hungry all the time - and getting fat

[chloesbaby]

I know this is a fairly trivial concern but I am currently 14+5 and really piling on the weight.
I simply cannot stop eating - and it's not great stuff either - white bread sandwiches, sweets, toast, etc. the idea of veg is just not appealing at the moment and normally i am a healthy eater. every few hours i become ravenous and grab anything in sight to scoff.
I am putting on weight at an alarming rate [shocked] so far nearly a stone.
logically i know i don't NEED all this extra food so how can i try and curb this before i become a complete blob?

I think it's just all about will power and making yourself not eat crap, i'm 27 weeks and feel massive, I have put on a stone and now know that I need to curb my eating for the remaining weeks as I don't want loads and loads to lose when my baby is born, I would have put on loads more if it hadn't been for the fact that I have had very bad all day sickness!

You say you don't want veg but what about snacking on other things that are healthy? eg. Yoghurt, fruit salad, rice cakes, carrot sticks with a dip, plain popcorn, wholemeal toast with a slimming spread etc?

Why not ask your GP for a referral to a dietician? One stone weight gain in the 1st trimester is definitely too much, so you need to get to grips with this.

As you're not eating healthily, are you continuing to take a pregnancy multi-supplement?

Some good suggestions above - now I'm over the 24/7 nausea I'm eating a lot of fruit too.

I ate pretty dreadfully through all 3 of my pregnancies - it was the only thing that kept the nausea at bay.

So gained about 3-4 stone each time - however lost it all pretty easily and a bit more after each pregnancy.

For me - it was one of the few times in my life when I didn't worry too much about what I was eating.

Obviously do try and eat healthy options but I know I really went off vegetables etc and craved carbs and m&s iced buns

Oh and I also gained quite a lot quite quickly but am normally pretty slim and mid-wife said it often happens to people who are careful with what they eat normally.

You may find that your appetite levels off soon - that's what happened to me anyway. I was eating like a horse until about week 16, and then went pretty much back to normal eating habits (apart from last night when the Krispy Creme stand at the station was just too tempting!).

I'd just like to say that at my 16wk mw apt I'd put on just over a stone! And my mw wasn't concerned at all - in fact she said it's always the slim ones that complain about putting on the weight! I was slim/fit/toned (ran a marathon last year etc) before falling pg & yes I've eaten what my body has told me to eat! With DS I put on over 3 stone & it was gone within 6mth. You'll hopefully find a bit further into the pg your ravenous eating eases, well it has with me (at times!!)
Good luck & enjoy having a fab reason to eat what you fancy - within reason!!

thanks for all your advice. i am currently nibbling on a sliced up apple! hopefully this will be the way forward.
bubbakin i too ran long distance races before and have been trying to carry on doing gentle exercising, but being pg is definitely a change of lifestyle.
i've got my 16 wk check-up soon so will ask midwife about it then but thanks for suggestions above

I was the same in my first trimester, it was a choice of eating a lot or feeling absolutely terrible. I started at 8 stone and by 10 weeks I was over 9 stone. My BMI was still 'perfect' according to my midwife and she told me to carry on as I was. I wasn't eating total rubbish but it was carb-heavy. Everyone is different and it depends what weight you are starting at, you can't really say that x amount of weight is too much to put on because every case is different.

The ravenous hunger diminished at 15 weeks and my weight gain settled down. Maybe it will be the same for you?

You need to understand WHY you are hungry all the time - and it's not because you are being rubbish or have no willpower, there are good reasons for the increase in appetite.

Being pregnant screws up your blood sugar - pregnancy hormones make your blood sugar drop faster than usual after you eat a meal, and when blood sugar drops, naturally your body tells you it's hungry.

Being pregnant also makes you crave sugary food (or High GI foods like those containing white flour), as this increases your blood sugar fast, then also causes it to drop fast (High GI foods are absorbed very quickly). This increases the amount of sugar converted into fat by your body, and keeps up the cycle of feeling starving hungry/sick and eating many times during the day. Nature "wants" you to get fat, so your baby will survive if theres a famine - unlikely in the uk .

Try changing what you are eating, if you don't know about GI (glycemic index), google it, but it's a really easy concept if you remember that the more processed a food is, the higher the GI (you should try to eat low/med GI foods and very little High GI).

So, Whole meal, whole grain, lean meats, fruit (berries are better than apples) and veg with no sugar added, pasta, not rice, and new potatoes not big floury ones would be a simple summary.

Try this for a few days, and you may find that your appetite is back under your control again - these foods will keep your blood sugar on an even keel, and may reduce morning sickness (it did for me). It will also reduce your risk of Gestational Diabetes.

Many people go off raw veg/salad in the early weeks, I know I did, but I was able to eat them lightly stir-fried veg with a little olive oil, or baked in the oven with a bit of olive oil and herbs, Italian style - as obviously it's important to try and keep up your vitamin intake.

Give it a go - it might work well for you!

Hi,
It's awful to feel worried about your weight especially while your pregnant. I would disagree strongly with the comment 'a stone is definately too much to gain in the first trimester'. We're all different and will gain the weight and loose it at different rates and in different quantities.

I wouldn't worry yourself too much about the actual weight more about the actual nutritional content of what your eating that's the important thing. Good idea re. above post and reading up on GI.

But if it helps I always pile on the weight over 3 stone but have lost it quickly afterwards. I'm a 10 when not pregnant and love running so keep myself reasonably fit. It's just the way my body copes to build a baby nothing to do with gaining too much weight.

Enjoy your pregnancy and concentrate on making the food you eat really good food.