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Counting calories, breastfeeding, weight loss...
I normally am over on the bump or lurking on money matters, but I had a question about counting calories/weight loss and I know that you ladies are the experts.
I'm 5'4 and was 135 lbs before I got pregnant this last time. I typically gain 40-50 lbs with each pregnancy, and gained 50 with this one. With my previous two pregnancies the extra weight just melted away and by six months post partum I weighed less than when I got pregnant. This time around, nothing seems to be happening- in fact, two weeks ago I gained four pounds. I'm currently at 155 lbs so I've got twenty to lose to get back to where I was before. Before I got pregnant I was doing super good and working out 4x a week, and monitoring my caloric intake very carefully. I was 145 for a bit but lost ten pounds before I got pregnant to get down to 135.
Today I started to use myfitnesspal on my iphone to track my calories again to try to lose this extra weight. According to the app, I should be having around 1400 per day, not counting the extra 500 calories you can supposedly have if you are breastfeeding an infant.
This was what I ate today:
B- Nature Valley Fiber Bar and water
L- homemade leftover lettuce wraps (probably 3/4 cup of chicken mixture along with some butter lettuce leaves)
S- half cup of pineapple
D- two scrambled eggs with 2 T of salsa, piece of toast
I added it all up, and according to the app, that puts me at around 850ish calories for the day. Which is nowhere NEAR my 1900 I guess I should be having? I don't want to be this under since I have a great milk supply right now and don't want that to change, but good lord- how am I going to make up the extra almost 1000 calories? Weird but when I wasn't pregnant/nusring and counting calories I was hungrier and ate my 1200ish calories and lost weight. Today though I wasn't hungry at all inbetween meals. I only ate the pineapple because I typically crave sugar in the afternoon (trying to kick a bad candy habit). I've started to exercise a little bit but nothing major yet.
Any thoughts?
Re: Counting calories, breastfeeding, weight loss...
I would not worry about the weight just yet. You are only just two months post partum, and as much as it hurts to hear, you are older than when you had your first two kids. Even just a few years can make a difference. Your metabolism is slower now and it will likely take more time to lose the weight.
Focus on eating the 1900 calories because right now it is not about you, it is about your baby. Eat higher calorie snacks that are still healthy like nuts, and whatever else the super smart girls on the forums come tell you.
Work back in the exercise when it is safe to do so, but give yourself a break!
I do have to keep on reminding myself that I am only two months post partum- but I'm actually feeling super good this time around (my third c-section, the first two recoveries were a little hard) so I guess I feel like I am more six months post. :-) I do notice a change in my metabolism, I was 23 when I had DD#1, and when DD #2 was born I was 27. I guess I just don't know where to put in the extra food... I have been trying to have a protein every meal...
First of all I know it is hard, but try and not be so focused on losing weight at this point. Focus on you and the baby.
How are you not starving only eating 650 calories? You need to eat those breast feeding calories to help your milk supply. It is pretty easy to add calories, you just need to eat more food and more frequently. I typically eat two snacks a day. I would also add in fruits and veggies (there is nothing wrong with pineapple)
Here are some healthy foods that will help add calories:
Protein pancakes
(http://alifetobraggabout.blogspot.com/2011/01/perfect-protein-pancake.html)
Greek Yogurt
Nuts
Cheeses
Hummus and Veggies
Almond Butter and Fruit
Take a look at the daily planned eating posts to get some ideas of how to get those calories in during the day.
We are almost exactly the same. I normally weigh 135-138 and am 5'6", and I just had a c-section 9 weeks ago. I gained close to 50 pounds and have about 12 to go.
I eat about 2000 calories a day, and I started working out 6 days a week at 6 weeks PP (mostly because I enjoy it--not specifically for weight loss). Here is a typical day of eating for me.
Breakfast: Sprouted grain English Muffin w/ 1Tbs. coconut oil, 2 Tbs. cashew butter. Sometimes a banana.
Snack: Protein shake w/ 2% milk
Lunch: Big spinach salad with chicken breast, fruit, goat cheese, homemade vinaigrette. Some clean multigrain tortilla chips
Snack: Cottage cheese with fruit, or lentils with cheese, or carrots with hummus.
Dinner: Steak, sweet potato, salad
Dessert: Something dark chocolate
Lots and lots of water, and some coffee.
One thing about milk supply--I think the guidelines are just that, guidelines. You may not need what others do to maintain, but you'll want to watch it carefully. I find that if I drop too far below 1800 for the day, my supply goes down a bit until I eat more.