Veggie but craving meat :(

[Fluffeh]

I've been a veggie for around 7 years. It was an ethical decision but I haven't found it difficult in the slightest. I never crave meat (ha I never craved meat before getting pregnant) But it's horribly intense and driving me crazy!
Usually raw meat makes me want to be sick but yesterday in the supermarket I very nearly bought a big joint of ham!
I'm 22+5 and just wondering if these cravings are going to wane? Please don't say they're going to get more intense.
When not pregnant the thought of meat, any kind, makes me feel sick but right now I could devour a bacon sandwich :(.
Please share your experiences with me :).

[worsestershiresauce]

Stupid question, but couldn't you just eat meat for the duration of your pregnancy? Or perhaps take a look at iron and vit B12 in your diet. Sometimes cravings are about things you need.

The same thing happened to my aunt - she chose to eat meat.

[Fluffeh]

I take iron and b12 on prescription because of ore pregnancy anaemia so I had thought those would be ok but I guess pregnancy could have lowered the levels again.
I really really want to avoid eating it if I can because I'm sure ill feel like a hypocrite and guilty afterwards.
I eat meat substitutes but they just aren't hitting the spot :(.
I think I may have to convince DP to take me out for dinner where I can try some ham without cooking it at home.

[BigusBumus]

I was also a very long term veggie during my pregnancies. (I'm not now, but that's not the point) I was a veggie from age 10 to 28. I also craved meat during pregnancy and 2 or 3 times ended up on McDonalds eating a cheeseburger. Weird.

After mentioning it to the MW I was put on iron tablets, and the cravings went away.

[xkcdfangirl]

Cravings are your body telling you that you need something different, but you don't have to eat the exact thing your imagination suggests to you in order to satisfy the need.

My preggy cravings were satisfied by eating lots of high-iron veg - spinach, broccoli etc - and upping my protien intake too.

If you can't solve it in this way and decide to eat meat, you could try the "friends" solution - Phoebe got Joey to be vegetarian on her behalf for the duration of her pregnancy so that no additional meat got eaten

[poppy283]

Smoked applewood cheese is quite bacon-y, if it's the taste, or smoky bacon crisps, or re-fried beans?

I'm a veggie but never craved meat while pg, so not sure if that's helpful?!

[Familyguyfan]

I has exactly this when I was pregnant with DC1 (just newly pregnant with DC2!!!) I just resisted but it was very difficult. It didn't subside until after she was born but I just couldn't face the thought of actually eating meat, even though I could have salivated over a good steak!

[crunchingicicles]

You'll need to be extra careful about protein needs in pregnancy (many women aren't having the right balance when pregnant, whether they eat meat or not). This page may help inspire you or give you more of an idea of what your body & baby requires: www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id30.html For anyone reading who's a vegan, see this page instead: www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id26.html Also, following recommendations on these links should ensure you're getting sufficient iron too. Try to have vitamin C with iron, as it helps absorption, eg tomatoes with spinach, orange juice with dried fruit (dates are especially high in iron). And most of all, do what is right for you, whether that is continuing as a vegetarian or eating some meat whilst you feel you need it. Hope you figure something out that works for you and the little one!

[looloo13]

I was veggie for 12 years before I had my son, started craving meat really bad at 23weeks, told my specialist and she told me it was my bodies way of letting me know what I was needing, stopped being veggie that day.

[EverybodysSnowyEyed]

my iron levels were fine throughout pregnancy but pg1 i craved steak and pg 2 it was bolognaise

i decided to go with the cravings and did eat meat (i'm not a strong ethical veggie though) - my cravings stopped a few weeks before birth and i haven't eaten meat at other times or since

[sparklingsea]

I craved red meat badly throughout both my pregnancies, I had previously been veggie but there was no way I could ignore it! Second time it was steak and burgers all the way. I could not however tolerate the smell of it cooking at home so ate out a lot! My iron levels were really good. I am not veggie now but rarely feel like red meat.

[MistletoeAndMerryChristmas]

I eat very little meat, especially red or processed meat, with DS1 I lived off burgers!

It went against what I normally did but I went with it.

[crunchingicicles]

Another thing to try maybe is exploring more different tastes & different styles of cooking to what you're used to? It could help you get a more balanced diet & will help if it's just your body telling you you're bored with what you're currently eating. I'm a meat eater which is why I've avoided saying 'eat meat', but just trying to give you ideas you could try first as you sound very uncomfortable about the idea of eating meat.

