I'm Breast Feeding What Can I Do?

I dropped my calorie intake quickly down to about 1000 calories a day on average and my milk supply became very low! I've been eating it up trying to get my milk supply back in. I think I'm getting back to normal but what can I do to lose weight while breast feeding? They say you lose weight just by breast feeding and I did in the beginning but it stopped and I'm really ready to get this baby weight off. I heard that I can start dieting after my baby is 2 months and that I should consume about 1500-1800 calories a day. I'm exercising regularly and when I don't exercise I'm cleaning houses. So I have a high activity level plus they say you burn calories by breast feeding. So how many calories can I have a day (with my activity level) to lose weight and be able to continue breast feeding?

You need to work out your total energy needs based on your size, age and activity level.  (The CC calculator may be useful) Then add an extra 300 calories for breast-feeding..... That's your total burn.   Once you hit the 2 month mark, deduct 500 cals only from your total burn to control your weight.  Drink more fluids if you're breastfeeding.... that's essential.  Make sure you're getting a broad range of different foods, especially ones that are iron-rich...   And a very old (and very successful) technique to boost milk supply is to drink a small bottle of dark stout beer every day ... Guinness for example.

The priority for the moment is to give your body the energy and nutrition it needs to recover from the birth and allow you to look after your baby properly. Losing weight has to take second place.

I breastfed both my children and was able to drop weight without seriously cutting calories.  You have a high activity level so don't worry about going below 1800, I personally think you should eat more than that. 

One other little thing- try not to be in to much of a hurry, it took 9 months to get where you are so you should give yourself that much time to get back.  Don't get caught up in instant results!

I know I shouldn't want the instant results...it's just that I was out of shape when I got pregnant and so to get back to where I was is still bad!  But you guys are right...I'll try to loose it the healthy way....but if I do lots of small healthy meals throughout the day it should be better than eating the way that I did before even if it's the same amount of calories right?

Here's another question...Do you eat 1500-1800 calories a day plus all of the calories that you burn (like 300 for breast feeding and 300 for exercise) which would mean that I have to eat 2100-2400 calories a day or do I just stick with the 1500-1800 cal a day and burn the other 600 calories?  I'm really new at calorie counting, as you can see!

As far as weight loss is concerned, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie.  Spend more than you eat and you will lose, so your small meals throughout the day now are not necessarily better for losing weight than your eating habits used to be.  As far as your health is concerned, I would think that eating small healthy meals throughout the day would be better than what you used to do (however I don't really know what your habits used to be).  Plus you may feel fuller longer, it really is personal preference.

For your other Q:  Lets say you need to eat 1500 per day to lose 1lb a week.  Add breastfeeding to that, so plus 300 equals 1800.  You need to burn 500 caloris per day, so your burn meter would have to read 2300.  YOu may have to exercise to get to that number (I have too!!!)   If you exercise and burn an extra 200 cals on top of that then the meter would read 2500 and you could choose to eat that 200 or use that burn toward losing more than a pound that week.  Is that clear?

As I've posted before, it takes roughly 20 calories to produce 1 ounce of breastmilk. I'm breastfeeding my 8-month-old and he eats 4 ounces of milk 7-8 times per day which means I'm burning 560-640 calories just producing milk alone. My maintenance calories at 5'2"/5'3" and 130 pounds are roughly 1800 per day and I'm lightly active. So, I'm burning approximately 2360 calories at least each day. I eat 1900-2000 calories daily and lose 1-2 pounds per week.

No wonder your milk supply dropped eating only 1,000 calories a day! Your body barely had enough calories to function let alone make milk too. With all the physical activity you do, I'd think you need to be eating AT LEAST 2300-2500 calories to lose weight AND keep your milk supply up.

Dieting is not recommended while breastfeeding but physical activity is. Since you're already doing the activity, you just need to up your calories to lose weight. I know that sounds crazy but it really does work. I know from experience. Twice I cut my calories down to 1500 ish and my milk supply dropped and I stopped losing weight.

My weight loss stalled at about 3 months postpartum. I think my hormones were changing and the weight loss picked back up after a few weeks.

I think you should seriously try upping your calories for a few weeks. I'll bet the weight flies right off.

I agree with bier on everything she said, especially that you should be eating in the 2000 calorie range.  Please remember my last post was just an example of how to add the calories up, it was not meant to be your specific program.  Stay healthy!

For one Drinking Beer does not increase your milk supply, old wives tale!! It is good that you are exercising because it has been found that a mother who exercises makes more milk!!!You just need to get your calorie intake up.. I'm 4'11 and have a 4 month old exclusively breastfeeding and I eat 1500 to 1600 a day and lose about 1 to 2 pounds a week. You might gain a little weight while uping your calories but probably not.... Plus you will feel much better once your body is getting what it needs. I would say start with 1800 since you exercise, wait for a couple weeks, and adjust from there. 

Original Post by shells12:

For one Drinking Beer does not increase your milk supply, old wives tale!!

Drinking beer is known to actually cause baby to get less milk (NOT lower milk supply) BUT, hops (the flowers from which beer is made) do increase milk supply when taken as a tea or infusion.

Yeah that's what happened to me but at 2 months...I was dropping the weight like crazy and I came to a stand still...It was so frustrating.  But I'm going to eat more calories...the only hard thing is to find high caorie food that's not aweful for you...and it's hard to eat that many calories.  Do you have any high calorie foods that are good for me so I can reach that many calories a day? 

OH and I was so weak doing such few calories!!!  And I've upped my calorie intake but probably not enough because I still feel week sometimes.  The only thing that frustrates me is that I've never been able to control what I eat...and I finally had a grip on it!

Peanut butter is a great high-calorie food that is good for you. I prefer Smucker's Natural or Organic because it doesn't have as much sugar in it as most brands. It's full of good fats and protein. Pair it with high fiber foods like apples, bananas, whole wheat crackers, whole wheat toast or oatmeal and it will keep you full for quite a while. Oatmeal is also known to increase your milk supply.

You don't necessarily need to eat high-calorie foods to reach that number. Eating many small meals (every 2-3 hours) each day will get you there, too.

Thank you all for your great advice!!!  I really appreciate it.

just grind up a vitamin and put it in a stick of butter.  ( :

haha...now thats an idea!!!!