breast feeding, How many Calories

[soule72]

I am doing low carb and breast feeding and am really struggling to lose have checked on other forums and seem to being everything right. My question is maybe I am not eating enough calories. How many calories should an overweight person be eating while low carbing and breast feeding. My baby is 8 months old so I only breast feed between 3-5 times per day depends. I plan to wean at 1 year. Could my body be holding on to weight because of breast feeding?

[Helen H]

It varies. Some women find the weight comes off easily when breastfeeding, others find they drop it when they stop.

It's unlikely you are eating too little. During breastfeeding is the one time your body is willing to sacrifice your fat reserves to feed the baby. And if you are eating too little, you will be starving hungry. There were times when I was nursing that I felt if I didn't get fed enough, I was going to kill my husband and eat him.

Eat according to hunger, but watch the quality of your food. Eat the very best you can find, and keep the carbs low. At this stage you should be able to add more exercise without any problems.

good luck.

[soule72]

Thanks so much for your input for some reason you were the only one who replied. I eat until full and eat when I get hungry. I just wanted to know if I am eating basically the same calories as other breast feeding low carbers. Thanks

[jwilson65]

Good rule of thumb is maintinance is 12 x body weight. Start tracking your calories (if you have the time) and then drop calories by 100 per day. If your still not losing weight drop by another 100...

it's working for me...just a lot of work to log everything you eat. You can also choose to keep an eye on carbs if you want. I am but it's not too low.....

[ruthla]

A general rule is to figure out how many calories you need, then add 500 for milk making. That 500 number is just a general guideline- newborns might take less than 500 calories of milk per day, an active 5mo not yet on solids might take more, etc. Are you supplementing with formula, or is breastmilk the only milk your baby gets? If you're supplmenting, you should figure on breastmilk taking fewer calories from your body. I personally never counted calories while nursing; but I made an effort to eat when hungry and stop eating when full.

As for holding onto weight while nursing, it really is an individual thing. I know my aunt held onto an extra 5 lbs while nursing, which she quickly lost within a couple of weeks of weaning- but then again, she was literally only 5-10 lbs overweight while nursing, so once she weaned she was back in her pre-pregnancy clothes.

I personally found that I was able to start losing weight fairly easily once my babies were about 8-9mo, even while still nursing. Some weight dropped in the first 2 months, and then I basically maintained until the baby got bigger and I was able to get more active, watch what I ate, etc. By the time my son was a year old, I was back to the weight I was when he was conceived. Of course, THAT weight was still 40 lbs heavier than before I conceived my oldest. :lol:

I think having my daughters too close together (16.5m, I found out I was pg again when my oldest was 9mo) messed me up, as I didn't have time to lose any weight between pregnancies. 12 years later I'm working on those pounds.

I suggest you have some patience. You'll probably start losing about a pound a week pretty soon, just doing what you've been doing. If not, take a closer look at your diet: are you eating too many carbs? Too many calories? Too few? Plus, don't forget to check your inches/how clothes fit. You might be getting trimmer even if the scale isn't moving.

[jschwab]

Just to add a positive note: the world seems to be divided between the women who hold onto weight while BF and the women who drop it as soon as they wean. Maybe you're in the second category?

Janine

[IvannaBFit]

I didn't lose a THING from the time my baby was born until he was 7 months old. Then I lost weight rapidly. I have lost about 34 lbs so far. He is now 13 months, nursing about 4x/day (unless he needs comfort for something -- then it's more often) but my weight loss has hit a stall.

I haven't had to count calories up until now! It just started falling off as I ate less carbohydrates and exercised (walked) more.

My lactation consultant suggested 1800 calories/day. The trainer at my gym suggested "at least" 1600 calories a day. On Weight Watchers (which I am no longer following) I was allowed 35 points/day.

[soule72]

Thank you so much for all of your comments. My son is 8.5 months old and I plan to wean him at 1 year. Hopefully the weight will come off after I stop. I have lost about 5 pounds now but it was not easy it took me about 2 months. Plus I had food poisoning for two days so I could not eat. Anyway I will continue low carb and see what happens. It worked for me before but I hadn't just had a baby 8 months before and was not breast feeding. After 3 kids I guess it is harder to lose weight.
Thanks
Carly

[jschwab]

Thank you so much for all of your comments. My son is 8.5 months old and I plan to wean him at 1 year. Hopefully the weight will come off after I stop. I have lost about 5 pounds now but it was not easy it took me about 2 months. Plus I had food poisoning for two days so I could not eat. Anyway I will continue low carb and see what happens. It worked for me before but I hadn't just had a baby 8 months before and was not breast feeding. After 3 kids I guess it is harder to lose weight.
Thanks
Carly

I lost all my weight after my third was born pretty easily - almost 80 pounds. Don't give up!

Janine

[Luzyanna]

At the peak of breastfeeding, it's an average of 600-800 calories but if you're just feeding 3-5 times per day I'd say you are probably about an extra 300-400 calories. I wouldn't recommend eating the extra calories but instead eat just what you would normally maintain at (1700-1800 per day.) Just make the most nutritious choices you can. Your body will hold onto weight until you wean but really it's only about 10 pounds. It's tough to resist the increased appetite though....hang in there!