9/10 weeks pregnant and hungry ALL the time

[BC2603]

Just wondering if anyone else is in the same boat? Everyone I know has had awful pregnancies and then there’s me - no MS but in fact the opposite! I feel like I need to almost eat every 2 hours and not like a piece of fruit! Please tell me this hunger subsides else I fear I’ll be the size of a house 😂

Your body is working incredibly hard. Eat. It won’t last forever.

Yep that was me! If I didn't eat regularly etc I would then feel sick. I also craved carbs, all sort of carbs!

I am like this this time around... 8 weeks and absolutely ravenous. Although I actually am having some nausea, and if I don't keep eating it gets worse, so for me the two things are linked. I can't get over how much food I am needing to eat right now though and also wonder how long it will go on for!

In my first pregnancy I had pretty bad nausea and vomiting all the way through and could barely eat at all at this point... the food aversions were horrible. So this is unexpected

Hi there I am a midwife working on the labour ward. Please get yourself into sensible eating habits. Putting over the recommended amount of weight is strongly associated with an increased risk of an emergency Caesarean section. It's also very strongly associated with being induced for gestational diabetes and pregnancy induced hypertension. And obviously all this weight needs to be lost somehow. Please do whatever it takes to stick to sensible eating and exercise. The amount of recommended weight gain depends on your initial BMI at the first midwifery appointment

Hey hun. 19+6 pregnant with my first. High BMI. Up til about 12-14 weeks I was eating anything and everything. I didn’t have morning sickness so I was able to eat what I wanted. For the last 4-5 weeks my appetite is so low. I’m forcing myself to eat one full meal a day and having to pick at other things. My diet isn’t particularly healthy as I can’t face the normal foods I would like to eat or used to eat. I’ve lost nearly 2kg since being pregnant. Eating loads doesn’t mean you’ll gain weight as it’s likely at some point your appetite will fade like mine x

Thank you and I know this. But if I let myself get hungry I feel nauseous. I’m not eating rubbish but equally an apple doesn’t work as within 10 minutes I’m hungry again!

I have an active job and an active lifestyle, and before that spent way too many hours looking at fat%, micros, macros and everything in between so I appreciate what a healthy diet typically is. As a result I’m a healthy weight…now. But my concern is keeping it that way if I need to eat 😓Which is why I’m hoping the hunger subsides so I go back to my usual diet hence the question as to whether it stops.

Thanks

Sorry it's hasn't been my experience of workingas a midwife. Most women with unhealthy eating habits eat unhealthily throughout pregnancy. I say this as I see the food and portions they bring to the labour ward where I work as a midwife

I had a terrible nausea with my two. Ultimately what worked for me was eating small amounts often and rest. You don't need to eat apples all the time. Have you tried small amounts of lean meats? Protein is usually good for hunger pains

Thank you. Just used apples as an example - a light fruit snack maybe I should have said.

Do you have any recommendations for good proteins on the move? I can stockpile then 🤣

Not all women are the same so don’t tar them all with the same brush.

There are certain foods to avoid in pregnancy please see the link below. I think you just need to experiment with what is safe. Personally I found the best relief for my nausea was rest and sleep. I appreciate it's not always possible. Those horrible weeks/months shall pass https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/foods-to-avoid/

I was the same at around the same stage as you with this pregnancy. I had some nausea but no sickness, but just felt as though I was constantly ravenous! I ate little and often which helped with both the hunger and nausea. The constant hunger did subside after a couple of weeks, and I didn’t suffer any huge weight gain but I was also lucky that I didn’t really have food aversions so could eat healthily. I’m 28 weeks now so expecting the hunger to ramp up again soon!

The baby only needs an equivalent of extra 2 slices of toast in energy and only in the last few weeks of pregnancy. I encourage every pregnant woman to be sensible with food and exercise to maximise chances of an easier labour and birth. Labour ward midwife

Gosh I'm 29 weeks now but I remember how horrible the eternal hunger stage was. I let myself eat an extra slice of toast but otherwise tried to ignore it. I hope it passes for you soon!

