Does anyone one know what the safe level of calories are when you're nursing? I'm trying to cut back on the calories I eat, but I'm not sure how much cutting back is too much. I don't want to wean him for at least a year (but hopefully he'll nurse for longer than that) so I don't want to lose my milk. (He's 9 months, btw.)

Yesterday I did really well. I ate breakfast which I don't usually do (oatmeal and oranges), I ate lunch (sliced chicken breast on ww bread with no mayo), and dinner (turkey breast, applesauce, carrots, and mashed potatoes with no butter or salt). I even drank nothing but water yesterday, which is rare for me! And I even got in a 20 minute walk around the block. But I tracked my food on FitDay, and it said I only ate 1554 calories. I just don't think that was enough.

I have successfully lost weight sticking to between 1600 - 1800 calories a day while nursing, with no problems with milk supply. But I have never had problems with milk supply. If your baby is at least six weeks old, your milk supply is pretty well established.

Also, take into consideration that you need to stay well hydrated and get an adequate protein intake. Nursing moms should get at least 75g of protein a day; it is a very important nutrient when it comes to breastfeeding. Looking at your food log, you're probably a bit low on the protein side. It's actually a fairly easy nutrient to add; you don't need to get it from just meat. Have a glass of lowfat milk with your breakfast, a piece of cheese or some nuts for a snack, that sort of thing. You want to get some healthy fats too, and nuts (especially pecans & almonds, but not peanuts) are a good source.

And don't forget that there are things other than food that can help with milk production. Never underestimate the power of laying down and snuggling with your baby. When I first had my younger daughter & was paranoid about the supply issue, I supplemented with brewer's yeast (you can actually get it in capsule form at Wal-Mart), & you can pick up Mother's Milk tea at most health food stores.

Thanks for the info!

I just checked my FitDay records for yesterday, and I did have exactly 75g of protein.

Why not peanuts, though? Is that because of the chance of allergies in DS? My LLL leader said since I've been eating peanuts and peanut butter since pregnancy and there's no sign of allergies in my DS and there's no history of nut allergies in my family that I shouldn't worry about a little bit every now and then, as long as I don't give any to him directly. (Which I wouldn't! ) Is there any other reason I should avoid it?

It's just that peanuts aren't the best source of the healthy fatty acids you'll get from other nuts, being that they're not technically a nut. Nuts are pretty calorie dense, so for me it's a matter of choosing the best benefits for your calories.

I'm actually a big fan of eating a variety of foods while you're nursing, since it will affect the flavor of your breastmilk; I think it's one of the big reasons I have two toddlers who will eat anything from "comfort food" to Mexican food to Indian food to Korean food (including seaweed salad).