What do you eat in a day?

[Pitstop1986]

I'm currently 16+6 and my appetitite has gotten out of control. If I gave myself the chance, I'd eat nonstop all day.

I used to have an eating disorder and find it hard to just let myself go around food. At the same time, I'm worried that I'm being over restrictive and the hunger is my body's way of telling me that I need to eat more.

I have been tracking my calories for a few days and seem to be eating between 1400 and 1600. I'm 16+6 and have only put on 3 pounds so far. I had no sickness in the first trimester, so that isn't an excuse for not gaining.

Yesterday breakfast was a bowl of fruit and nut weetabix minis with semi skimmed milk and an apple. Lunch was a ham salad sandwich and some carrot sticks. I had a 2 finger kitkat mid afternoon, then dinner was a chicken breast, 3 new potatoes, carrots, peas, sweetcorn and gravy and then I had another apple and a bag of snack a jacks later on in the evening.

I'm trying to pick healthier choices, as I know I'd feel guilty if I ate too much junk or fatty food. It sounds silly, but after an eating disorder, it's hard to know what "normal eating" is. Even once recovered, I guess I always had a dieting mindset. I'm eating more now than I did pre-pregnancy, so when my stomach growls, asking for more food, it seems like any more would be excessive.

What does everyone else eat in a typical day? Maybe it'd help me to compare my diet to your typical pregnancy diets and so not feel too guilty if I splurge on treats!

Not sure if my diet is ‘typical’ but I have let myself eat whatever my body wants/needs during pregnancy (mostly because I was being sick up until 23 weeks so didn’t have much choice with regard to food!).

Today I had a toasted bagel thin with apricot jam for breakfast, mid morning I had a couple of dates.

For lunch I had a small portion of leftover dinner from last night which was halloumi bake (just chopped tomatoes, onion, olives, and halloumi) with bulgar wheat, some mashed black beans and an avocado on the side.

Afternoon treat has been half a pack of love heart sweets - yummy and I find they help with heartburn.

For dinner tonight I’m making pasta with chicken, mushrooms, and spinach. I eat smaller portions than normal at the moment or I’m up all night with heartburn. Will have fruit later in evening if hungry, normally strawberries/banana/nectarine.

After years of dieting I have found listening to my body quite healing and never want to ‘diet’ again but I can imagine with previous history of eating disorder you may be feeling different.

I don’t feel guilty for eating treats or occasional junk - I have been partial to McDonald’s breakfast since being pregnant but I don’t have it often and when I do I thoroughly enjoy it!

Today I've had...

Breakfast: bowl of shreddies and a tea
Snack: a few dates and a slice of banana bread
Lunch: cheese and ham bagel
Snack: handful of cashews, and some Greek yoghurt with raspberries
Dinner: will probably be sausage and bean casserole with rice

I've not been restricting myself and have noticed that I'm craving carbs at the moment, but have been trying to get healthy snacks in (mostly!) so that when the hunger hits I know I'm not just automatically reaching for the junk food.

Hi! Here is what I had if it helps (33 weeks)

• bagel with cashew butter for breakfast
• bowl of bran flakes (can't help having second breakfasts this pregnancy, so hungry by mid morning!)
• 2 egg omelette for lunch with chorizo tomato and spinach, followed by a banana and chocolate digestive
• 3 oat cakes for afternoon snack
• dinner will probably be jacket sweet potato with mushrooms and cream cheese

Your diet sounds healthy, it perhaps sounds a bit low on the calorie side but it also depends how active you are. I think we are supposed to have about 2000 calories a day. They say that baby will take what they need so it shouldn't be an issue for them if you don't have that much, it's mostly you that will be left to be hungry and I guess that's whats happening. I think you have some margin to have more food without it being overindulging, so don't let yourself suffer the hunger too much.

Take care!

I don't know how much you move and I wouldn't dream of telling anyone how many or how few calories they should have but (yeah there's a but) that sounds like way too little to me. I know it's easy for me to say, but please be careful and eat when you're hungry and don't restrict yourself. I get the junk food concern but surely an extra banana or potato here or there will only be good!

This is all just temporary so if it makes you feel out of control keep in mind you will feel different soon and just ride the waves as they come. I needed to eat crackers 24/7 at the start but haven't eaten a single one since about 14 weeks.

