wanted, and still had enough points for 2 or 3 twirls a day (chocolate very important when breastfeeding, I feel!). I lost all the baby weight and more, and it wasn't difficult at all. But now that they are weaned, the weight is coming back because like BLAS I have found it really hard to eat a normal amount, because I got so used to eating loads. So, do enjoy it while you can and eat what you like (including cheddar and back forest gateaux)!

Hm, that's what I'm worried about- you get to enjoy eating as much as you can like. I'm loving hot chocolate with all the trimmings; squirty cream, marshmellows, flake, chocolate sprinkles! I'd never have that normally and now I've got a taste for it, how am I going to give that up!!! And I wanna eat cheese cheese cheese! Normally I eat very little cheese but now I have it on everything- mmmmmm!!

Just eat eat eat. Works for me! I've only got 4 lbs to lose to get back to pre twin weight and I stuff myself every day. Seriously. Enjoy. There's not many perks to having baby twins but this is one!

when I bf one child, I ate anything and everything that was not nailed down, I would walk to the fridge at 2am starving hungry and crying because I ate it all already! I was obsessed by food, and ate and ate and ate and ate. it was almost like a craving. I did not put any weight on at all.

So, on the basis, I would say that breastfeeding twins means moreso that you should just eat whatever and whenever you can to keep your energy levels going. Just remember to eat the odd bit of fruit and veg amongst the stodge!

My twins are 17 months, and I have eaten anything I wanted in that time. enormous amounts of chocolate, biscuits, cakes... and my weight is about 2lb above my pre-pregnancy weight. the hunger did ease off a bit after the first few months, so I'd say just eat to hunger.

now I'm trying to watch more what I eat as they're not taking so much milk from me. dp keeps asking about weaning and I repeat all the stuff about WHO saying 2 years, when inside a little voice is wailing that I don't want to stop eating yet!

I personally could not eat enough. I ate loads of cake, had at least 2 midnight snacks to get me through the night feeds and loads of snacks in between main meals. I was hungry (and thirsty) all the time. And by 4 mths I weighed less than before I was pregnant.
As a previous poster has warned though, it's difficult when you stop. From that point of view (as well as all the other benefits to the babies health etc) I would breastfeed for as long as possible ;-)

Exactly like Brain. I ate like a horse and lost 6 stone in a year (I had put on 7 st in pregnancy). But once I stopped I put 3 st back on.

I'm going to be the voice of caution here, I mixed fed but was bf both every time, was starving, ate what I fancied... And 5 months down the line was heavier than when I gave birth. I have literally no idea how to shift it and am dreading gaining even more when I stop bf. Keep an eye in the scales!!

As with at any point in your life, just eat to hunger. If you're hungry, you need to eat. Make sure you're hydrated as that can feel like hunger and I'd try and eat healthily at least some of the time as it makes that ravenous, must eat now desperation go away now. Whilst bfing, especially twins, I'd fight for your right to eat as much cake as you want but too much sugar and snacky stuff with empty calories means you get into a cycle of quick hits of energy and then a crash and then cravings. If you make sure you're eating lots of energy packed good stuff to keep that uppy downy sugar crash thing at bay, it makes the appetite easier to manage. And bfing twins will be a demand on your own resources so lots of vitamins, minerals, iron replacement needed for your own benefit.

I have only a 6mo singleton and we've just started solids. No dieting, just eating to hunger and limiting snacky stuff and I've lost all of the weight. First time round I ate cake and biscuits for a year and wondered why the hell I was still 2 stones overweight at the end of it. Not that it really mattered a jot tbh but having eaten a bit more sensibly this time round it's taken care of itself.

Am I the only person who puts on weight when breastfeeding?! EBF DD1 and DT to about 10 months. After giving birth I weighed the same as pre-pregnancy (with DD1 I weighed less - was very sick during pregnancy). I was ravenous whilst breastfeeding and put on a good stone and a half each time. As soon as I stopped feeding them my appetite decreased immediately and the weight (slowly) fell off.

Not sure this is terribly helpful though!

no, you're not alone londonmum. both times I have put on about 7lbs, but my weight after giving birth has also been just under my pre-pregnancy weight (terrible heartburn restricts my eating when pregnant), so it evens out that I'm only a bit over overall, if that makes sense!

Nope, you're definitely not alone!

Thanks ladies - glad to know I'm not alone in the weight gain. I'm quite jealous of all the other mums that lose weight while feeding. I feel slightly conned...

My experience has been the same as MamaChocoholic but I'm only at 10.5 months. I eat at least one portion of cake each day and have unlimited portion sizes. And I eat when I feed to sleep at night. But its not as much as the first few months and I am running twice a week now to help. Am back to pre-pregnancy weight but a different shape. DH is doing more than muttering about weaning but I like getting them back to sleep at night and don't want to give up cake. Or biscuits, or cheese, or peanut butter on rice cakes etc etc

Another one who forgot to stop eating whatever she felt like after weaning. I looked fantastic by six months down the line, I had to buy new clothes because prepregnancy stuff all too small YAY!!

Then put on two dress sizes in the blink of an eye when I stopped BF - took bloody ages to lose them again.

You lot have made me scared to wean now! I am eating enough for about 7 people and maintaining/losing weight depending on precisely how much cake I stuff in. But I don't want to put weight on again when I stop feeding