The weird HUNGER!!!

[Anonapapple]

When I was pregnant with my first child (boy) I had a crazy, insatiable hunger. It wasn't a 'hmmm, that looks tasty' kind of hunger but a sense of having a totally empty stomach that would happen every 2 hours, even after having eaten.

It got so bad that I started drinking those sugary milk shakes just to fill up on something without having to chew, as my jaws were starting to hurt. It happened at night too and it felt like I was a slave to my stomach 24/7. I counted down the days to have my baby so I could go a few hours between meals without the crazy hunger.

I gained 4.5 stone and it affected my mental health after I had the baby. I managed to lose almost all the weight then I got pregnant with my daughter and did not have the crazy hunger with her.

Am almost 8 weeks with baby number 3 and it has started already. Last night I had some pasta for tea and we went out for a walk shortly after. I was absolutely distracted thinking about food the whole time, like going out of my mind. We stopped off at a restaurant and I got a steak. I realised that carbs seem to make me feel unpleasant afterwards but protein doesn't seem to.

I have never been able to fully describe the hunger. The closest I can get to is if you go to a kids party hungry and fill up on crisps, cakes and buns and feel sick, and weirdly physically full and totally empty at the same time? I dont know how to describe it but it's only ever happened in pregnancy.

Can someone please help me! I have already put on a few lbs and I'm not even 8 weeks yet. I cannot face being hungry for 9 months nor having loads of weight to lose when I have the baby. Any ideas? Suggestions? Or anyone know what's going on?

I never feel satisfied after I eat and normally have a weird 'used' feeling like after a Big Mac Meal!

bloody hormones, eh?

loading up on lean protein is the way forward plus lots of fruit & veg.

and drinking lots of water & herbal teas.

if you can cope with it then eat pureed soups - they are great to suppress appetite as they take much longer to digest than if you ate the exact same ingredients unpureed on a plate plus a glass of water.
when I get into the swing of things I always make them for lunch and lose weight.

Normally I am a total eater fiend and drink litres a day. I would never touch a soft drink. Yesterday I ordered a Coke for the first time in years, maybe 20! I just had to have that Coke! Have also been popping to the shop and coming out with Fanta and similar drinks that I normally turn my nose up at!

Love the idea of the soups. Just started thinking about pea soup and want to cry because I can almost taste it! Really wanted a Pad Thai the other night and was almost in tears as there was no Thai restaurant near where we were. Have also been thinking about food from local eateries in my home country and sometimes the longing for the food makes me feel like throwing a chair across the room. Hanger.

Water fiend, not eater!

Could you have heartburn already?

I'm not trying to say you're not actually hungry by the way, just that some heartburn medication might take the edge off.

I am 10. 5 weeks and have heartburn already but forgot to get some from the shop yesterday because my brain has already gone out the window.

I had this in the first trimester and it gradually reduced throughout the second to more normal levels. I managed to avoid much weight gain by eating little and often so I felt like I was eating most of the day but it wasn't actually that much food. Lots of fruit. Apple and cheese was my go to filler upper.

My first thought is that this is heartburn. Sounds strange but the acid in my stomach would make me feel just like I was starving hungry... Once I started on heartburn med, the hunger feeling went.

I agree with @India999 I have heartburn right now and feel starving hungry even though I know I’m not

Hoping I feel full when the Gaviscon kicks in in a few mins….

Oh my gosh we have Gaviscon!!! I am going to try it! I dont feel any heartburn though but the hunger feels like something else impersonating hunger if that makes sense!!!

No advice but I really sympathise, I’ve had this in both my pregnancies, especially in the first trimester. I had my dinner an hour ago and am already ravenous.

@MissChanandlerBong90 its infuriating! I must say that the Gaviscon seems to have helped!

I completely understand your hunger impersonating hunger lol. It’s difficult to explain but you’ve hit the nail on the head there!

Hope the gaviscon helps. I find the chewable tablets are a god send when I feel like this

I know the feeling but to be honest I really enjoyed it. I’ve never savoured my food as much as in the first trimester. But you do need to combine protein and carbohydrates to not get trapped on a continuous rollercoaster. I had a lot of cheese rolls. If you have to have chocolate, get some with nuts. Etc. Etc.

Yes those are what I took! Has really helped. To think that this is why I put on over 4 stone with my last pregnancy and I wasnt even flipping hungry!

Oooh has it? Ok I’ve just sent DH out to get me a bottle of Gaviscon! 😂 thanks for the tip!

@MissChanandlerBong90 i havent thought about food since I took the Gaviscon so that's a promising sign! The hunger sensation definitely felt very strange but intense. This could save me a year's worth of dieting onthe other side!

Glad it helped! Heartburn is a weird feeling.

@Anonapapple

When I was pregnant with my first child (boy) I had a crazy, insatiable hunger. It wasn't a 'hmmm, that looks tasty' kind of hunger but a sense of having a totally empty stomach that would happen every 2 hours, even after having eaten.

