Constantly hungry (and only 6 weeks along)

[user1484167681]

Hi everyone, I'm 6+1 and have an almost constant faint nausea (feels like pre-exam nerves in my tummy) and am hungry a lot... okay, all I can think about is food! Eating calms my stomach, but "little and often" is turning into nonstop nibbling.

I was already about 3kgs heavier than I'd like before I got my BFP, and work has been so busy (60 hours last week, sob) that I have no time to exercise. Plus I'm so tired all the time. I don't want to gain lots of weight from overeating, but I'm constantly distracted and hungry!

Any advice on how to deal with these munchies, please?? Trying to stick to meal times and healthy snacks, but it feels like an uphill battle- and so early on... Urgh.

Hey, I'm 7 weeks 6 days and yesterday had an early scan which showed twins... So feel a little bit more 'allowed' to be bad!
Like you, as soon as I found out I was pregnant, about 4 weeks, I have just wanted to eat all the time. And not healthy food!
Also exercise just feels impossible I already feel so tired and heavy.
And this is coming from someone who ran 3x a week, and ate healthy as anything mon - fri! Its killing me.
But just doing what my body feels like in moderation... if stodgy carbs is what I feel like I just do it. Have been doing some small toning exercises instead of running... have completely gone off my usual bran breakfast, salads for lunch and healthy small dinners. So just try and not plan ahead and eat what I feel like at the time.
Days I don't have the constant nausea I do try and force myself to eat healthy even when the thought of it makes me feel ill! I'm 5'4 and 8 1/2 stone a size 8/10 and already put on 1/2 stone...
I think, basically, it's perfectly okay and normal! Even more so in first 12 weeks!

Firstly congratulations! Secondly please don't worry about how much you're eating. I was the exact same, every one made mean comments about how much I was eating. Although it was always healthy food and every now and then I had a treat...typical day for me in early pregnancy was large bowl of porridge with ground almonds and dates for breakfast, followed by a banana, about an hour later it would be walnuts and chunks of cheddar, then mid morning maybe an apple or carrot sticks and hummus, then some kind of chicken wrap for lunch, then a bowl of berries, then maybe an apple, then a large dinner, followed by at least a bowl of weetabix and/or some fruit! I've always been slim and about a size 8/10 pre pregnancy. I ate for England when I was pregnant and stopped weighing myself when I hit the 45 pounds mark towards the end of my pregnancy! I think I still had a good 6 weeks to go at that point! lol but lo is 5 months now and I've lost all but 3 pounds without any effort, just eating well and gentle walks. I hate the comments from people saying it's just greed and you don't need more than 200 extra calories until the last trimester...I personally think that's rubbish because I genuinely felt faint if I didn't! Eat away mama and enjoy every second! X

Agree with the other posters here. Try not to worry - little and often is good and nuts, fruit and bits of veg to dunk in humous are really good snacks.

I'm now 7+5 and my hunger has died down a bit due to nausea, now I'm just craving fruit and salad and juice all the time so you may well see a change in your appetite later on too.

I felt like this and eating also improved the nausea. I am also a midwife.
What I advise my clients
1 If you are hungry, eat!
2 Check it's not thirst though if it's constant Have a glass of water and wait 10 minutes
3 Sugar is not your friend. Even if you crave it. It is harder to manage blood sugar in pregnancy . Fruit juice is a menace in this regard
4 Protein and complex carbs and vegetables are the business. They keep you and the baby well nourished, prevent excessive weight gain and reduce sugar highs and lows that make you feel weird and ill.

I wasn't exactly like this and by 6 weeks had gained 2kg.
However I started puking at 8 weeks and am now 10 weeks and the 2kg is gone. I think the immense appetite was my body's way of preparing for the sickness to come!

Gah. I was exactly like this. Not wasn't

You are growing a whole new person inside you. Of course you're starving and exhausted. All those new nerves and bones and brain and heart and fingers and eyes is Very Fucking Hard Work.

Roll with it, the bulk of the basics is done by the end of the first trimester and your hunger will settle down and you can relax.

I was exactly the same. I had to eat every hour weeks 6-10 as the nausea was constant and severe (wasn't sick once!) Then it was every two hours for a while then every three eventually. If I didn't eat when I needed to, I would start loudly wretching (but not to be dick - weird). Listen to what your body needs. I found it hard to eat enough later on with acid reflux and pressure on my belly. Keep doing little and often and try to eat a range of foods. I lived on beige carbs for a month and then ate a wider range when the worst of the nausea passed.

Sick not dick

I found that my appetite steadily decreased as both my pregnancies progressed.

So until 12 weeks I was so hungry all the time
By the end, I was nibbling here and there but not a fraction of what I ate when 8 weeks pregnant!