Is it ok to occationally eat crap?

[dakotablue]

Now I mean crappy food, not....

I have occasionally been craving food I know is bad, like Chef Bouradue (sp?) Wendy's bacon cheese burgers, other just not so good for you foods.

I must also say, I am gluten free and I don't eat pork why am I craving things I would never normally eat?

Is it ok to indulge every once and a while? I mostly eat really well...and most days I remember to juice too.

WDYD?

[MommaMoo]

I think it's very common to crave crappy foods in the first trimester. I've read several comments and threads about it around here. It's totally up to you how to eat. I mean, who can really say with any certainty what harm occasional junk foods may or may not do? I feel like it's fine sometimes, if your overall diet is good. With my first pregnancy I ate only foods I considered perfect and highly nutritious (a traditional foods diet.) This time around I'm a lot more laid back because I've had horrible food aversions and nausea and now know what it's like to ONLY feel better after eating take-out pizza or ice cream. Yes, I otherwise only eat organic foods cooked from scratch and I force down as many veggies as possible (and use my juicer too-thank goodness for that thing), but if I want chocolate ice cream or some other junky food on occasion, I give in. That will often stop your desire for the food and then you can move on to something else. Oh, and I've found that the junk cravings lessen significantly once you get to the second trimester.

[HeatherB]

There have been times when I've had intense cravings for things like cheeseburgers from low-quality establishments. Drives me nuts, because I'm *really* good at avoiding those things (which in a prior life I would've eaten). I do sometimes have to indulge in them, then the craving goes away, and all is well.

I think our bodies have a way of telling us what we need. Sometimes, those needs are deficiencies better served by other means - like, taking Floradix or vitamins or whatever. And sometimes there are healthier ways to satisfy a craving - perhaps making meat sauce at home instead of having a burger out. But, I am totally familiar with undying cravings that just MUST be fulfilled.

[trekkingirl]

at least read labels and make sure it doesn't have monosodium glutamate or hydroginated artificials and such. you know toxins that can't be great while pregnant.

[Qbear'smama]

OMG you ladies are so good, I had McDs for lunch today!! I figure, once in a while (in a loooong while) it isn't so bad to give in to the dirty cravings!

[lrgs]

I try to eat healthy as much as I possibly can but I have been nauseous and vomitting for 9 months now so sometimes I just eat what I can, when I can. I also don't believe in always denying myself treats..........I just have stuff in moderation. I'll admit I sometimes push the envelope on moderation but I do pretty good and am way better then I used to be. I'll admit I'm eating Cheezies as I write this.

[~Demeter~]

I indulge when I feel the need... I'd hate to always deny myself things that I do enjoy.

[luv-my-boys]

im also a strong believer in that food cravings are our bodies way of letting us know that we need something. But yeah i think its ok to occassionally eat crappy as long as overall your diet is good and it isnt making you sick.

[Stitches]

I'd love to live up to my ideals of eating perfectly healthy meals all the time, but it doesn't happen, pregnant or otherwise. I'm human, sometimes I want to eat a bag of ketchup chips. You do the best you can and if you need a cheeseburger every once in a while, so be it.

[Tresa]

Sometimes crap is all that sounds good, it's all I can eat. All I want to eat. And I've tried to eat what I should eat instead of what I want to eat and it makes me feel awful. (I spent two weeks eating little more than smoothies for breakfast and then thin crust pizza hut pizza for all other meals of the day...it wasn't veggie pizza till the second week, it was all pepperoni...lovers...in great quantities, the first week.) I have to listen to my body, and sometimes it wants McDonald's for breakfast. I don't know why, I just know that it is. Does.

I can generally sneak in carrot sticks while I'm driving to get my taco bell fix, which I think my body appreciates. Or a small handful of grapes, or a small bowl of applesauce, or something like that. It's not all bad, it doesn't have to be.

I somtimes think my body just needs calories and not the trouble of processing nutrition, it's already doing so many other things. And I know it wants/needs a lot of water, and one thing crap food has going for it is there's a lot of sodium in it, which helps your body hang onto water. That could be the most misguided thing I tell myself, but...whatever, right? I can eat and keep food down, and I know it won't last forever.

