Not eating enough calories while breastfeeding can decrease your milk supply, deplete your own nutrient stores (leading to fatigue, poor mood, hormonal issues), slow your metabolism, and potentially impact milk quality, as your body prioritizes milk production by taking what it needs from you. You might experience dizziness, weight loss, or digestive issues, but your body tries to protect milk output first, so low supply often appears after other symptoms.
Warning Signs You're Not Eating Enough While Breastfeeding (and your supply will drop!)
Your body needs calories to make milk, and if you're eating less, it has less calories to pull from to provide energy for you and make milk. Plus, your body will store fat in order to produce milk, especially if you're eating less.
Absolutely! You can lose weight while breastfeeding, but you have to be careful so it doesn't mess with your milk supply. Since you're eating around 2500 calories a day, you can start with a gentle calorie deficit of around 1800-2000 calories.
Breastfeeding mothers generally need more calories to meet their nutritional needs. An additional 330 to 400 kilocalories (kcal) per day is recommended for well-nourished, breastfeeding mothers, compared with the amount they were consuming before pregnancy.
The "4-4-4 rule" for breast milk is a simple storage guideline: fresh milk is good for 4 hours at room temperature (up to 77°F/25°C), for 4 days in the refrigerator (39°F/4°C or colder), and up to 4-6 months (or longer) in a standard freezer (0°F/-18°C). It's a handy mnemonic, though some organizations like the CDC recommend up to 6 months in the freezer and the AAP up to 9 months, with deeper freezers offering even longer storage.
However, keep in mind that diets less than 1,800 calories a day are often low in vitamins, minerals, and iron and often lead to fatigue and low milk supply. Diets with fewer than 1,500 calories a day — or those that severely limit carbohydrates or fats — are also not recommended at any time while you're breastfeeding.
Eat at least 1,800 calories a day, to support your milk production while losing weight. Choose a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods (foods high in nutrients).
So… the rule of three refers to time - ie 3 hours, 3 days or 3 months. 3 hours: If you pump and plan to use your breastmilk straight away, you can leave it out at room temperature for 3 hours.
Since a breast pump mimics a baby sucking at the breast, your body responds similarly when it comes to the metabolic response. But while both pumping and breastfeeding burn calories, breastfeeding tends to be more efficient and therefore moms who breastfeed do it more often, burning more calories in the long run.
The 30-30-30 pumping method is a power pumping technique to increase milk supply by mimicking cluster feeding: pump for 30 minutes, rest for 30 minutes, then pump for another 30 minutes, totaling a 90-minute session designed to signal your body to make more milk. It's a demanding but effective strategy for building supply, often done once daily, focusing on frequent milk removal to boost demand, with consistency and patience key for results.
Your baby may have some of these symptoms:
How Drinking Water Affects Milk Supply. Breast milk is made up of around 80% water. Adequate hydration is important for breast milk production. If you don't drink enough fluids, or replenish them when they are lost, dehydration may set in and your body may not have enough water to create milk.
The average cumulative weight loss at 6 months post‐partum was 2.561 kg (SD 4.585), increasing at 12 months (3.066 kg; SD 5.098) and decreasing at 18 months (1.993 kg; SD 5.340), being 1.353 kg (SD, 5.574) at 24 months post‐partum.
Rule #2: The Breast Milk Storage Guidelines.
The 4-4-4 Rule. Or the 6-6-6 rule. Basically, breast milk is good at room temperature for 4 or 6 hours, in the refrigerator for 4 or 6 days, and in the freezer for 4 or 6 or 12 months. Different professional organizations have varying recommendations.
Frequently cited problems with breastfeeding include sore nipples, engorged breasts, mastitis, leaking milk, pain, and failure to latch on by the infant. Women who encounter these problems early on are less likely to continue to breastfeed unless they get professional assistance.
The 'golden hour' is a term used to describe the first hour after birth. This is a crucial time when mother and baby share their first intimate moments, initiating a bond that is not only emotional but also has significant health benefits. It is during this hour that the first breastfeeding usually occurs.
When Is Breastfeeding the Hardest?
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend continued breastfeeding along with introducing appropriate complementary foods for up to 2 years or longer.
Eat at least 1500-1800 calories per day
While nursing, you should not consume less than 1500-1800 calories per day, and most women should stay at the high end of this range. Some mothers will require much more than this, but studies show that going below this number may put supply at risk.
Do I need extra calories while breastfeeding? Yes. You might need to eat a little more to give you the energy and nutrition to produce milk. It's typical to take in about 340 to 400 extra calories a day.
You need about 330 to 400 or so extra calories per day, but always tune into your hunger and fullness cues to eat the right amount for you. It's always okay to have more if you are feeling extra hungry.
The increased caloric need for women who are breastfeeding is about 450 to 500 calories per day. Women who are not trying to lose weight following pregnancy should supplement the above DGA calories per day by 450 to 500 calories.
Weight Loss in Lactation
The release of oxytocin is much shorter, facilitating milk ejection,4 and is associated with better mood. Our case report shows evidence that increased stage N3 sleep may promote milk production. This is in line with the increased amount of stage N3 sleep measured in breastfeeding mothers.