It’s exhausting being pregnant, you need the fuel. Eating for two isn’t quite the right mentality to take, but I definitely found I needed more energy in the tank. I would snack on dried cranberries and quite often, lemon drizzle cake 😅

I read this online, that’s why I went with the approach of little and often, so no extra food as such (although I added in breakfast) but the food spread through the day more rather than 2 bigger meals.

Saying this doesn't really help women who have constant hunger during pregnancy and nausea. Yes we all know we need to eat sensibly, when you're nauseous and snacking is the only thing that keeps it at bay though you have to eat something.

My first pregnancy was like this, if my stomach was empty I had horrible morning sickness and hunger, my advice is little and often.
So things like peanuts and high protein foods that keep you full for longer spread across the day, ginger biscuits for nausea. Whatever you can stomach, I found portioning my food out helped.
I did gain 2 stone but lost it all after a year once I went back to my normal diet. 😊

Eat but try and eat good and filling food. Healthy protein and fruit. Your body needs it. Also make sure you are drinking enough water. Early pregnancy made me very dehydrated and that can be mistaken for hunger.

I was like this, I was exceptionally thin prior to pregnancy and I think it was my body trying to catch up.
honestly, I would eat breakfast, something on the way to work, something when I got to work, brunch, lunch, afternoon snack, something on the way home, dinner and then supper.

I thought I’d save money being pregnant!!

i won’t lie my bump was large and I only looked fat in the last few weeks (when lots puff up!)
It took a while to shift the extra but an emergency c section won’t have helped that, I still remained smaller than average after. I’ve always held the view you should listen to your body, not what you fancy but what you feel you need.

Thank you.
I am eating good food 90% of the time (there are occasional treats haha) but things like dinners are mainly made from scratch with lots of veggies and proteins. Fruit - just doesn't do anything to sort the hunger. I'll eat it but it has to be with something else.

I am also drinking a load of water per day already :) I always have as I have an active job - which I think also doesn't help the being hungry

Just hoping more that it subsides a bit so I can go back to my usual food consumption.

I think this is catastrophising when the OP is only 10 weeks along. A lot of women's experience of first trimester is a combination of being super hungry and yet also nauseous, it doesn't mean this is the way it'll be throughout the pregnancy.
Yes, long-term I think it's very sound advice to watch what you eat through pregnancy. But in terms of surviving the first trimester day-to-day, eating when you're hungry and filling up on more carbs than usual when you maybe can't stomach salads or proteins is not going to lead to disaster.

nb I'm currently 9 weeks and ravenous/nauseous. I have gone right off coffee and really don't want things like chocolate or cake. I also have quite an aversion to very fatty, fried foods. This has been the case in all my pregnancies. I don't manage a lot of fruit in my first trimester but nor do I eat much junk because I can't stomach that, so maybe on balance it evens out.

By about week 16 my nausea has usually subsided and I can go back to eating more sensibly. My last full-term pregnancy I only gained about a stone, most of which was baby/fluid, so I wouldn't worry what you eat to get through the day right now, if you are serious about returning to more sensible choices when you can.
Good luck OP!

OP you might need to eat a bit more often- I found I couldn't go as long without food. And when hungry I was Really hungry - but you may or may not need yo eat more overall.

If so eat more of the good stuff, and some good whole carbs with each meal or snack to help your body absorb the nutrients. Plenty of fresh fruit and beg, eat a variety. Good healthy proteins- fish (check nhs guidelines re oily fish) lean meat. Beans and pulses and legumes, Tempeh, whole dairy like plain yoghurt, cottage cheese eggs.

Dried crackers are meant to be good. Avoid ginger biscuits- not enough ginger and plenty of sugar to cause a nasty dip of blood sugar levels a couple of hours later- more nausea. Some people swear by making tea with grated ginger. I agree with eating little and often and avoiding fatty foods.

Yes!! I've been like this for a few weeks now, it's relentless. If I don't eat I feel nausea. The only break I get from it is when I'm asleep. I didn't get this with my first so really hoping it eases off after 12 weeks as it's a horrible feeling.