Unhealthy eating during pregnancy :(

[Cornishmama1990]

Just that. I can't seem to stop. I'm in the second trimester and not super tired or sick or anything. I got into the habit of eating only carbs in the first trimester because I couldn't stomach much else, and I can't seem to get back into healthy habits. I'm still eating fruit and veg, just LOADS of carbs and snacking non stop.

I had a healthy bmi of 22.8 before pregnancy, I ate a balanced diet and went to the gym 4 or 5 times a week.

I don't know how much I weigh now but I can feel myself piling it on, not just my belly growing. I just feel so greedy, like sometimes I'm eating because I'm genuinely hungry and other times because I just want to. And favouring quick, easy snacks like toast (I do normally have granary/seeded).

I've stopped going to the gym as struggling to do the classes I usually do and I've been really busy moving house etc.

I've suffered with body image all my life and used to be bulimic. I'm worried how much this weight gain is going to affect me after pregnancy and how hard it'll be to lose but I can't seem to stop.

I don't want to stop eating when I'm genuinely hungry but how do I stop the binging or making the wrong choices about WHAT I eat? Its really getting me down :(

Being pregnant is really hard when you've had an eating disorder. You're conflating a lot of different things. Can you and the baby be fine with deeded bread, a bit of protein and fruits and vegetables? Of course! Will you put on a bit of weight in pregnancy? Probably, it's pretty normal.

Focusing on 'health' not 'weight' or body image is good. You may struggle with that if you've had bulimia. Do you have any support for that?

I totally understand. I used to have a perfect diet but since I got pregnant my normal healthy choices make me sick.
But the fact is that in the first trimester the extra calories you need is zero, it’s quite common to actually lose weight in the first trimester.

I still try to make healthy choices as much as possible and eat more frequently but small portions. Overeating makes me sick anyway, the same as not eating, and stuffing myself with simple carbs makes me bloated and constipated. I can’t stand most vegetables now, so I eat small portions of fruit instead, a plum or an apple every two hours, or a handful of nuts instead of sweets.
I feel it’s easier because I spent a lot of time and effort overhauling my diet for health reasons, so I’ve has many good habits already in place.

As for fitness, I honestly don’t feel right now like doing anything. I used to run around 20K a week and weight train. I feel tired and nauseous now, not in the mood. I went for a couple of slow jogging sessions and promptly projectile vomited all over the running trail. So no thanks. I know my fitness and my love of training won’t disappear in three months, I don’t feel guilty about it and I will come back to training when I feel better.

I totally understand this and when I was pregnant was exactly the same. The weight gain made me feel awful and I had very bad body image throughout.

I didnt manage to stop the eating or the weight gain in pregnancy - but 15 months after having my baby I have lost all the weight and more. Pregnancy hunger is different to normal hunger - can you accept it and make a plan to resolve it after? You may then to be in the right time frame to tackle and fully commit. It’s hard with sleepless nights when the baby is born but doable.