Keto Breastfeeding Calculator (Including Macros)

If you’re starting a keto diet after pregnancy and you’re breastfeeding your baby, it is important you follow a modified version of any generic keto calculator you find. Please keep in mind that this is only a guide.

Always keep an eye on your health and your baby’s health for your safety while doing keto and breastfeeding. Let’s review how to use a Keto breastfeeding calculator.

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Why Should I Use a Keto Calculator When Breastfeeding?

If you want the best results while following a keto diet, using a keto calculator when breastfeeding can help you get a jumpstart. It will help you account for the calories (and other macronutrients) you need to consume in order to maintain, increase, or lose weight.

There are other factors at play when it comes to losing weight while breastfeeding, such as your activity level, pre-pregnancy weight, current weight, goal weight, how often you’re breastfeeding, and if you have any underlying conditions that may affect your ability to lose weight.

Is a Keto Diet Macro Calculator Different For Breastfeeding Moms?

Yes, a normal keto calculator will not take into account the affects a strict keto diet will have on a breastfeeding mom’s milk supply. This is why it is important you use a modified version of a keto diet, rather than a generic calorie or keto calculator you may find online.

The modified keto diet is a gentle way to introduce long-lasting healthy eating habits that will help you feel healthy and lose the baby weight gradually.

A zero or low carb keto breastfeeding calculator should not be used as it is not recommended to eliminate carbs from your diet altogether or you will risk losing your milk supply.

Macros For Breastfeeding Moms

Some keto calculators may suggest 5-10 percent of carbs from your daily calorie needs but you will want to get more like 20-25 percent of your calories from carbs if you’re breastfeeding. Even then, this will likely be much less than you’re currently eating if your goal is to lose weight.

Your goal for weight loss while breastfeeding should be around a half a pound to a full pound each week. You don’t want to lose weight too quickly or you could risk losing your milk supply or passing on toxins to your baby as you shed fat.

Here’s a general breakdown of macros for a modified keto breastfeeding diet: 50-55% fat, 30-35% protein, and 15-20% carbohydrate (75-100 carbs) . This will vary based on your individual needs, but it is a good starting point for a more flexible and modified keto diet while breastfeeding.

Based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet, these percentages can be broken down further to look like this: 110-120 grams of fat, 150-175 grams of protein, 75-100 grams of carbs.

Like I mentioned before, I don’t recommend tracking every macronutrient. Eat healthy, balanced meals and focus on tracking your carb and calorie intake.

How To Use a Keto Breastfeeding Calculator To Determine Calories, Carbs, & Macros

Because moms have so much to do as it is, I don’t recommend tracking every nutrient you’re eating or wanting to eat. Instead on this modified keto approach while breastfeeding, I recommend doing three things:

1. Calculate how many calories you need per day based on breastfeeding and activity level.
2. Keep track of total calories and total carbs per day and try to stay within those limits.
3. Eat a variety of nutritious, real foods.

If you just do these three things, you will see weight loss results! Even before you try to limit any calories or carbs, first see how many you’re eating by tracking them for a week.

You can use a food journal or use an app on your phone. Oftentimes writing things down in a food journal can be more eye-opening.

Reference Calculators

Below is a basic keto calorie and macro calculator, but remember this is not a modified version of the diet as discussed in this post. It will allow you to put in the desired amount of carbs that you want to consume.

Then, it adjusts the rest of the macros based on that number to meet your caloric needs.

Keto Calculator

There is not an option for breastfeeding, so you can select lightly to moderately active depending on how often you’re breastfeeding. Select very active if you are also working out. You can also adjust your protein level and how much of a calorie deficit you want.

There are many keto calculators available online. These are just meant to be a guide as you navigate keto while breastfeeding, and try to determine how much you should be eating to lose weight.

The below calorie calculator can also be used to find just the calories you need to consume as a breastfeeding mom based on your baby’s age. This can be used to then identify the number of carbs needed per day to meet your goal.

Breastfeeding Calorie Calculator

How Many Carbs Should I Eat on Keto While Breastfeeding?

If you’re looking for the exact answer to the number of carbs you should eat while doing keto and breastfeeding, this will vary based on many factors. This is also something you will have to experiment with yourself to find the best amount for your body and baby.

Eating healthy foods while doing keto can also have a great impact on your results. So there are many factors at play when it comes to how many carbs you should eat.

Moms that have found their sweet spot have started at roughly 150-200 carbs per day and dropped down to 50-75 carbs by the time they hit their goal weight. Starting gradually is the key though.

If you have been eating highly processed foods with a carb count at 250, and then drop to 50 carbs per day of unprocessed foods, you will likely see a dramatic drop in your milk supply.

Start a food journal to assess how many carbs you’re currently eating and from what food sources. Next, incorporate more whole foods into your diet.

Then slowly start decreasing the number of carbs you’re eating by 10 carbs each week. Make sure you do this over one week at a time. Don’t adjust on a daily basis as that is not enough time for your body to adjust and respond.

Tips For Doing Keto While Breastfeeding

• Eat healthy whole foods like vegetables, low-sugar fruits, pasture-raised or wild caught animal protein
• Drink lots of water, at least half your body weight in ounces per day
• Add electrolytes to your water or a pinch of Himalayan salt and a squeeze of lemon
• Get a food journal before you begin to assess progress and keep track of foods
• Keep track of your baby’s behavior for anything new and diaper output
• Monitor your progress and reward yourself with non-food related items
• If you are working out and doing keto while breastfeeding, you need to consider adding more carbs to your diet since you should be consuming more calories
• Avoid artificial sweeteners as much as possible. They may actually hurt your body’s ability to lose weight, especially if you are eating them a lot in keto treats.
• If you’re trying to tame cravings or a sweet tooth, you can either eliminate it or try to satisfy it with one or two bites of something. Eliminate any foods that may be causing cravings.
• Follow my modified keto diet plan where I share my best tips and tricks to losing weight while breastfeeding

If you are a breastfeeding mom who wants to lose weight you can give the Keto diet a try, but make sure you have a good plan to do it safely.

Trying the keto diet while breastfeeding may work for you to lose the baby weight. Be sure you’re following a modified keto diet and eating whole real foods so that you’re not releasing bad food toxins to your baby.

Also watch for any decrease in your milk supply. Eat plenty of calories based on your maternal factors like activity level, breastfeeding frequency, height, and weight. Slowly reduce carb intake over weeks to months for the best results that can be long-lasting.

Finally, you can fill in the form below to get my free shopping guide to help you lose weight while breastfeeding. Additionally, you can check out my Keto and Breastfeeding Workshop & Quickstart Guide for even more guidance on using the Keto diet to lose that baby weight while breastfeeding.