How Many Calories Does Breastfeeding Burn?
(And Why I Hate This Question…)
Your pregnancy might be over but that doesn’t mean your body’s done supporting your growing baby. Breast milk feeding is also very physically demanding and requires a lot of energy from your body. In this blog post, which is the first on a series about breastfeeding calories, we’ll talk about how much energy it takes to breast milk feed, the importance of fueling your body to support breastfeeding, and why how many calories are burned breast milk feeding isn’t a question new parents should spend ANY time thinking about.
Breastfeeding burns calories
When you breast milk feed, your body uses energy (aka calories) to make milk and deliver it to your baby. Depending on how often you nurse and how much milk your baby drinks, breastfeeding can burn an estimated 300 to 500 extra calories per day. This is just an estimate. Exact amounts will vary between individuals and fluctuate over the weeks and months of producing milk.
A big portion of these calories burned are because of the increase in your body’s metabolic rate. Metabolic rate is the amount of energy burned by your body at rest, while you’re doing nothing. Like sleeping. (Sorry new parents…I think the days of doing nothing are over…so is sleep.) Anyway - the increase in metabolism makes sense, right? It's not like your body is only working to lactate while you are actively feeding your baby. No. 24/7 your body is working under the surface to create milk from scratch using the nutrient building blocks you eat and have stored in your body. And this is work above and beyond what it was ever doing before.
The impact of breast milk feeding on energy levels & importance of adequate fuel
All this work your body is doing out in the world to feed your baby and also under the surface to make it happen WILL leave you feeling exhausted. It’s not exactly surprising. If someone told you they were doing a 30 minute HIIT workout (as an approximation of the calories burned breastfeeding) every day of the week for months on end with <4 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night, you would definitely assume they were tired. And maybe a little crazy. And definitely hungry.
Your body needs adequate fuel to support this amazing process. Research shows that If you’re not getting enough calories and/or nutrients to keep up with your body’s needs while breastfeeding, your body will break down its own tissues in order to maintain production of nutrient rich breast milk for your baby. So your baby will be fine. At your expense.
Please lactating individuals, let’s not add a calorie and food deficit to our already tired and sleep-deprived selves. Please take care of yourselves by fueling your body. So you can take care of your babies.
Why I hate when people ask me how many calories breastfeeding burns?
When someone asks me how many calories breastfeeding burns, what they are really asking is - how much will it help them lose weight. And this is why I hate this question.
Because breastfeeding isn’t a weight loss program. Or a weight loss opportunity.
Breastfeeding is wonderful and healthy and an amazing way to nourish your baby, but it is also physically demanding. For you. It requires your body to take on more work and so it’s important that you support it with enough energy from nutrient-dense foods and plenty of fluids.
Let’s collectively agree to stop putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves to overhaul our postpartum bodies while also breast milk feeding an infant. You’re exhausted and have your hands full with a lot. Step back and focus on how the food you eat is nourishing you and your baby. Make food choices based on this, not for any thought that has to do with the number on your bathroom scale. And send gratitude to the universe and to your hard work for the beautiful baby in your arms who loves you.
Just the way you are.