Extreme hunger in early pregnancy

[YogiBear13]

Is it normal to be absolutely starving in pregnancy? I'm 6 weeks tomorrow, and am constantly hungry. Today I had breakfast and by the time I'd driven 20 mins to work my stomach was rumbling with hunger! I know I should be grateful that I don't have morning sickness (and I am) but is this normal? I'm actually finding it quite hard to deal with as I have to sit at my desk eating constantly, I have to take food with me to any meeting, even if its not very long, and I never feel full for more than 10 minutes! I am underweight (5'4 and just under 7 stone), so I'm not too worried about gaining weight as I've been trying to gain weight and get up to a more healthy size for years now, is my hunger maybe related to my weight, and my body knowing that it needs a lot more energy? Should I just go with it, and can anyone suggest any foods that might fill me up more??

It can be normal, I had it and I was already overweight so tried really hard not to binge on unhealthy food.

Protein will keep you full for longer, so hummus and veg sticks, boiled eggs, maybe ryvita crackers with cheese, peanut butter on toast (check about peanuts though, not sure what the current guidance is during pregnancy), dried fruit and nuts.

And drink plenty of water! It didn't last long with me!

I had this in my early pregnancy, I also didn't have morning sickness and was considered underweight. I went with it and eventually it did even out. I don't really know why it happened but I did end up having a large baby. My advice is just try and avoid snacks like crisps, chocolate, I felt fuller from mini meals. I was snacking on fruit, vegetables, but also crackers, toast.

I found this happened to me, particularly with my 1st pregnancy; subsequent pregnancies not so much.
Does the amount eaten during pregnancy affect the size of the baby? i ask because I had 4 large babies(8lb 12oz....9lb 3oz), yet wasn't large to start with and didn't put on a lot of weight during them.

Absolutely normal and under the circumstances (with you being underweight) is likely to be your body telling you you need the nutrition. Have a look at foods that are good in pregnancy, see what takes your fancy & go for it, something like this:

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/246404.php

Try a breakfast with dense brown bread, eggs and avocado - also snacking on nuts reduces the risk of nut allergies

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270605.php

Mostly though enjoy it & good luck!

This happened to me, I would wake up in the morning feeling starved! Get yourself those belvita breakfast biscuits they saved me! Mine started like that and went onto morning sickness

Thanks for the replies, helps to know that its normal.

Its interesting about the nuts as well, as that was something I'd been planning on asking the midwife or GP. My partner has a severe nuts and seeds allergy so we don't have nuts in the house, and if I ate them at work I'd need to make sure I rinsed my mouth/brushed my teeth before kissing him so I tend to avoid eating anything with nuts as an ingredient (as opposed to "may contain") as its simpler. But obviously we are both really keen on anything that might reduce the chance of the baby having it as its such a nightmare for him, especially eating out, or going abroad (and obviously wasn't fun for his parents when he was growing up).

Hi, I’m the same as this! I’m not as underweight as I used to be, but still very petite and I’m hungry constantly. I feel like unless I’m snacking constantly then I start to feel nauseous, my body constantly needs food!

Totally normal. Just eat when you're hungry.

I had this; I was astonished by how hungry I was, I needed to eat at least every two hours! I even woke up at night hungry and had to have snacks or I would end up feeling sick.

I ate whenever hungry as I felt it was my body legitimately needing it (and also because if I didn’t I felt sick, as said before). However I craved sugar and after an initial week of binging on it I got wise to it and started taking lots of high protein snacks in instead, w.g cheese and crackers, thick yogurt with fruit, etc. I found that really helped fill me up without my feeling guilty about all the sugar.

I’m 32 weeks now and haven’t gained any more than is normal, despite eating constantly in the first trimester