Cant stop eating!!

[titchhaworth]

Its my first pregnancy and I am only 11 weeks but I am starving all the time. I dont think this is very normal and wondered if anyone else had the same experience. I eat constantly but i still feel like I'm on hunger strike.
The strange thing about it is I haven't put on any weight even though this has been going on for at least 4 weeks. I'm due for my first scan next Monday and am terrified - can't stop thinking about all the stuff that could go wrong

It is normal, your metabolism changes when you are pg...different for everyone. Enjoy the fridge!

It's normal - I'm 16 weeks now and my appetite is going back to normal but I have eaten like a horse. I've started putting on weight now but hardly put on any for ages. I'm normally quite slim and I think it's the body's way of storing up fat reserves/calories. Building a baby is hard work! Don't feel guilty about it, just try and eat good food (easier said than done sometimes, I know).

Hi titchhaworth so glad you posted, I'm 10+3 and constantly starving, even waking in the middle of the night to eat . My DH thinks it's hilarious but I can't help but be horrified at the size I could end up if this continues! Haven't dared weight myself. To make matters worse I only seem to hear about people who had no appetite in the 1st trimester and how it's in the 3rd trimester that you are allowed a few extra calories...aghhhh I'd planned to be one of those glowing trim pregnant ladies with fab clothes but if I continue like this I'm going to be a huge butterball in a tent dress . I'm so hungry I couldn't ignore the pains. I actually feel sick with hunger and need food asap so I don't feel it's a willpower/greed thing!

I think that stuff about not needing extra calories until the 3rd trimester is BOLLOCKS! I actually did some research and found a paper that suggested the reason this is generally quoted is that mammals tend to conserve energy in pregnancy by doing less and that accounts for the extra calories. However, as modern women with jobs, lives and homes to run we're not conserving anything, so I don't know why they say that.

Like reckless I have felt so hungry I just have to eat immediately or I can feel my blood sugar dropping and me getting faint and ill. It's not greed, it's necessary.

Hi recklesspixie, my DH thinks its funny too when i wake him in the middle of the night munching on crackers!
But the weight gain thing is a bit of a worry. In some respects I'd like to put on a bit of weight so that I know everything is going ok but at the same time people I know get annoyed at me when I complain that I haven't put on weight and just say I should be thankful. It does scare me though, I have always been quite slim and so the thought of putting on masses of weight is daunting but at the end of the day I'd rather know that my baby was healthy.

Adding something to coastgirl I was starving in the early days of my pg and tortured myself trying to stay in control, worried about my weight. Now I have a boulder on my front squishing all my insides up, I can assure you any feelings of hunger are actually rare. I have to employ discipline now to make myself eat because there just isnt enough room in there for decent sized meals! As a consequence my early weight gain has evened out and whilst I would never claim to be a stick I certaintly dont look the size I imagined I would be in the early days when I was scoffing yet another cheese cracker! Relax, eat healthily but listen to your body...it wants you to eat! x

I think it is normal. Are you on the slim side? My BMI pre-pregnancy was 18 and I reckon my body is just topping up as there aren't a lot of reserves. Extreme hunger was one of my first symptoms, lasted until 14 weeks, then started up again at 17 weeks! I am now 19 weeks and ravenous, though almost all weight has gone on my bump (and a little on chin).

If you put on too much weight your midwife will soon let you know. Just listen to your body and enjoy stuffing your face!