ETA: Normally, I'm a control freak about the kinds of foods that come through the door of my house, no HFCS, no artifical sweeteners or food coloring, mostly organic produce, at least cage free eggs, etc. I'm insane about it. But when I'm pregnant and have an iffy tummy, all rules go out the door. And nacho cheese Doritos come parading in.

[happysmileylady]

Of course it's ok. A McDs cheeseburger or a can of raviolis or a box of Hamburger Helper on occasion isn't going to do any harm on any sort of immediate level. Sure, repeated consumption over time can result in a build up of crap in your system, over time making you less healthy. But it's not going to cause birth defects, any sort of immediate pregnancy problems like early labor or fluid leak or anything like that if you hit a drive through once a week.

The reality is that there are very few of the "forbidden" foods that are really "dangerous" anyway. Sure there are some risks, but those risk are actually really low. Driving to a dr appointment is more dangerous to you and to the baby.

Now, I will agree with other posters, I believe that cravings are often the body's way of telling you what you need. I actually do crave a lot of McDs cheeseburgers....and found out last week that my iron levels are low. So I am thinking it's the additional red meat the my body needs, and that was being translated by my modern brain as a need for McDs cheeseburgers. So if you are craving bacon, think about the things you get from bacon, be it salt, protien, etc, and see if there's another food that you normally would eat that might provide you that same thing. Maybe before you satisfy that craving to head out to Wendy's for that bacon cheeseburger you have an egg or something else with protien in it, and wait a bit to see how you feel.

[phathui5]

One thing to watch out for is that you're not swapping junk for food with nutrients in it. Someone mentioned their body wanting just calories and not nutrition, but your baby needs lots of nutritients at each stage of development. So many things can affect them prenatally. I was just hearing someone talk today about how prenatal nutrition affects future dental health.

[miso_soup]

Originally Posted by dakotablue

Is it ok to indulge every once and a while?

Yes.

I personally believe that total abstinence (in this example, at least) creates more problems than it solves. By attempting to deny yourself the occasional indulgence, you actually intensify your craving for that 'forbidden' item - you fixate upon it, and then when you DO 'give in' (to err is human, after all), you give yourself an unecessarily hard time about it. This is why I allow myself to eat chips sometimes, and treat myself to ONE delicious, wonderful beer per week

[TnMsMama]

Absolutely. I find that after I eat crap I feel so much better about my healthy food choices. "That was good but I'm definitely doing the right thing!"

[lillymonster]

Well, I ate no processed food for 3 years, whole foods only, no soy, diary or egg.

When I got pregnant, the only thing I could keep down was greasy fried food: french fries, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, etc. I had morning sickness so bad I ate what I could. I still have many food aversions, I can't touch or look at raw meat, and the smell of most vegetables cooking makes me sick. So we still eat out a lot because I can't cook. I am not worried, I am not concerned at all one little bit. When I can eat better I will.

My last pregnancy, I ate crappy before and during pregnancy, and other than me gaining around 50 pounds (of which I lost and then some - I had hyperemesis with both pregnancies) and me not having an issues then or now with weight, cholesterol or blood pressure, I am not going to worry about it.

[Magali]

It's ok to eat crap now and then.

[Twinklefae]

I think that moderation in all things is the way to go.

[finnegansmom]

This thread just reminded me that I require a doughnut right now.

[AnnieA]

I hope so! I've been trying to eat really good this past week in spite of all-day nausea and this morning I gave in and ate an egg and cheese biscuit from McD's and it's the first time in a week that I've felt good!

[MaerynPearl]

Because of my morning sickness and being a single stay-at-home mom at the time, I unfortunately did indulge a LOT during the first tri.

However, I still tried to make healthier choices. Rather than frozen pizza, got some fresh-made from our local deli to throw in the oven.

But yes, I indulged the Taco Bell baby wants NOW more often than I should have. I blame that on her father, if he could eat taco bell every day he would.