Experienced mamas-- when do you get RAVENOUS? Or do you, ever? « Back to Group Discussions

[buko]

Just a curious question from a first-time mom! 

My BFF has a pretty good relationship with food overall and gained the "recommended" amount of weight over her pregnancy a couple of years ago.  She has told me many times that starting in her 2nd tri (but I think especially in her 3rd tri), she got completely RAVENOUS.  Like she'd be on her way home to a full fridge and HAVE to stop 5 minutes from her front door for fast food.  Is this typical?  It sounds like a "thing," though I'm sure it doesn't apply to absolutely everyone.

But for those of you who eventually regained your appetites in previous pregnancies, was there a period or periods when you just felt like you were starving?

So far (19w1d), I haven't experienced this, but I figure it may be coming.

Thanks!   

---

FWIW, my back story:

I have some long-term eating disorder issues (obsessing over weight and calories, then binging/deprivation), but I have mostly been in a good place and steadily getting even better for years now.  I struggled a bit during my m/s (5.5-11.5 wks)-- I really only wanted carbs/fried carbs and overate a bit because they made me feel better.  But luckily that didn't get me into a total spiral and once my m/s was gone, my eating has been really easy (meaning I don't have trouble eating only when I'm hungry, stopping before I'm really full, etc.) It's also been relatively healthy without stressing me out in terms of calorie obsession/orthorexia.  I am fine with eating a bunch if I become really hungry at some point!  It's very important to me to tune in to my body and trust that it's not going to lead me astray.  But just curious!  

[cocoanib]

I'm always hungry :)

It's not as bad as first tri, but the hunger still takes me over.

Yes, there are times when I'm so hungry and craving that I will do whatever I have to do to get what I want.

Again, it was worse in the first tri.

I do the frequent, light, protein eating thing and that does help.

Also, when I get hungry and I don't get food, I get really moody and start breaking down pretty quickly.

The good thing about my aversions and cravings is that i don't want anything fried, oily and rarely sweet.

My big craving is large kale salads and tacos right now.

I had tacos for the past 2 days and begged my MIL to please bring me her yummy tacos today, along with some chili beans with lot's and lot's of lettuce!

2 more hours and I get to eat it all!! 

BTW- I had some childhood weight issues and in my teen to adult life, I took charge of my self, got healthy and have kept the weight off. I do fluctuate here and there depending on how active I am, but for the most part my weight issues were under control before I got pregnant with DD.

While pregnant with DD, midwife started doing blind weight ins because I was obsessing over it too much. I saw that scale creeping up and all I could think of was the struggle I had years ago to get large amounts of weight off. Because of hip issues, I also could not exercise fully throughout pregnancy.  I ate healthy, gave into some indulgences and enjoyed my pregnancy. I got over it by the birth of my daughter. 

I lost weight pretty quickly, but then I also gained much of it back when I went back to work. I think the factors contributing were, being depressed about leaving my daughter of 6 weeks, BFing and pumping and not choosing the right foods to kep up with calorie demand, a tear that took a long time to heal and allow me to get active again, not being as dedicated to my running post baby as I was pre baby, etc

This time around, I think I have it all figured out  and will have a different experience getting back into shape after baby.  

[spughy]

Didn't happen for me.  A bit in first tri - but now there is a serious limit to how much I can eat and if I stuff myself (which at the moment happens apparently with one hotdog and some strawberries) it's another 3-5 hours before I want to eat again.

If you're short in the torso, the upward pressure from your growing uterus works a bit like laproscopic band surgery - reduces your stomach capacity.  I will be very surprised if I manage to gain more than another 5 lbs this pregnancy because even if I'm hungry (and I do get hungry, but it's just normal hunger, nothing like OMG I NEED TO EAT NOW) I can't eat very much and it lasts for a long time when I do eat.  But I do find that I can go from not-hungry-at-all to very hungry in about 10 minutes, which is a little disconcerting and inconvenient.

