I get cravings for simple carbs and chocolate. It's so hard to stop myself, and I usually give in. I bring veggies and fruit to work, but still buy and eat the crap - mostly as a pick-me-up because I get so tired and can't do the caffeine fix that I used to do. Today I ate 2 chocolate bars so I'd have the energy to get home from work - otherwise I thought I would lay down somewhere and never make it home
Got any ideas for an energy-boost at work that isn't candy or caffeine? How about a way for me to stop myself from giving in?
I always gave in, which is how I ended my second pregnancy almost 60 pounds heavier than when I began my first (my kids are less than 18 months apart in age, and I hadn't lost much of my pregnancy weight from the first when I got pregnant with the second). If I were ever to have another baby (unlikely), I would probably give in on a MUCH smaller scale. I used pregnancy as a license to eat a king-size 3 Musketeers if I was craving chocolate. I should have calmed the craving with a hershey's kiss or two, and then eaten something healthier. If I was craving pasta, we'd go out to dinner and I'd eat the entire restaurant serving. Now, I'd probably order chicken or something with a SIDE of pasta, and only eat half of the meal at the most. The lack of energy is very hard, I know that. You can have small amounts of caffeine while pregnant, and chocolate does have caffeine in it. A Hershey's milk chocolate bar has 10 mg of caffeine. That's not as much as a soda (Diet coke has 47 mg) but if you overdo the chocolate your baby is still being exposed to caffeine. According to this site, you could get the same "kick" from a cup of Lipton Iced Tea that you get from Chocolate and that's a lot healthier for you and the baby. If you're eating dark chocolate, according to that site you might as well have a soda.
In my 2nd trimester I craved biscuits & gravy, like... every day. I ate it at least 3 times a week. I'd stop and get some on my way home from student teaching. Mannnn.... that stuff was good.
Otherwise, I ate pretty healthfully, not perfect all the time, but good, like you are trying to do, too.
I ended up spending the last 6 weeks on bed rest, and my total gain for the pregnancy was 41 lbs.
Not terrible, but when I stepped on the scale two weeks after she was born... I'd only lost 9lbs.
Nine! And she weighed six and a half!
The weight hasn't really come off much. I guess right now I weigh about 15lbs less than I did the day she was born. And I'm pregnant with #2.
So, my advice, give in as much as you need to keep you from overdoing it later, but be sensible! It's much harder to eat right with a baby OUTSIDE your body!
Gray eyed girl - thanks for the info on caffeine. If I'm having 2 chocolate bars, I might as well go for a caffeinated drink (maybe a half caf/ half decaf coffee) to pull me through. But I need to find another pick-me-up for sure.
HoosierHeather - that must've been a real shocker to only lose 9 pounds after the baby. I thought 17 pounds were set aside for the baby and accessories Thanks for your advice.
It feels good to know that I'm not alone in this. All the books say "eat this and don't eat that" like we pregnant ladies have willpowers of steel. Heck, the eating plans are as rigid and difficult as weight-loss diets! Sometimes I want to throw these books at the wall
I just remembered a suggestion that a friend of mine made - she said instead of eating a chocolate bar, have low-fat chocolate milk instead. I'm going to try that. And I will try to find a better substitute for my cravings. And I will STOP buying 2 chocolate bars or 2 ccokies - why do I have to eat 2 at a time?
Maybe I can come up with a list of substitutes...
And I will focus on trying to control my cravings within certain boundaries.
The problem with the list of what to avoid & what to eat during pregnancy is that it changes seemingly at random. Honestly, it's not something I have ever worried about. The studies showing harm from caffeine, like the studies showing harm in most things, rely on humongous amounts of it. The recommended limit on caffeine for pregnant women is 300 mg from all sources, which, while it is half of what's considered safe for nonpregnant people, is still roughly equal to 7 or 8 cups of tea.
As far as cravings in general...I try to eat well, but the truth is early in pregnancy I am usually so blessed sick that I will eat anything I can manage to get past my gag reflex. In my first two pregnancies I pretty much lived off of soft serve and Coca~Cola (the regular stuff, not something I normally even like!) because that was all I could keep down. I do still eat more refined carbs than I should and than I normally do, but I've noticed I'm also eating a lot more produce than normal! So it's my dearest belief that it evens out in the end.
I didn't get much morning sickness in my first trimester, plus I was so worried about having another miscarriage, that I ate junk food like there was no tomorrow (hence my first 13 pounds). But I didn't care at the time - I just wanted to get through those first weeks without freaking out. But now I feel more confident about the pregnancy and I have more desire to control my eating.
More and more I am taking the many rules in those books with a grain of salt.
I've got one for you. Probably the worst thing I could be eating. We have a restaurant here called Zippy's, & one of their specialties is chicken katsu curry. Which is basically fried chicken breast covered in curry sauce. Served with sticky rice, of course. I had this one night and made my husband go back to Zippy's the very next day so I could get it again. Thankfully, there's one on practically every street corner, so at least I was able to not go to the same exact restaurant two nights in a row!
MMMM. Sabra that sounds delicious. I seem to have the same craving as the last to pregnancies--chili cheese fries or just about anything smothered in cheese. Luckily as long as I have it once every week or two it's not so bad. With William I craved fresh sliced tomatoes with salt for several weeks. With Lilly I lived off of chili cheese fries and chocolate chip cookie dough.
I was into ketchup and tomato anything for awhile. But now I'm fighting the chocolate demon more than anything. And I've ALWAYS craved coffee - but the super caffeinated kind not this wussy decaf crap - LOL. I'm thinking of getting my hubby to bring me a big coffee into the delivery room, with a big glass of wine and a beer.
When I was pushing, I told the nurse that the minute she was out, I wanted a REAL Coke and a Snickers bar! I'd been so "good" the last six weeks of my pregnancy, I was freaking out for some caffeine & sugar. And I don't even consume caffeine normally.
And you know what? That sweet nurse got me a Coke from their mother's lounge, and went and bought me a Snickers from the vending machine.
I usually try to find a substitute for cravings. IE: high protein bars with chocolate in them for the chocolate lover in me. Beats a Hersheys healthwise. And, I've had such a sweet tooth lately, I made that strawberry pie last night that someone posted somewhere here (with sugar free vanilla pudding and SF strawberry jello mixed with boiling water and fresh strawberries), and it was delicious. Topped it with a light topping and gobbled it up. Called my mom and gave her the recipe since my dad's a diabetic. He's going to make it for the church bakeoff. LOL I can generally substitute some kind of fruit for a sweet craving. But if I can't, I just stick with sugar/fat free stuff, sugar free jello, popsicles and ice cream, or the Smart Ones cheesecakes and mud pies. But every now and then, I will actually get the real thing before I get to craving it so badly that I overdo it later. I just try to allow for it in my day. Like if I know I really want the brownie and ice cream at Rubys, I'll get the salad bar and finish up with the brownie, and have salad, or something really low cal for my other meal so that I don't go way overboard that day.
Thanks for the tips! I'm trying to stay away from the sugar-free stuff though because the sugar substitutes are not recommended for pregnancy. But I think my problem is more my mind-set than anything else though - if I can't diet to lose weight then why bother trying - I know this is a poor attitude and I'm struggling with trying to change it...
Do you fight the cravings or give in?
Thanks for your advice.
With William I craved fresh sliced tomatoes with salt for several weeks. With Lilly I lived off of chili cheese fries and chocolate chip cookie dough.
