I have a problem: I can’t stop eating.
Yes, I’ve gotten to the point in my pregnancy where I’m concerned again about how much weight I might gain. I had this concern last time around, too, and I had thought that as long as I had a healthy baby this time, weight be damned.
Except.
I’m not a very healthy eater. Pre-pregnancy, I wasn’t bad: Although I love sweets, I was usually able to limit my daily snacks and I exercised semi-regularly. Now, however, my cravings are taking control of my life, and I’m concerned that that will mean I gain much more weight during pregnancy than I should.
Women rarely talk about their weight or size. However, if I can’t talk about it here, where can I, right?
I’m five feet, five inches. Pre-pregnancy #1, I weighed somewhere in the mid-130s. If I remember correctly, I weighted 137, then lost 2 pounds during my first trimester food aversion phase. Before I delivered Zach, I had gained 8-10 pounds. After losing some of the pregnancy weight, I settled at 139. I was happy with the number, but not the size; my weight settled around my mid-section and I had to move up a size in pants.
I am now 21 weeks along in pregnancy #2 and I’ve gained 14 pounds. That’s still within the limits I find on Dr. Google (albeit the upper end of those limits), but the informational paragraphs always say, “as long as you’re eating a healthy diet, don’t worry about the weight you gain.” Um. Do you consider a handful of mini-Reeses cups each afternoon, a healthy serving of ice cream each night, and the occasional mini bag of popcorn in between a healthy diet?
Yes, I do eat healthy things, like salads and string cheese and granola bars and cereal and soup, but I can’t seem to stop snacking. Chocolate is my enemy! I cut up some celery last night and stuffed it with peanut butter in hopes of offering myself a healthy alternative, but I can’t help it—when I’m bored or at a loss, I snack.
What do you do to curb your cravings? What are your favorite healthy snacks? (And no, I DON’T like cottage cheese!)
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18 comments:
I like pennut butter, avacado, fruit, veggies with hummus, jello (I like mine with cottage cheese), Protin breakfast bars (south beach kind are to die for), and veggie puffs (kinda like chips). I hope at least one of those you can use and like.
I too find myself craving sweets and I can't stop it. what I have done and it may or may not work for you is....I stocked up on fruit. My favorites are Asian pears, Red apples, Mangoes, strawberries and peaches. I keep a bowl at my desk at work & when i get the urge I wash any of the fruit I have and eat it. For me at least it does curb me from grabbing a chocolate candy bar. Now if only I can find a way to curb my craving for salty snacks...any suggestions?
I'm in a similar boat - a couple of weeks ahead of you, and my ex-healthy eating has gone out of the window. I bought a bag of Smarties last week, and have been snacking on those through the day at work.
I will say that Fruitabu organic fruit rolls are quite tasty and can sometimes take the edge off my sweet cravings. Also granola bars. Other than that, I also feel like I need to curb my unhealthy eating a bit. My downfall is also chocolate, and chips too.
Glad things are moving along smoothly...I have been thinking about you. I enjoy raw almonds, like a handfull, in the afternoon...they are filling. Also...okay...don't laugh...but if you take a handful of nuts and eat a banana with it, it really is a nice little snack and you kinda feel like you are having a banana split...I know saying it sounds crazy and I would laugh if I was reading this, but it really is a nice combination (Well, I guess if you like bananas) and filling. Anyway, hopefully you won't think I am a total nut!!! No pun intended!!!!! :) Have a great day!!!!
Frozen grapes are tasty, and freezing them seems to give them a different kind of texture than the usual refrigerated grape. They're kind of chewy, almost.
I also like raisins too.
My favorite healthy snacks right now are strawberries, cherries, and Fiber One granola bars. Yum!
With you on the eating thing. Fruit icy poles can sometimes stave off the ravenous hunger, but usually I end up eating lots of total rubbish
J
I took the opportunity to pretty much eat what I waned during my pregnancy. (At Easter I bought a huge bag of mini-eggs at Costco- ugh!) I just made sure that on top of the `good` stuff (ie: your peanutbutter cups, popcorn, etc...) you are eating your fruits, veggies and protein.
