Counting calories - how many to add for breastfeeding

[4Marmalade]

I've been working out for the past 2 months and while feeling much better and seeing changes I have yet to lose any of the 5-10lbs I am trying to lose. So, out of curiosity I am going to track my calories for a while and see where I am. I am nursing my almost 2 year old twins and they probably nurse about 5-7 times in a 24 hour period. So, would that amount to 10-14 times? Which sounds like I'm exclusively breastfeeding a 6 month old . Approximately how many calories should I add?

[junipermuse]

What I would do is try to find out how many calories a child their age/size normally eats each day. Then figure out about how much actual food they are eating, and then assume that they are making up the extra calories from breastmilk and that's how many you're giving to them. At that age even if they are nursing frequently, they aren't necessarily taking in a lot of calories each time. I know that my daughter nursed a lot at that age, but often it was more for comfort. I don't know that it's exactly a 1:1 correspondance, but if you have an idea of how many calories your kids are taking in from breastmilk, then you can compare it to nursing a younger baby by calories, and I know there are resources to figure out how many calories you burn nursing younger babies. Good luck.

[RosemaryS-F]

Are you trying to keep a supply up for them? What is your caloric range without breastfeeding?

I'm nursing my 2 year old, but I don't add any calories on for that; I figure that if I have any excess weight at this point, it's not "maternal fat stores" and if bfing helps me to burn calories, then I'll take it. I used to add 500 calories until he was 1 year and I would lose a pound a week still.

[lil_earthmomma]

Originally Posted by RosemaryS-F

Are you trying to keep a supply up for them? What is your caloric range without breastfeeding?

I'm nursing my 2 year old, but I don't add any calories on for that; I figure that if I have any excess weight at this point, it's not "maternal fat stores" and if bfing helps me to burn calories, then I'll take it. I used to add 500 calories until he was 1 year and I would lose a pound a week still.

When exclusively nursing, I just plugged my numbers into those weight, height, age, sex thingies and then add 500 cals. That way you are basically eating like you would to lose weight without jepordizing your supply etc.

Worked for me.

[4Marmalade]

According to sparkpeople.com my caloric intake should be about 1200-1550. I struggle with feeling hungry though. I've been trying to cut back on portions and watch my snacking but there are many moments throughout the day when I feel very hungry. Tracking my food today it looks like my calorie intake was about 1800. So, an extra 300-500 than recommended. I think if I can keep up with the exercising and keep my calorie intake around 1500 I might see some change. Maybe I just need to find more filling healthy snacks.

[RosemaryS-F]

Originally Posted by 4Marmalade

I struggle with feeling hungry though. I've been trying to cut back on portions and watch my snacking but there are many moments throughout the day when I feel very hungry.

Weeeellll...if people didn't feel hungry when they were dieting, more people would stick to it. Have you been losing weight on 1800/day? The 1550 is the HIGH end; you can go over it if you burn more than 300 calories/day, but ONLY by the exact amount that you burned. Otherwise, you're not going to really lose.

I think that the best way to get the most tailored results is to buy a heart rate monitor and understand precisely how many calories you are burning through exercise. Then, find out your resting (this means NO activity) base metabolic rate for your current weight. You can find that here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cal...ulator/NU00598

Subtract 500 from that for your bottom line. That is the low end of your range. If you want, you can eat back the calories you burn, but don't overestimate them--that's where the hrm comes in, because you'll know exactly; otherwise, I would halve the number they give you on Sparkpeople.com, or the number you *think* you are burning. I would also not count on nursing at all. Maybe maybe maybe for 100 calories or so.

For the record, you can curb cravings with "free foods" like baby carrots (in moderation--10 or so), a bowl of clear, low sodium vegetable soup or tomato base soup, or other similar things. Try that, then wait 20 minutes before you have some other more filling snack. Good luck!

[Carley]

This is the best tool I've found to calculate your calories needed: http://www.nutritiondata.com/tools/calories-burned


1200-1550 is ridiculously low. You should never consume 1200 calories regularly! I don't care what sparkpeople says!

That is the BARE MINIMUM anyone should consume for their organs to function while lying in bed (NO exercise/movement).

Use the above link to calculate your body's needs more accurately! If you want, you can enter your desired weight instead of your current weight (and, of course, select that you are lactating). If you eat that amount you will, theoretically, eventually fall to that weight.

If you want to add a calorie deficit, consider eating that amount and walking with your twins 30m/day or some other light exercise (mmm yoga), but I'm sure chasing after 2 two year olds is quite enough to consider yourself moderately active

EAT MORE!