9 weeks pregnant and gained 9lb already - is this common?!

[hattyyellow]

I've just been soooooooo hungry. Finishing dinner and then waking up in the night absolutely ravenous. My bmi was 21 and is now 24.

I find it so hard in the first trimester to find what I feel like eating that I eat what I feel like - which has been lots of carbs including hundreds of potatoes...

Should I be trying to reduce food intake? Or does it balance itself out/appetite naturally reduce as the first trimester ends and I stop feeling sick/struggling to find things to eat..

Pregnancy isn't the time for dieting, what you've put on you should address after you've given birth. If you're breastfeeding it's likely you may drop some lbs anyway.

You can certainly adopt a healthy eating strategy during pregnancy but not an actual diet, if you're using more cals than you're putting in then you're burning fat, and there's no nutritional value in that for the baby. Also if you cut out a load of things again there is the issue of lack of nutrients/vitamins etc.

For what it's worth though, I put on a stone before I even knew I was pregnant, and then once I did know I put on even more, 9lbs is nothing compared!!

In my past two pregnancies I was always ravenours in the early stages and gained more than the "recommended" amount. If I didn't eat I felt sick and like you craved carbs (sausage rolls, pasties, sandwiches and jacket potates!!!)

I found that this definitely slowed down later on though and the weight gain evened itself out.

I would try not to worry too much. Having said that, I always knew that that afterwards I would have to make an effort to lose it (I'm not one of these people from whom the weight falls off!) but I decided I'd rather do that and relax/enjoy my pregnancy.

Thanks both, I really appreciate your thoughts. Last time around I had twins, so just ate for England and didn't really put on weight - I think my brain is on autopilot that pregnancy means eat what you like.

As soon as I'd had the girls though I carried on eating loads whilst breastfeeding and ended up nearly 3 stone above my normal weight! Am worried about that happening again .

I can't help feeling though that if you feel sick if you don't eat and not sick when you do, your body is trying to tell you to eat. I spend a lot of time running around after my toddlers and working and sometimes the healthy lunch I've planned just doesn't hit the mark!

Mmmm sausage rolls...that sounds nice though..