In terms of satisying cravings and trying to be healthy, I found that eating sweet fruit (mango, strawberries, cherries) really helped. You can also try eating a home-concocted nut mixture where you add sweeted dried fruit and a few chocolate chips...
Just some suggestions, but like I said, I mostly succumbed to my cravings!
I also stock up on fruit when my sweet tooth kicks in. I really like the salty-sweet combo of cheese and fruit (especially apples). I've also been eating sherbert when I crave something really cold and sweet. It doesn't have quite as much fat, but it answers my sweet tooth.
Try not to worry about the weight too much though! As long as the baby is healthy and you are eating healthy food too, you are entitled to eat something "unhealthy" periodically.
we're a very similar size and i'm struggling with very similar things...i literally jones for sugar these days, which i've always liked but managed to control to an extent. now i'm like, bring on the giant bag of jujubes@ oy. and i'm on bedrest, so there's nowhere for the sugar to go that's productive.
i don't mind cottage cheese but it ain't no jujubes.
I found this chocolate yogurt from stoneyfield farms. It's a little more expensive but it totally hits my chocolate craving and is pretty good for me (calcium and all those probiotics). Yeah, it has some sugar but I like the think the pros outweigh the cons
Glad to hear I'm not the only one! I second Meghan's idea of chocolte yogurt (at least you get some calcium) but really, the only thing that kind of helps me is to tell myself I have to eat the healthy food BEFORE I move on to the junk. Doesn't always stop the unhealthy eating, but at least you get the nutrients, like Ms. C said.
a couple of things off the top of my head.
1. Try eating something healthy before you eat the sweet. Say, I can have the reese's peanut butter cup after I have an apple. It worked for me. (This was actually my midwife's trick).
Also, I wonder if you are a bit anxious? I tend to eat when I'm worried. What about doing something with your hands, or going somehwere (a walk, gardening?). Obviously I'm partial to knitting.
Unfortunately I don't have much help to offer only to comiserate with you. I have the same problem except I'm not pregnant!! I just LOVE food!! (unfortunately nothing that's good for me)
Peanut butter, string cheese, cherry tomatoes, apples/bananas/grapes (pretty much all fruit/berries), cottage cheese, jello, whole wheat crackers, jamba juice (low cal ones only) with calcium boost, homemade smoothies, yogurt. I have been eating a lot too. I'm up 14 pounds at 20.5 wks (that doens't include the 2 pounds I gained from the IVF drugs). I've decided not to obsess - I'm just going to enjoy the pregnancy and deal with it after the kid is born!
I loved carrots, instant breakfast, and sunflower seeds. Not my usual cup of tea (except for the instant breakfast, I still drink them), but I couldn't get enough of the carrots and sunflower seeds during the pg.
I didn't try that hard to curb my cravings when I was pregnant. I did bake my own cakes and cookies with recipes from Cooking Light, but had a big honking dessert every night. I even bought grocery store chocolate milk and drank it most days, which is my most favorite thing in the world that I never allow myself otherwise. Semi-healthy things I ate: nuts; peanut butter; hummus and pita; dried apricots; smoothies made with frozen fruit and yogurt; cheese. But when I wanted sweets, fruit was not gonna get it. I wanted chocolate cake with ice cream. I say indulge yourself within reason.
I'm trying to cut down the bad snacking too, as I'm 12-14 lbs up already and only 16w1d!!
Have you tried the 100 calorie packs of cookies (Oreos are my favorite)? They hit the spot and I don't feel like I've gone too far off track. I'm also going to start freezing yoghurt -- kind of like icecream but the smaller cup will keep me from going overboard.
I have THE scan tomorrow -- I'm hoping I will follow in your footsteps and see two lovely functional kidneys. Wish me luck.
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