Dealing with hunger

[Deliaskis]

Hi guys, me again probably asking stupid things as I'm so new at this.

I am 6+1 and have been getting really strong hunger pangs mid-afternoon, which I have never had before - I haven't changed what I am eating for my lunch (usually filled jacket potato or ham or chicken on a sandwich with salad plus fruit), so am not sure what to do mid-afternoon when I get hungry. It usually coincides with really overwhelming tiredness as well so I am sending my energy levels might be dipping.

If it were just me, I would tell myself to suck it up and don't be a pig (not like I couldn't have stood to lose a few pounds before pregnancy), but with little bean in there, I am not sure if I should be listening to my body more and eating a little something. I would probably only have fruit or a piece of toast at the most, but it could become a regular thing and I don't want to start using pregnancy as an excuse to over-indulge, as I have always struggled with my weight.

I think what I am trying to say is I would normally be happy 'denying' myself a mid-afternoon snack, but am less comfortable with potentially denying little bean something that it needs. However, I don't want to use this as an excuse to over-eat.

Not sure how to find the balance and would appreciate anyone else's thoughts.

Ta
D
PS Promise to start getting my head around all this soon!

If yoy're hungry, eat - just try to make sure it's healthy (and by that I mean nutritious not necessarily low fat!). Your metabolism can change when you're pregnant. I know mine did as I was eating a lot more but didn't gain any weight.

The fact that you are hungry does not mean that the baby will go hungry. Essentially, the baby takes everything that it needs and so it will be you that suffers rather than the baby. Having said that, whilst none of us want to put on too much weight during pregnancy, it is inevitable. You really cannot do any harm in having a healthy snack in the afternoon (I tend to eat every two hours!) and you should listen to your body when you are pregnant. As long as you don't start on the cakes then you will not be over-indulging. There is also a risk if you do not eat that you will start to feel faint or sick which is never going to be good.

I'm 37 weeks and even though in the third trimester the baby is putting on fat so you need to eat more, I was constantly starving in the early weeks and so just ate whenever I felt like it. I also exercised gently all the way through and have not put on too much weight.

Good luck!

Definately eat if you feel hungry.
I tend to have 2x lunches. One earlier then one later.
Try to stay away from cakes & chocolate biscuits as I find they give me huge sugar crashes.

In my first pregnancy I had awful heartburn through out the third trimester (could hardly eat anything) & used up any fat I'd put on in the 1st & 2nd through eating more than usual! I am doing the groundwork for that to hit again soon in this pregnancy so am definately giving in to any hunger pangs!

Aha, that's actually the perfect combination of answers - it's OK to eat if I need to but even if I don't/can't I am not doing the baby any harm. That's reassured me from both angles!

Ta
D

I was hungry every few hours in the first trimester and if I didn't eat was very sick, having said that I didn't eat much each time I ate as that made me sick too! I wouldn't deprive yourself for the sake of it, take and extra 1/2 a sandwich and save it for the time you are hungry it doesn't have to be a junky snack just something to fill you up.

I actually found myself asleep at 4 o' clock sometimes from the exhaustion and I'm sure eating to pre-empt it is helpful!

I say scoff! I do!

I am 27 weeks and constantly hungry, to the point that I feel sick with hunger most of the time! I am even hungry after I have a meal, it's really starting to stress me out because I don't want to put loads of weight on and I am worried that If I get too big then I'll get stretch marks. I am also snacking on fruit but that just doesn't fill me up at all, I have tried drinking loads of water just in case its dehydration but I am still hungry, I have never been so obsessed with food in my life!!!