Can't stop eating!

[MPuppykin]

I have struggled with my weight all my life, and have been miserable about it all my life. Before I got pregnant I was 11 stone (5ft 5) and then due to morning sickness nausea was 10 stone by the end of the first trimester.Now I am 18 weeks and i am just going crazy.i can physically feel myself get bigger each day, my face feels bloated and stretched but I cannot seem to stop! I have major self esteem issues anyway about my looks, and this is all just making me miserable. I hesitate to weigh myself. Any advice, help support very gratefully received!

If you're pregnant you're going to get bigger... that's pretty much a given so you'll have to come to terms with that. However, you don't have to weigh yourself if you don't want to and you can ask midwives etc., not to weigh you as well. Your thread is titled 'can't stop eating' and, since you need good nourishment when you're pregnant, it wouldn't be a good idea to stop eating anyway.

Rather than getting miserable, how about focusing on helping your baby develop well and keeping yourself in good health? People who have poor diets during pregnancy tend to struggle physically and mentally. If you make improvements to your diet e.g. more vegetables and fresh fruit, more wholegrains, less salty processed/ready-made/takeaway foods, less sugar, more fluids .... and if you take regular, gentle exercise you'll certainly find that you feel in a better mood, have more energy, feel less bloated and you are more positive about your body in general.

If your self-esteem is low then you can also do things to bolster that up. Being well-groomed and well-dressed is a good starting point, for example. And also keeping busy and having plenty of worthwhile things to do. Good luck

Your post made me feel so sad - you don't seem to be taking any pleasure in your pregnancy or anything much at the moment. You are going to have a baby and that's fantastic!! Perhaps it'd be better for both you and your baby if you didn't weigh yourself - and of course you're going to get bigger as the weeks go by, but by making a few changes you can maybe help yourself come to terms with that better: if you want to eat, eat, but go for things that will provide both you and your baby with nourishment and 'good stuff'. The worst thing you can do is try not to eat - that will do neither of you any good at all. I also agree that a bit of low-impact exercise - a daily walk for 20 mins, say - will help you feel better (at the very least blow the cobwebs away and put a bit of colour in your cheeks!). I really hope you feel better soon - give yourself a break.