I eat really varied but I might start with a bowl of overnight oats with chia seeds & fruit (like banana and blueberries), then some soup and bread for lunch with some more fruit, and for dinner something like a chili sin carne (which I like to have with potatoes rather than rice). Not a big desert person and weirdly my biggest food aversion has been chocolate. I used to eat bigger lunches but working from home it makes me just fall asleep haha. In pregnancy I have needed way more snacks than I did before, so I now have a morning snack as well, for example as much as two pieces of toast with peanut butter (aka second breakfast), as well as an afternoon snack, like a smoothie (with banana as well as oats because it has to be filling). Some days I'm fine without the toast; other days I need to also grab some nuts; and yesterday I literally had a second lunch.

I gained about 1-2kg first trimester due to the extra snacks and being way too sick to exercise, but since then my weight has been pretty stable; I guess it was just my body getting used to a new rhythm. To be honest as scary as it is I could probably do with gaining a bit more (besides baby!) because I was really pretty light before. (For what is a normal steady weight for me and my height and my metabolism and my body!)

My exercise atm is just walking and occasionally some light yoga or pilates, as it's still making me feel sick at 18 weeks. Basically I figure as long as I am moving, and eating healthy ingredients, my body will be happy. I am pretty body positive though so that probably helps too : ) The only thing I ever disliked was my stomach, and now that the area has a baby in it, I actually feel way less self-conscious about it.

I'm 29 weeks, always been a size 10-12 (not sure on weight, I don't generally check) and I've still got my cheekbones whereas last time I did puff up and have a squashy face, so that's my benchmark. I really had to think about this!

Breakfast: Big bowl of cornflakes, real instant coffee
Snack: Orange juice, spatone & bag of plain crisps
Lunch: Toast, butter, cheese, strawberries after. Water to drink.
Snack: Decaff and some chocolate (I'd been food shopping!)
Will share a banana with DD when I've picked her up. More water.
Dinner: Will be ham and pea risotto with salad leaves. Probably won't have pudding.
Snack: Depends on my mood but will be either some nuts or a couple of plain biscuits. Water. Tablets 😂

I'm no nutritionist but I would say that what you eat looks good, you just need more of it. I think it's 2000 calories a day to maintain, on average, and that's not factoring in growing a baby. I think if the appetite is there it's probably your body saying it could do with a bit more BUT I've never had an ED or anything like that to contend with so I'm only talking from how I would see it as my own (limited) perspective.

I need to up my five a day but I'm struggling to find things that I fancy. I'm better when we have curries and pasta for dinner as I quite often choose to make vegetarian things, have gone off texture of meat! So there's always something that we could tweak in our diet no matter how relaxed we are about things.

Just reading back and comparing it looks to me like the easy win for you would be to add in a morning snack, how would you feel about that? Obviously portion size is a factor too but I get so bored part way through a meal if I dish up too much I totally get why people wouldn't just have more at a meal, that's why I have so many snacks dotted through the day.

Today

Cashew butter on toast with dehydrated apple and pumpkin seeds

Baked potato, butter, baked beans & cheddar cheese

Ice cream sandwich

Half a pack of cherries

Pasta with homemade pesto, tomatoes and green beans

Another ice cream

It completely varies! Example:

Yesterday:

breakfast - bran flakes with strawberries
11sies - whole meal sourdough toast with peanut butter, chia seeds and banana
Lunch - turkey breast, bulgar wheat, veg
Dinner - honey nut shreddies

Today:

Breakfast - honey nut shreddies with strawberries
Lunch - moZarella basil and tomato half baguette, crisps, orange and raw veggies/salad
Dinner - omelette with fries and beans and half a piece of cheese and toast from my partner 😂

Some days I eat loads of carbs, some days I eat mostly cereal and fruits and veg.

Xx

That seems quite healthy to me. Ive had mine now, but a typical day for me was:

Breakfast - Digestive biscuit and can of coke (settled my nausea)
Snack - apple
Lunch - ham salad sandwich with dressing and veg sticks.
Snack - digestive biscuit
Dinner - chicken with gravy and veg portion
Supper - bran flakes with semi skimmed

I found it hard to eat large portions and then was hungry again an hour later so I ate little and often.

Maybe you could add in a couple of extra snacks?