[Linnaea]

Yup, I definitely have those moments where I feel like I'm going to starve to death if I don't eat something RIGHT NOW. They usually happen if I have let my blood sugar drop too low, like when I haven't eaten enogh protein or I've gone too long between meals. In those moments I literally grab whatever I can, whether its an apple, snickers bar, some tuna, whatever just to quell that ravenous feeling. And then I make myself a real meal . I remember this happening when I was pregnant with my daughter, starting around the same time, too (13 or 14 weeks).

[buko]

It sounds like it REAAAAALLY varies, then.  One thing that makes sense-- that seems like it should be almost universally true-- is that towards the end of pregnancy, you have a physically restricted stomach capacity, and so you tend to eat only very small meals before you quickly feel "full," but eat frequently because you haven't really fulfilled your needs with each small meal.

But the ravenous feeling seems to vary...

[cocoanib]

I was hit with hunger the same while preg with DD, except it took me by surprise, so I was left unprepared with a few hunger breakdowns at first. Once, I figured out it was going to be a regular thing, I planned accordingly.

There have been times when we pick up food on the way home or stop by the grocery store and I just can't wait, so I dig in while riding in the back with DD. It seems so greedy, but for me it's absolutely necessary.

DH will be unloading the car while I'm sitting in the back chowing down enough, so that I feel like I can make it inside.

[Linnaea]

cocoanib: I remember being caught by surprise by the first few extreme hunger breakdowns, too   Oh, man, that was awful.  I felt like my stomach was going to eat itself if I didn't put food in it right then and there   I learned my lesson pretty quickly, though, and always had an energy bar or something similar in my purse when I went out.  

[writermama12]

I am feeling a little suspicious of my hunger these days. Lately, it is a subtle feeling telling me to eat at various times, happening a range of 4 hours after a meal or 20 minutes after a meal, and it's hard to know how to handle it, which clues to take seriously. Today, I ate an early lunch with protein around 1030 and then went shopping for groceries around 12. At the store, I noticed I was a little hungry, but not hungry enough to tear into a box of crackers or something. DS2 and I had a few dates. Then at the deli counter all of the sudden, I felt faint. Quickly, it moved to REALLY faint. I knelt down and put my head down and breathed through it. People were trying to talk to me and got me a chair. My eyes began to water and I cried a little, which was really embarrassing. I took out a jug of carrot juice and chugged it. That helped. I guess I was just hungry but I didn't get a solid warning from my body. Weird. I am now wary of going out. 

[buko]

I haven't felt faint, but I agree it's a bit hard to gauge my hunger right now.  And I do have that eating disordered history, plus I have been known to push myself past ideal/healthy points d/t stubbornness in general (in marathon running, figure modeling-- like I will hold a pose longer than I need to).  So... I don't completely trust myself to eat when I'm hungry and not almost pass out.  I mean, I'm definitely not starving myself or anything close to it...  But there are times I get hyperfocused on other things and since I still somewhat associate the feeling of hunger with "being good," well...  That's not a good thing.  Or I could see it biting me when I do experience the probably-inevitable sudden blood sugar dips of pregnancy.

OTOH, I know I overate a bit yesterday, for the first time in a long time, for purely emotional reasons.  I had a bad dream and some minor cramping (totally normal and fleeting) that woke me up from said dream that made me feel extremely anxious about the baby.  You know-- I feel very healthy and processing and not in denial about my m/c, but it was REALLY RECENT (I haven't even reached my the EDD for my first pregnancy yet), so how "over it" can I possibly be?  It still affects me every once in a while, which I should be gentle with myself about.

This pregnancy thing is not for wimps! 

