Although it’s tempting to want to lose the baby weight you gained during pregnancy while still breastfeeding, it’s important to understand that dieting in too large of a calorie deficit can compromise your milk supply.
Typically, the body requires an additional 400 – 500 calories to support milk production (depending on how often you’re nursing and how much milk you produce). If you cut calories too low, you may not be able to produce milk at the necessary rate.
Therefore, if you’d like to lose weight with Avatar Nutrition, you’ll need to run this past your doctor to make sure that the benefit of weight loss is greater than the risk of "running dry." You can always lose weight after you're done nursing, so keep priorities in mind.
If your doctor would like you to lose weight right now, then you should choose a slow weight loss goal. After switching goals, we recommend going into Diet Settings and editing your calories to be 400-500 calories higher than your initial calorie target given by the app. This will ensure you have enough calories to support milk production.
Each week when you check in, the system will use your change in weight to ensure that you’re eating enough calories to lose weight at the slowest rate the system offers. If you lose too much weight as defined by the system based on your setting, your calories will be bumped up accordingly.
If you get to a point where you feel your calories are being dropped too low or you notice that your milk supply is declining, then it would be best to consult with your doctor and switch your goal from weight loss to muscle gain or reverse dieting. Both of these settings will increase your calorie recommendations.