Failing to get enough calories while breastfeeding can weaken your ability to produce a steady and adequate milk supply, as well as disrupt hormones associated with lactation, leading to a disruption in the nursing relationship with your baby.
When you are nursing a baby, your body needs extra calories to make breast milk. Reducing the amount of food you eat, whether on purpose or by accident, can affect your breast-milk production, make nursing more difficult and derail your breast-feeding efforts entirely.
In fact, eating too few calories may impact your breastmilk supply. Aim to consume a minimum of 1500 to 1800 calories per day, depending on your individual needs. Any less than this and it may also be more difficult to get all the nutrients your body needs while nursing.
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 (approximately 2,000 to 2,800 kcal per day for breastfeeding women verses 1,600 to 2,400 kcal per day for moderately active, non-pregnant women who ...
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.
When you are breastfeeding a baby, your body needs extra calories to produce a healthy supply of breast milk. Going on a liquid diet, taking diet pills, or cutting calories can decrease your milk supply, making it difficult to breastfeed.
Reasons to Limit Empty Calories
You shouldn't deprive yourself of your favorite treats while breastfeeding, but you shouldn't overdo it either. Overindulging can affect your long-term health, causing excessive weight gain, and putting you at risk of diabetes6 or heart disease.
Breastfeeding. It takes about 500 extra calories a day to make breast milk. You get those extra calories from the foods that you eat every day and the fat that is already stored in your body. Using up those fat stores helps you to lose weight gained in pregnancy faster.
2 “While you are making milk, your body will pull the nutrients it needs from your system to make milk.” This is why you feel so insatiably hungry all the time, adds Markham—because the nutrients and calories you take in are constantly being used to make your baby's milk, and so you need to continually replenish.
Although your body produces milk on a supply-and-demand basis, the fact is that skipping a single feeding on rare occasions won't have much of an impact on your overall supply (though it may make your breasts ache). The danger of decreasing your milk supply lies in skipping feedings frequently.
Jesse Feder, Registered Dietitian, says, “ A person can only survive short term on 500 calories a day. This is extremely low and can lead to serious health issues over time.”
However, calorie intake should not fall below 1,200 a day in women or 1,500 a day in men, except under the supervision of a health professional. Eating too few calories can endanger your health by depriving you of needed nutrients.
About breastfeeding and diet
A healthy diet is always important, but it's especially important if you are breastfeeding. Breastfeeding uses a lot of energy and nutrients. It is important that your diet supplies the nutrients you need during breastfeeding, including: protein.
Many breastfeeding moms feel extra hungry, which makes sense: Your body is working nonstop to produce breast milk for your growing baby. Eating several small meals per day, with healthy snacks in between, is a good way to keep your hunger in check and your energy levels high.
Focus on making healthy choices to help fuel your milk production. Opt for protein-rich foods, such as lean meat, eggs, dairy, beans, lentils and seafood low in mercury. Choose a variety of whole grains as well as fruits and vegetables.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of regular formula powder to 3 ounces (89 mL) of pumped breast milk. To make 24-calorie per ounce breast milk: Add 1 teaspoon of regular formula powder to 3 ounces (89 mL) of pumped breast milk.
Some babies need more calories in less volume to help them grow. Formula powder can be added to your breast milk to increase the amount of calories your baby receives.
While breastfeeding burns about 500-700 calories extra per day to fuel milk making, this may not always contribute to weight loss postpartum – many factors like pre-pregnancy weight, diet, physical activity level, etc will impact weight loss after birth (Institute of Medicine, 2002; Dewey, 1994).