[chocolatechip]

This is my first time through pregnancy, so I don't know what'll happen later on, but I can say that so far, my body seems to deal with hunger much better in the second trimester than it did in the first. Right now, if I get hungry, I can take the time to put myself together food to eat. In the first trimester, I learned that I really did need to have food ready to go before I got hungry. My poor husband had to deal with a couple of complete hysterically-crying breakdowns because I hadn't eaten soon enough. At one point I was trying just to throw together an almond butter and jelly sandwich, and I started getting so shaky I couldn't get the jelly open, which of course opened the floodgate of tears, which didn't stop until he'd opened the jam, helped me finish making my sandwich, and I'd inhaled half of it. Nothing like cramming food into your mouth as fast as you desperately can, while racked with sobs and crying and with a runny nose, to make you feel like you've devolved into a purely-instinctual animal! And I'm SO glad my husband was home that day!!!

All that to say that yep, sounds like it's completely different for all of us. I'm sure I'll get more hungry again as time goes by, but for right now, I'm enjoying feeling like my blood sugar is staying a little more stable. 

And I *still* never go out of the house without a snack in my bag!

[cocoanib]

Originally Posted by Linnaea 

cocoanib: I remember being caught by surprise by the first few extreme hunger breakdowns, too   Oh, man, that was awful.  I felt like my stomach was going to eat itself if I didn't put food in it right then and there   I learned my lesson pretty quickly, though, and always had an energy bar or something similar in my purse when I went out.  

Yep, I always make sure to have something to eat with me wherever I go too. Even if it's just for a little while, it's best to be prepared :)

Originally Posted by writermama12 

I am feeling a little suspicious of my hunger these days. Lately, it is a subtle feeling telling me to eat at various times, happening a range of 4 hours after a meal or 20 minutes after a meal, and it's hard to know how to handle it, which clues to take seriously. Today, I ate an early lunch with protein around 1030 and then went shopping for groceries around 12. At the store, I noticed I was a little hungry, but not hungry enough to tear into a box of crackers or something. DS2 and I had a few dates. Then at the deli counter all of the sudden, I felt faint. Quickly, it moved to REALLY faint. I knelt down and put my head down and breathed through it. People were trying to talk to me and got me a chair. My eyes began to water and I cried a little, which was really embarrassing. I took out a jug of carrot juice and chugged it. That helped. I guess I was just hungry but I didn't get a solid warning from my body. Weird. I am now wary of going out. 

How scary for you!

When I get a hint of hunger, I make sure to eat just a little something. Usually, a few almonds, a banana or spoons of nut butter if I've just recently eaten a full blown meal. Otherwise, that hint of hunger will turn into a beast in no time and then it takes awhile after eating for me to fully recover.  

[Linnaea]

Originally Posted by chocolatechip 

This is my first time through pregnancy, so I don't know what'll happen later on, but I can say that so far, my body seems to deal with hunger much better in the second trimester than it did in the first. Right now, if I get hungry, I can take the time to put myself together food to eat. In the first trimester, I learned that I really did need to have food ready to go before I got hungry. My poor husband had to deal with a couple of complete hysterically-crying breakdowns because I hadn't eaten soon enough. At one point I was trying just to throw together an almond butter and jelly sandwich, and I started getting so shaky I couldn't get the jelly open, which of course opened the floodgate of tears, which didn't stop until he'd opened the jam, helped me finish making my sandwich, and I'd inhaled half of it. Nothing like cramming food into your mouth as fast as you desperately can, while racked with sobs and crying and with a runny nose, to make you feel like you've devolved into a purely-instinctual animal! And I'm SO glad my husband was home that day!!!

All that to say that yep, sounds like it's completely different for all of us. I'm sure I'll get more hungry again as time goes by, but for right now, I'm enjoying feeling like my blood sugar is staying a little more stable. 

And I *still* never go out of the house without a snack in my bag!

