Long story short I lost 80lbs awhile back on here. Then I got pregnant again and am now trying to lose the baby weight while breastfeeding. During my first pregnancy I lost a good deal of weight immediately but then started gaining it back again. Granted, my eating habits were BAD and I wasn't exercising much at all.
This time I'm exercising regularly and moving a lot during the day doing errands, chasing after my oldest etc while wearing my baby. I think between that and exclusively breastfeeding I'm really having a hard time figuring out how to eat enough to not feel starving all the time while still losing weight. Last time I weighed myself my weight actually went up!
Anybody have a suggestion on my calories with daily babywearing/walking+ exercising at least 3x per week (swimming and weight lifting) plus exclusively breastfeeding (5"6" and currently about 185lbs)? Food suggestions that are healthy that can been easily prepared/eaten on the run?
Did you check the free dieting website for calculator s? They estimate at around 2100 for a breastfeeder our height and weight. I would start there and see what happens. I would get some oatmeal and Fenugreek tea to keep up your milk supply :-)
I would keep meals fresh and simple and cook in bulk and crock pot when you can.
I'm nursing Holly exclusively and haven't had any supply issues with the diet/exercise, which is just amazing for me, since I usually struggle even with high calorie amounts. For me, Atkins by the book (2002 DANDR) and capping my calories at about 1850 per day 90% of the time, with a higher calorie meal on a date every week or two, has seen me losing inches like crazy. I haven't weighed in for almost two months and don't plan to for a few months more, but my underbust measurement, for example, has lost almost three inches, and I'm down four inches on my waist since May. So even with a heavily nursing infant and modest calorie deficit I'm not having any issues with excess hunger or supply, and am clearly getting leaner. I'm still maintaining some belly fat I don't want, but that's secondary to the progesterone levels during nursing and to be expected.
I'm also doing my normal TTAP workout several days a week. That plus the whole foods, low carb plan, and I'm shrinking as well as could be expected with no noticeable issues in nursing, my own energy, etc.
Thanks for the suggestions. I have checked out a few calculators but normally they only give the option for working out X number of times per day but not always when you're relatively physically active due to errands/babywearing/taking care of kids. Sometimes I'll be out walking for 1-2 hours per day while wearing the baby so I know that has got to count for something.
I'm not too worried about my supply, if anything I always have an oversupply. However, the hunger I don't deal with well at all. It's extremely rare that I feel full after a meal (even if I ate a lot!). I'd like to calorie count for at least a few days to see what I need to be eating but I'm just not sure how much I should be eating, you know?
Most sites say eat until you're full/watch your hunger cues. That's great for someone who has never struggled with their weight but for me I know I need more than that.
Got to say this recent gain on the scale has really gotten to me. I thought losing this time wouldn't be hard since I lost all that weight before. I have to go back to work soon and nothing remotely fits.
We have some similar stats so I thought I would share my experience. At my 6-week postpartum appointment with #2 I was 192 pounds. I "ate to hunger, drank to thirst" until my baby was about 2.5 months old. Then I realized that I really don't want to stay 192 pounds for long. When he was 2.5 months old I was slowly emerging from that new-baby fog and breastfeeding was well-established, so those were my signs I was ready to start working on this weight.
So my re-start was May 1st. I began by trying to stay within 1600-1900 most days. We eat a restaurant meal twice a week, so those are inevitably days that go higher, to maybe 2100-2300.
I am quite hungry on the days when I'm closer to 1600. In fact, I'm thinking of pushing my calories up higher, because I just can't seem to shake that hunger, no matter how nutritious the food I'm eating. I'm exclusively breastfeeding my 4-month-old. (With my first child, those same hunger cravings had me gaining weight through my child's first birthday.)
I would guess that I'm a little less active than you... we are out a lot, but I alternate between baby-wearing and stroller, and I haven't incorporated formal exercise back yet. With the calories I mentioned above, I have lost about 15 pounds since May 1st.
If I were you, provided your milk supply is well-established, I would start around 2000 calories and see where that takes you.
You asked about easy meals: I recently tried overnight oats and I liked those a lot- lots of nutrition packed into those calories. I also like to batch cook: So, a quiche I can eat on for days, or chili. Snacks include turkey jerky and a huge variety of seasonal veggies. I am in love with the Wholly quacamole 100-calorie packs.
Good luck. I felt so overwhelmed at first, but at this point I'm back in a groove and enjoying the results.
I started calorie counting at 3 months post partum (exclusively breastfeeding too) and my intake was 1850. Now at one year pp, and still bfing, my intake is 1500.
Initially I did notice a drop in my supply, though I still had enough for DS and did not need to supplement. I was also quite hungry for the first few weeks, but that's typical for me whether nursing or not. I'm always hungry, LOL.
A good way to get started might be to simply track how many calories you're eating for a little bit, maybe a week or so, without restricting yourself. Once you can see how much you're eating, you can adjust from there, maybe try dropping your average daily intake by 100-200 calories and see what happens?
Trying to figure out how to lose again
