What do you think?

After this kiddo is born, I will be breastfeeing exclusively, and taking care of my 2.5 year old as well! General consensus is that with a sedentary lifestyle and breastfeeding, I'd need about 2600 calories to maintain my weight. So I'm thinking 1850 sounds good as a ballpark number, and as I try it out I'll go from there and adjust if need be. My first concern is not affecting my milk supply, and my second concern is not losing too quickly! I want to keep it between 1-2 pounds per week, and steadily lose after the initial "just had a baby, everything comes out or falls off" stage.

Do you think this is realistic for the first 4-6 weeks postpartum? I will need to add in calories when I add in exercise, but that's further off than I'm planning for now. I plan to start counting and journaling maybe a week or so after we get home from the hospital.

I think it's hard to give a target number without knowing your weight. I'd go for 2000 to 2200 immediately PP depending on your size and tweak from there. Avoid going too low, especially while you are getting your milk supply going. (this is not professional advice, this is message board advice) IMO, you should spend the first couple weeks home from the hospital resting and breastfeeding, not so much journaling. Also be sure to check out the pregnancy/nursing subforum. Congrats on your impending kiddo!

Thank you! Yes I definitely plan on being very flexible, especially at first and with regard to both the calories and when I start journaling. I figured 1850 was a good start since the baby won't be eating 600 calories right off the bat, and then I'll tweak it around during growth spurts and such. Don't get me wrong- if I"m hungry and feel like it's affecting my supply, I'll make sure to eat a healthy snack and be totally flexible with my calories for the day. I expect it to take a couple months to really sort out what works for me, and then I'll be adjusting it again as soon as I start incorporating exercise.

Thanks!!!

Why not run your calorie allotment by your ob/gyn? They set up calorie recommendations for pregnant/nursing women all of the time. They will be the best ones to tell you how many calories you can eat while nursing and still lose weight. I strongly advise getting dieting and exercise recommendations from your ob/gyn in this case, that's what they are there for. Congratulations on your new addition!

Thank you! This is a fantastic idea, I'll write it down and ask my ob on Friday!!


There are times I just want to roll my eyes (at myself) and think "why didn't I think of that??" and usually are the best answers. Thank you!!