Chocolatechip, I totally understand what you describe here!!  There have been times when I went too long between meals that my hands will shake when I'm trying to make something to eat and it's all I can do not to break down and cry (well, a few times I have ).  That ravenous, must-eat-or-I-will-go-insane feeling coupled with the raging hormones triggering an uncontrollable, volatile emotional response is so unbelievably intense.   It definitely makes me feel very primal, which makes me aware that the illusion of control I normally hold onto is a big joke 

Originally Posted by writermama12 

I am feeling a little suspicious of my hunger these days. Lately, it is a subtle feeling telling me to eat at various times, happening a range of 4 hours after a meal or 20 minutes after a meal, and it's hard to know how to handle it, which clues to take seriously. Today, I ate an early lunch with protein around 1030 and then went shopping for groceries around 12. At the store, I noticed I was a little hungry, but not hungry enough to tear into a box of crackers or something. DS2 and I had a few dates. Then at the deli counter all of the sudden, I felt faint. Quickly, it moved to REALLY faint. I knelt down and put my head down and breathed through it. People were trying to talk to me and got me a chair. My eyes began to water and I cried a little, which was really embarrassing. I took out a jug of carrot juice and chugged it. That helped. I guess I was just hungry but I didn't get a solid warning from my body. Weird. I am now wary of going out. 

Oh no, I'm so sorry that happened to you  I almost fainted once when I was pregnant with DD, I think I was about 13 weeks along.  In my case, it was due to being overheated and standing on my feet too much (as soon as I sat down in the shade I felt much better).  I'm not sure if it was purely hungry that triggered the almost fainting and crying, you might want to check with your midwife about it?  It sounds to me like it might have to do with blood pressure or something of that nature.  

[scruffy too]

First pregnancy, so I'm wondering if I'll ever have to stop everything to eat.  Seems to vary person to person from what I'm reading here.

I barely have my appetite back, but I have noticed the last couple nights when I'm unwrapping my supper at work, despite having just eaten something not long ago, my mouth starts to water and I almost feel euphoric anticipating the first bite.  (Both times it was a cucumber and cheese wrap )

[withlittlelungs]

I am always ravenous. Pregnant or not. I'm obsessed with food

[SlimP]

I, too, am obsessed with food and food is my 'thing'. I will travel for miles to source speciality or gourmet produce and the first holiday plans I make are researching the best restaurants in the area.

I often drift off to sleep anticipating my breakfast! And by breakfast, I'm talking about second and third breakfasts too as I'm preparing and eating food for over an hour when I get up. I have 4-5 meals a day, with snacks too. Yep, I've put on a good bit of weight since I got pregnant, but I really think I needed it as I was too thin beforehand.

I always eat like a horse, pregnant, breastfeeding or not, pretty healthily in general but I'm partial to junky 'treats'....... and if I'm hungry, I will eat ANYTHING!

[chocolatechip]

Originally Posted by Linnaea 

Chocolatechip, I totally understand what you describe here!!  There have been times when I went too long between meals that my hands will shake when I'm trying to make something to eat and it's all I can do not to break down and cry (well, a few times I have ).  That ravenous, must-eat-or-I-will-go-insane feeling coupled with the raging hormones triggering an uncontrollable, volatile emotional response is so unbelievably intense.   It definitely makes me feel very primal, which makes me aware that the illusion of control I normally hold onto is a big joke 

Yes!! It's kind of amazing that food can provoke such a reaction. Normally I just get grumpy when I'm hungry. This is a whole 'nother "beast," as it were. 

Also, I suddenly think it's dinner time. 

[cabbitdancer]

I'm diabetic, and with my insulin set to tightly control things, I've actually had a couple of really scary lows. I always want to fall apart when I get shaky, so I understand completely that feeling.

My first pregnancy, I didn't actually have any ravenous moments. I had cravings, which made me want that particular something RIGHT FREAKING NOW, but I was never so hungry I needed to stuff my face. This pregnancy, though, my first trimester I was definitely ravenous. I ate a whole bag of almonds in one day, and could probably have eaten more if I'd had more. It was CRAZY. My hunger levels are far more normal now, thank goodness!