I have struggled with bulimia on and off for much of my life but thankfully the past 6-8 years I have had it much more under control. I can empathise though with the difficulty of letting go around food and despite not making myself sick in a long time, I have always remained careful about what I eat. I am a size 10, BMI of 20.5 pre-pregnancy and am currently 38 weeks. I've put on 19 lbs so far and my baby is measuring bang on the 50th centile so all looking good!

Today I've eaten:

• a bowl of soya yoghurt with oats and 1 chopped banana
• 2 pieces of peanut butter on toast
• 3 squares dark chocolate
• houmous, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes and 3 oatcakes
• a handful of grapes
• a handful of pitta chips
• a fairly large plate of spaghetti with homemade tomato/chickpea/olive sauce

I might round off with a small vegan chocolate pot if I feel like it later!

This is pretty typical of what I've eaten throughout the third trimester. Second I skipped the toast or only had 1 piece. First trimester was a write off due to constant nausea!

Hope this is helpful. I am pretty active, still walking a couple of miles 2-3 times per day. If you can I would try to stop calorie counting and just eat when you're hungry (appreciate easier said than done). So long as you are making healthy choices you won't go far wrong if you listen to your body - it knows what it needs.

Today I had...

No breakfast due to nausea/vomiting

Managed to keep down a small yoghurt mid-morning

Grabbed a plain cheese sandwich for lunch at work and had some mixed fresh fruit I'd brought with me in a break at work (kept about half of the sandwich down)

Dinner was a couple of slices of thin veggie pizza with tomatoes, peppers, onions and pineapple and reduced fat cheese, with salad (waiting to see how much stays put...)

I'm finding the nausea and vomiting is really hard going. 11 weeks at the moment and my weight's stayed pretty much the same; if anything I may have lost a couple of pounds.

I also have issues with food and was under weight until about weeks and it started making me miserable. I had to let myself go and allow myself to eat when I wanted to eat instead of thinking about 3 meals a day I have just been eating what I want. I’m now 37 weeks and have put on 26lbs which is really good for my BMI and my body doesn’t really look any different - it’s all bump and baby.

It’s hard though, I really struggled and had to get my partner to hide the scales. I only know my weight because midwife weighed me at my last appointment as I’m almost due now.

It’s hard but try and think about what baby needs. Xx

I'm in awe of all of you. I'm so exhausted I'm craving sugar... all day everyday. I'm planning on making a Conservative effort to eat healthy from next week 😬

Girl, you’re hungry because you need more calories! You could try drizzling a bit of olive oil on veggies, or snacking on nuts and avocado. I find those helps me feel quite satiated.

I’m 13 weeks, here’s what I ate yesterday. I’ve only gained a half pound so far.

Wake up:
Real coffee and a couple little ginger cookies.
Brekkie:
Oatmeal with protein powder, berries, almond milk.
Lunch:
Leftover pasta bake with veggies
Snack: dark chocolate and a protein/berry smoothie
Dinner: rice with vegan “chicken,” broccoli, avocado, and furikake seasoning.

I wish I could be as healthy as you lot. I have been craving carbs and sugar and have an aversion to vegetables!!

If it makes anyone feel any better, today I ate:
Coco Pops
BLT
Rocky Road
Kinder Bueno
White chocolate cookie
Punnet of cherries
Chicken mayo from McDonalds

I am usually healthy with BMI of 20 and did lots of running and exercise pre-pregnancy... now I'm a sugar monster!!

@Wiltshire90I love this. I was too ashamed to write what I had eaten 🤣 But it is very much on par with yours (if not a bit worse) x

Hardly anything. I’m 25 weeks and still throwing everything up 😭

Mine was :-
Tinned pears - throw up
Tinned pears - throw up
Tinned pears - throw up

Repeat for 8 months .

I used to have an eating disorder and find it hard to just let myself go around food. At the same time, I'm worried that I'm being over restrictive and the hunger is my body's way of telling me that I need to eat more

Same, I’ve just done 2 pregnancies in 2 years and it was crap and triggering. How is your BMI?
I suffered with nausea/sickness really badly. HG in my first and just bad sickness in my second. By the time I was 20 weeks with number 2 my BMI was 17 and they threatened to hospitalise me.

I’d say I was lucky to eat 1000 calories a day whilst pregnant; often barely 500. Eating felt like torture as I was just so sick.