[Librarina]

If it makes you feel any better, I've pretty much gone veggie since getting pregnant (am 17 weeks now) so if you really feel like yr body wants and needs meat then you can eat it safe in the knowledge that I'm cancelling you out! My DH is very much hoping my new vegetarianism is a pregnancy phase as his dad is a butcher so meat featured quite heavily in our diets and now we're having all kinds of tofu, quorn and things with lentils.

[MahnaMahna]

I craved meat like crazy during my pregnancy (veggie for 7 years.) At 17 weeks I caved and nibbled on a piece of turkey that my dad had brought round for the dogs. It knocked me sick and after that, even though I craved it, I knew I didn't want it.

I did worry I needed more protein/iron though. So I ate lots of chick peas, lentils and green veggies.

x

[HazleNutt]

I hadn't eaten any meat for 10 years. Am now pregnant and got such massive cravings for chicken that yes, I started eating it again - making sure it's a free-range happy chicken.
As others have said, cravings during pregnancy often tell you that your body needs something, so if you also bought well looked after during life meat, would that be an option?

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

I have been veggie for 23 years, during my last pregnancy I craved fish and chips, I have also craved marshmallow fluff and ice cream and banana milkshake so I am a little about how good my body is at judging what I 'need' ... (right now I am craving Thornton's Continental ).

I never succumbed to my fish cravings, but if you think eating meat is what you need to do op then don't feel bad, it is your choice and no one else's business. As long as your diet is generally healthy and balanced you and your baby will be fine, whatever you decide.

[strumpetpumpkin]

im not pregnant but the last time i went veggie i caved after about 18mths with burger cravings :| not even decent meat.
Im now flexitarian ;) I eat vegetarian food pretty much all the time, but if i am out for a meal and fancy meat, i will have it. I also bought organic beef for xmas dinner, but 99% of it is veggie and I am happy with that.
Id just go for it. Its a diet, not a religion.

[Bessie123]

Think about what is going to have to die so you can eat meat and about the fact that you will be eating the body of a murdered animal. That got rid of my cravings pdq. Quorn bacon (chilled, not frozen) is nice in a sandwich

[1978andallthat]

I am a confirmed carnivore but during first pregnancy couldn't face meat at all. (This pregnancy I have had real hankerings for red meat).

[Fluffeh]

Thank you, it makes me feel a but better to know I'm not alone in the meaty cravings. I'm far too poor to go out eat this week so I'm really hoping by the time I can afford it (after the 4th) they might have waned. If not and its still at the front of mind I'm going to ask DP if we can go to a nice resteraunt with fairly treated chicken as a test.
If I'm honest I really hope if I do get as far as eating it that it makes me so sick it'll reinforce my vegetarian beliefs and keep me meat free for life.
The dr Brewster diet looks interesting, I think I'd find it impossible to eat that much food in just one day though!

[mrslaughan]

A very good friend of mine - had the same thing in her 2nd pregnacy. Had been vege for about 10 years and vegan at times. She decided she must be craving it for a reason (I think it felt very compulsive tbh), and ate some meat (always organic, ethically farmed)...its a hard one. Only something you can decide.

[EverybodysSnowyEyed]

don't go to a restaurant - get a small steak or chicken breast from a reliable source and get your DP to cook it for you. And then get him to eat a veggie meal!

Unless he is veggie of course, then maybe a restaurant!

[Meglet]

I was veggie for 17yrs and crumbled at the end of my second pregancy with DDD. I'd had cravings for weeks, then I bought a naice organic chicken and within a couple of hours was gnawing on roast chicken . I did feel better for it.

Since then I've had chicken or fish once a month or so, only at home as I will only eat organic stuff and for the rest of the time I'm quite happy with lentils and quorn.

It's hard isn't it. I had had a early miscarriage inbetween my pregnancies with DS and DD and there was a part of me having a panic that my body needed the protein in chicken and I didn't want to risk something going wrong.

[Jakeyblueblue]

I hadn't eaten meat for 15 years when I fell pregnant with ds. Originally an ethical decision but over the years the thought of it made made my stomach turn. Much to my surprise I craved it very early on. Had terrible morning sickness and I had to eat stuff I felt like else it would all come back. I'm a nurse, so know all about nutrition and stuff and so figured I wouldn't be craving it so badly if I didn't need it and I started eating it again. Once ds was born I carried on too as was breastfeeding and felt I should have the healthiest diet possible to give him the best start.
Yes I felt bad about going back on my morals but at the end of the day, producing a healthy ds was more important.