Pregnant and bad relationship with food?

[Mummyof02]

Hi all, I'm six months expecting with my second child and for the last few months ive noticed I've become quite self conscious with my weight. I don't have an ed as such but will go through stages of eating lots then go through days of eating very little. I eat little cos I don't want to pile on the weight but then eat loads cos I feel starved and very hungry. I can't seem to find a balance. I weigh myself regularly and haven't lost or put on any weight for the last month or so, even though I would like to lose some? How can I learn to just accept my body abit better and feel comfortable with my natrul shape/size?

[OneTiredMama]

Hi, it's hard to accept the changes we go through during pregnancy but what I kept telling myself was that people expect me to get bigger, as long as I'm not using pregnancy as an excuse to eat everything then I'll be OK.
I have a history of bulimia so it's a bit different but eating lots then starving yourself is familiar and can be part of bulimia, it's not always purging. Could you talk to your midwife or GP? They could support you around your anxiety with weight.
Don't feel guilty about eating more than usual, I had to stop weighing myself as it didn't help and you're retaining a lot of fluid too! I hope you can feel more comfortable in yourself.

[Scarydinosaurs]

I have an ED that was particularly difficult to manage whilst pregnant. I found these things helped:

1. Stop weighing yourself and don't look at weigh ins- tell the HP that you're not looking too so that they don't tell you.
   
2. Spend time in the mirror and say positive things about your body- this sounds crazy but it really helps. Compliment yourself! Your legs carry you round all day, your breasts are growing to feed your baby, you are storing energy in your arms to get you through labour etc
   

1. I found doing a bump shoot at 37 weeks gave me something to aim for- I wanted a big bump to look good! So it really helped focus my mind.
   

1. Ignore all the charts- everyone is different. You need to listen to your body and eat what and when you want. Stop when you feel full. Tune in and get a bit hippy about it. You can trust yourself, your body would not betray you.
   

I really hope you find that useful. It is so hard. I've done two pregnancies and it was incredibly difficult.