I want to lose 1-2 pounds per week...how many calories?

Julias Table

I am exclusively breastfeeding. LO is 3 months old. 

Are there any good online calculators for figuring out how many calories to consume each day while breastfeeding if I want to lose about 1 - 2 pounds per week?

Thanks!

acbutcher

My answer is in general, not necessarily specific to a breastfeeding mom, but i can't think of any medical/physiologic reason why it would be any different.

You generally need to eliminate ~ 500 calories per day to lose 1-2lbs per week.  This could be through diet, exercise or both.  So the amount you should eat calorie wise depends on how much you eat now to maintain your current weight.  There are a number of websites that you can input food logs into to get an idea of how many calories you eat now.  Then you just need to eliminate 500 calories per day from that amount.  My favorite website for this is www.sparkpeople.com it is free and has so many foods loaded in there already.

 HTH

Julias Table

Thanks!  I wonder if i bang out 500 calories on tredmil each day, if that would be better or work too?  I will have to try a few different things and tweak my diet!

Thanks!

rosiemomma

here is kellymoms page about diet while breastfeeding:

https://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/mom/mom-weightloss.html

Three great tips for weight loss (whether you are nursing or not) Make dietary changes -- decrease your fat intake to 20-25% or less of total calories; keep your protein intake up to prevent loss of muscle mass (Recommended Intake of protein for nursing mothers is 65 grams/day for the first 6 months and 62 grams/day between 6 and 12 months). Spread your calorie intake out -- instead of 2-3 meals, eat 3 smaller meals with snacks between. Your body will be less likely to go into "starvation mode" if you are eating small amounts throughout the day. Exercise moderately so that you burn more fat while keeping lean muscle mass. Resistance/weight training is a good way to build muscle mass. A person with more muscle mass burns more calories, even when resting.