BF-ing and calorie counting

WildRumpus · September 2013

For those who are starting to count calories, what are you shooting for every day?

ELauren88 · September 2013

I'm just aiming for at least 2 meals a day, currently. This is probably the main reason I've lost so much weight so far. I'd rather nap than eat when I can!

WildRumpus · September 2013

I'm 4lbs from pre-pregnancy weight, but I'm blaming that on my boobs :P

I've got another 25-30 that I would like to shed.

manditxg · September 2013

counting calories? that's funny! I had GD so it's been a free for all for me since she was born but since I gained 2 pounds the other day I'm just cutting out junk food for now. I'll miss you Ben and Jerry's. someone posted a website a few days back that gives you the amount of calories you need if you are lactating but I can't remember what it was. it says I need 2500 but that seems like too much so if I do count I'll shoot for 2000 but I've never been good at sticking to a diet. before getting pregnant I usually stayed around 1500 calories to lose weight.

TurtleMomma · September 2013

Without taking BFing into account, I need to be eating 1600 cal/day to maintain weight on a sedentary lifestyle. I add ~300 cal/day to account for BFing (I heard BFing consumes 300-800 cal/day so 300 sounded like a good number).

floridababy3 · September 2013

https://nutritiondata.self.com/tools/calories-burned

Not clicky but this was the site mentioned last week. It says I would need about 2700 calories which seems crazy to me.

lindsayanne14 · September 2013

I'm the one who posted the link above. The formula gives you the amount of calories you burn a day while lactating, taking into account your age, weight, height and activity level. The number it produces is the amount of calories you burn per day while breast feeding. To maintain your weight you would roughly need to consume that amount of calories per day. To lose you would need to consume a bit less. It's more of a guessing game than an exact science...according to the formula, I'm burning 2,300 calories a day so I aim to consume 2,000 in order to lose weight. You certainly don't want to shave off too many calories while breast feeding and 2,000 is about 300-400 more than what I eat in a day when I wasn't pregnant or lactating. The formula gave me a starting point because I really didn't know how many calories to eat and had a hard time finding an exact amount, probably because the caloric needs of a breast feeding woman are going to vary based on her specific situation.

Katie6202 · September 2013

I'm doing my fitness pal. I try to stick around 2000 calories. I've already lost my pregnacy weight + 5 lbs, but I have a lot to give. I was told if you go under calories by too much it might effect your supply, and can actually hinder weight loss. I really just want to aim for a healthier lifestyle for me, so I can teach healthy living to LO.

CelticWife · September 2013

I looked up the calories I should be eating for my height and lifestyle then added 300 to that. Then see how you do.

I find when I BF that if I am hungry all the time, it's because I dont have enough protein and carbs or I have eaten a lot of junk/take out food.

If I have to few calories, I get weak and have headaches.

So on days I an more active, I eat more.

Most days I aim for 1850. Since I am just sitting nursing. Days I go out and am active I aim for 2100-2400.

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