Do breastfeeding women really need 2,500 calories a day? what if you have a bad metabolism?

Question

I have pcos and my doctor recommended I eat no more than 1,500 calories a day. I currently eat 1,800 and am very overweight and she said she'd really prefer I eat 1,200. Well I feel like I'm starving on that but I still try to stick to it if I can. Well I was wondering when I want to get pregnant, if I was eating 1,200 a day would I still stick to only adding 300 calories on a day? When I read that it says most women eat 2,000 a day, so they'd eat 2,300-2,500. Also, what about breastfeeding? I'm just curious because logic tells me if I eat 1,200 and then got pregnant and ate 2,500 I'd gain wayyyyyyyyy too much, but 1,500 doesnt sound like enough to me. Plus she recently put me on metformin, which could alter my metabolism.

Confused???

Answer 1

Restricting your diet while pregnant can be very bad for the baby. I would suggesting speaking to your OBGYN about seeing a dietitian for your pregnancy. I am overweight and consumed about 2000 a day (naturally, that's how much I wanted to eat) during my last pregnancy and gained less than 16 lbs and it was TOTALLY acceptable because I am overweight. But the same weight gain would have been too little in my first pregnancy when I was a good weight to start.

When you are breastfeeding reducing your calories too much can not only alter your milk production but also your milk quality. If you starve yourself your milk will dry up, besides that its bad for you and does not help you lose weight. You actually need more calories to breastfeed than you do during pregnancy! But in addition to that your metabolism is different when you are nursing, your body needs those calories to burn through to make milk. Again I would suggest adietitiann to help with this. But I probably consumed 2300 a day when nursing, maybe a bit less.

Another thing that you probably know since you do seem very aware of your nutrition is to make sure you are getting your calories from a healthy source. 200 calories of avocado is better than 200 calories of candy any day. Also I think the extra 300 calories a day while pregnant would come from the calorie intake you would need on a normal maintaining diet, not 300 more than a weight loss diet.

My dietician didn't give me any calorie amount but did request that I measure food portions to what they SHOULD be, not what the average Americans thinks they should be and I did and my weight gain was excellent. I came out of the pregnancy weighing more than 10lbs less than I did going in. I think rather than counting calories you should focus on eating right, controlling portions, and not getting upset when you do enjoy a cup of ice cream every so often. Besides that, a lot of people get their stomach overtaken by their baby and just don't have the room to overeat. Stop eating before you are full then wait 10 minutes, if you do still feel hungry eat something healthy like an apple and drink a glass of water, chances are you will feel full after that...trust me.

Also, once the baby comes you may find you don't have the time to overeat let alone count calories! I do recall when I was nursing having to find time for an additional snack many times because I was undereating because I was so busy with the new baby and my other two kids!

You are doing the right thing by being informed, great job. But certainly if weight and diet is an issue you should have a professional help you come up with a safe and realistic plan.  

Answer 2

Get this book, "Lean & Free 2000 Plus" you should be able to find it on amazon.com, and you can get it used for a great price.

A nursing mother might need 3500- 4000 calories.  If you eat plenty of healthy foods, and drink lots and lots of pure water while you're nursing, the weight will probably just drop off.

Look, if you're hungry while nursing, your baby will be hungry too.  I know they say, "well, you only need 1200 calories, so just add 500 for the baby..." but your body isn't going to listen to reason and send the 500 calories to the baby.  It will think you are starving, and store every available calorie as fat, and your breast milk won't be as rich as the baby needs.  I starved my first child, because I wasn't eating or drinking enough.  He is still underweight, 5 years later, and he was a very fussy baby.  But with my second, I ate a lot and drank about 16 oz of water every time I nursed her, and she just thrived.

You need to forget everything you've been told about low calorie dieting,  Low calorie diets don't work.

Please, get this book.  It could change your life.