I’m sure you’ve heard that breastfeeding can help you to lose weight. It’s no joke…really! On an average you will burn 500 extra calories a day. Could be less or could be more up to even 1000 calories a day. I’d have to say I’d rather sit in my rocking chair or lay in bed gazing into my little nurslings eyes and smelling her sweet smell than spend an hour or more running on the treadmill and/or driving myself mad on an elliptical machine…wouldn’t you? There will be no other time in your life that your body will be able to burn so many calories without you having to expend a major amount of physical effort and energy. That being said, this is also the easiest time in your life to take advantage and do a little extra moving around to multiply that 500+ calories burned. Milk it while you can girls! But this doesn’t mean cut back on the calories you are consuming. Please don’t do that! You still need to make sure you are giving your body the fuel it needs to produce this amazing milk for your little one and keep you healthy and full of energy.
We are breastfeeding on demand. That means I feed her whenever she cues me that she’s hungry. The hospital lactation consultant told me that I needed to feed her every 2 hours. Well sometimes that’s the case but sometimes she needs to eat every hour, sometimes every 3 hours and occasionally she needs to be at the breast every 20 minutes or so. With all of the changes she’s going through and growth spurts that come and go it makes sense to me that she does not look at the clock and say “ok mom, it’s been 2 hours it’s time for me to eat now.” It can be exhausting for me sometimes but it’s what I signed up for. I’m here to nurture her however she needs it and she is flourishing! She’s growing fast and is right on top and even ahead of some of the developmental stages. And…I’m losing weight. This is why it’s hard to say exactly how many calories are burned breastfeeding. Some days it’s probably way more than others based on what she needs. I’ve heard that it could be something like 20 calories burned for every oz of milk.
Breastfeeding=Burning Calories=Weight Loss
Have you lost weight while living an Attachment Parent lifestyle?
Share your story with me! I'd love for more people to see how easy and fun it can be to lose weight this way.
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