It got so bad that I started drinking those sugary milk shakes just to fill up on something without having to chew, as my jaws were starting to hurt. It happened at night too and it felt like I was a slave to my stomach 24/7. I counted down the days to have my baby so I could go a few hours between meals without the crazy hunger.

I gained 4.5 stone and it affected my mental health after I had the baby. I managed to lose almost all the weight then I got pregnant with my daughter and did not have the crazy hunger with her.

Am almost 8 weeks with baby number 3 and it has started already. Last night I had some pasta for tea and we went out for a walk shortly after. I was absolutely distracted thinking about food the whole time, like going out of my mind. We stopped off at a restaurant and I got a steak. I realised that carbs seem to make me feel unpleasant afterwards but protein doesn't seem to.

I have never been able to fully describe the hunger. The closest I can get to is if you go to a kids party hungry and fill up on crisps, cakes and buns and feel sick, and weirdly physically full and totally empty at the same time? I dont know how to describe it but it's only ever happened in pregnancy.

Can someone please help me! I have already put on a few lbs and I'm not even 8 weeks yet. I cannot face being hungry for 9 months nor having loads of weight to lose when I have the baby. Any ideas? Suggestions? Or anyone know what's going on?

I never feel satisfied after I eat and normally have a weird 'used' feeling like after a Big Mac Meal!

I remember eating something, and while still in the middle of the meal, thinking ‘what can I eat next’.

Pie, chips and haribo were the usual suspects.

I put on 3 stone, lost 2, got pregnant again, put 3 more on. Currently battling with the last stubborn stone.

@Marmite27 it's like being a slave to food, its horrible! I gained 4.5 and 3 stone with previous pregnancies. The most infuriating thing is that I am a weird anomaly and my body clings onto weight until I stop breastfeeding, no matter how healthily I eat. I am normally quite slim (size 8-10) and always balloon in pregnancy. Am hoping to keep a handle on it this time around.

Pie, chips and haribo sound amazing.

I remember waking up at 3 am and having to go downstairs and eat weetabix as I was so hungry I'd start to shake

I completely understand your hunger impersonating hunger lol. It’s difficult to explain but you’ve hit the nail on the head there!

It’s nutritionally dense food your body is crying out for.
So lots of meat and protein, eggs, cheese, more meat and protein. Then some more meat and protein. With added eggs.
Your body will literally keep asking you for food until you get enough protein. If you just eat a low protein meal, it will keep on going, asking for more and more food until you get the right amount of protein. That’s what it wants. Low protein meals mean a LOT of eating is required to get what it wants.

make sure you research the long term effects of taking Gaviscon

Me again. The Gaviscon thing isnt touching the sides. The hunger is getting worse. It pounces on me out of the blue and yet at the same time, I feel nauseated by the thoughts of food that I probably should be eating. I'm eating a lot of cereal and baby bells to keep me ticking over. I've gone right off fruit.

I am just constantly hungry all the time. When it hit me about an hour after having my last meal 2 hours ago I actually felt like crying. I had some natural yoghurt in an attempt to fill my tummy up, which seemed to work. I've gone to bed and it hit again! I had a little bar of chocolate in my drawer and ate that in the hope it would stop and I wouldnt have yo go downstairs.

Grumble grumble! I have to go downstairs and eat AGAIN! Please can someone relate 🙄

Hi there, would echo what some other commentators have said - the key is what kind of food you’re eating. Cereal and chocolate are both very high GI and will spike your blood sugar, then crash it. It’s when you experience the crash that you get ravenous. Try to eat lower GI foods that will keep your blood sugar more stable - I find nuts and oat cakes really good for this! A piece of cheese can be good too but that’s also high in fat so not ideal to eat too much of. I don’t eat meat but if you do then meat, fish, eggs are also great ways to fill up without creating a blood sugar spike-crash cycle.

Yes OP, I had exactly the same when carrying twins. From 6 weeks if I didn’t eat that minute I would feel like I was going to throw up. Awful nauseating hunger. I once went into Tesco food shopping and it struck. I grabbed a loaf of bread from the posh bakery section and just bit into the whole loaf right there 🤣
Another time it struck whilst driving. Pulled into the nearest garage, grabbed pasta from the fridge and ate it the moment I got back to the car in the forecourt.
In the end I always carried food with me. Crackers, mixed nuts were good for snacking on. Cheese etc, just always had something.
Gained a huge amount of weight but to be honest the twin belly is so so huge that the weight doesn’t show 🤣
I think the hunger subsided for me at about 5 months thankfully

@CentralLondonPregnant you are so right.i boiled some eggs for myself to snack on and just could not eat them. Everything seems so nauseating which when coupled with the huge hunger is so difficult to manage. I dont normally eat bars of chocolate when not pregnant: it just seemed the least offensive at the time. I've so far had a banana and 2 weetabix and the hunger is coming again. Will try to force down some more protein.

@OnTheBrink1 I cannot tell you how much I relate! The hunger is actually insane, it makes me actually crazy!