Your body changes so much. For me the worst part was PP, soon as babies were out my appetite just went into overdrive between months of starvation and then breastfeeding. I would easily eat 2000+ calories a day in the first 8 weeks PP. I’d literally be eating biscuits at 3am whilst BF

I think you need to eat where you can. You might find by 30 weeks you struggle to eat at all. As long as you aren’t over weight then let your body lead the way. My DD is 9 weeks now and honestly I still feel out of control with my diet. There is a lot of pizza and sweets but I’m giving myself a break as I’ve had a crap couple of years. Unless you’re eating a monstrous amount you’ll run it off once they start walking

Thank you all so much for your posts and advice. I think you've confirmed what I already knew in the back of my mind and I need to eat a little more.

I'm pretty active- I can't run anymore due to getting breathless due to anaemia (been having Spatone for the last week or two and already feeling a little better) but I walk for an hour pretty much every day, do pregnancy yoga on a Saturday and try to fit in a couple of strength YouTube workouts.

Looking back over the last few weeks, I think I've started to eat a little more restrictively about a month ago (the hunger wasn't an issue earlier on in pregnancy, so I must have been eating to satisfy myself at that point) around this time work started getting more stressful as I hadn't been risk assessed and I worked in a hospital amongst Covid, plus was expected to carry on doing my normal duties and kept passing out. On top of that, my mum and dad have decided to visit, so my OH decided we'd get married whilst they are over, so have had 2 weeks to organise it. It's only a simple do- minimum guests, no fuss, but it's a massive step and a lot for my brain to process.

I guess this is just my way of coping - focus on food/calories etc. It's something that you can control when everything else in life is out of control.

Now that I've gotten my head around what's going on, I can make more of an effort to eat more and try to relax. Luckily occupational health sent me home as work is unsafe at the moment so I'm working from home (minus the work) for the moment, so I can focus on me and my health.

Thanks again for all your input xxx

PS can't believe how healthily everyone is eating! I don't think anyone wolfed down a large dominoes followed by a tub of Ben and Jerry's of an evening!

Stay safe all and wishing you all the best for your pregnancies xx

@Pitstop1986 I'd love a Domino's and Ben&Jerry's combo! Once the vomiting eases, that's my plan for celebrating!

You eat a lot less than me. I was a size 8 pre-pregnancy and had HG initially but didn't actually lose any weight this time round with better medical oversight (this is my 2nd pregnancy). I've put on a lot more weight than in my first pregnancy so I am keeping an eye on what I'm eating (before this pregnancy I have never done this only tried to eat my 5 a day). I'm about 165cm for reference too and 30 weeks and definitely put on over a stone but deliberately haven't weighed myself for a good while now anyway, I think I've gone to an 8-10 type dress size as some size 8 things are getting very tight now. I too have the near-permanent hunger and I also have a terrible craving for sweet things!

Yesterday I ate:

• Asda own brand porridge sachet with full fat milk, spoonful of Sunpat crunchy peanut butter in it for breakfast.
• Lunch: made a salad of large handful of baby spinach, 1 beetroot, 1 tomato, few jalapenos, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, dried mint, and lemon juice. Also had a packet of ready salted crisps and a lemon muffin...
• Snack of 10 strawberries.
• Dinner was an Asda own-brand veggie burger with a slice of Gouda, few burger gherkins in between two pieces of thick white bread, with Nando's sweet chilli jam. Plus about 10 home-made chips and a few tablespoons of baked beans.
• Evening snacking was a bounty and then later a few handfuls of sweet and salty popcorn.

I snack constantly because if I don't I feel sick and dizzy!

snacks include -

apple
bananas
cream crackers
crisps
cheese
belvita biscuits
cereal

whatever the hell i can get my hands on :D

Ooo and milkshakes!

Yesterday I had…

Breakfast: 2 x seeded bread slices toasted with marmite and peanut butter

Lunch: lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, cheese coleslaw, ham, half a slice of sourdough bit of quiche and a strawberry yoghurt

Dinner: bbq pork belly slices (x2) sweet potato wedges and a twister lolly.

Snacks 4 x dark choc digestives and a small handful of bbq crisps 🙈.

Not denying myself anything but trying not to over indulge as well. I’m 26+1