Need Advice on Controlling Pregnancy Cravings!

You are going to gain faster with your 2nd than your first, so please don't compare because every pregnancy is vastly different from the next. And I'll tell you, I've known several very healthy people who only wanted junk when pregnant. If veggies or something healthy makes you feel ill, how is that good for you? Just try to venture out and find other things that are satisfying. Once place I loved to go pregnant was Boston Market. They had the BEST comfort food. Creamed spinach is loaded in fat but at least I was eating spinach!

I gained 23 with my 1st, craved health food the whole time and fast food repulsed me. I gained 58 with my 2nd, craved sweets and anything deep fried. You just don't know what's going to happen until it does with pregnancy. Try to fit in healthy food when you can but again, if it makes you sick to eat it, you're accomplishing nothing. Don't worry so much, honestly. You will gain quicker with the 2nd and look much more pregnant sooner too. It's natural for a us. Just try to relax about it. I honestly can say I should have bought stock in Haagen Daz because of the enormous amount of it I ate. I made them a TON of money. >: )

There is a book out there called Feed The Belly, that has great recipes for cravings. Instead of fried, tried baked as one post said. If you like mac and cheese, replace the milk and butter with butternut squash and add half packet of cheese, believe me, you won't notice a difference except it is a tad sweeter. And gives you the vitamin A you need for the baby. Add frozen spinach to it to for the added calcium. Puree cottage cheese to replace sour cream, go for sorbet instead of ice cream.

Hope some of that helps.

J. W. MPH
Maternal and Child Health Educator
Chicago Examiner Family Health Expert
http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam...
National Pregnancy Health Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-29454-Pregnancy-Health-Examiner

I have no real evidence to back this up, so I may be completely crazy, but, it seems as though your pregnant body is telling you something. If you've ruled out nerves, emotional/stress eating, etc. then I can tell you in my experience that a woman's pregnant body forces her to get what it needs. I do think that worrying abiut it too much may contribute to the problem, though.Talk to your doctor, take your prenatals, if they can't find a reason that this is bad, other than junk food/weight gain, then do your best to not go crazy with huge portions, continue your exercise, and try to enjkoy this pregnancy

With my current pregnancy, I was eating a lot of salads and things at the beginning, but they started to make me so sick! I even broke down at one point and bought mac and cheese in a box (I normally make it myself).

I gained a bunch of weight the first 5 weeks, and then it slowed. I would just listen to your body and not stress too much about it --the stressing will just make it worse.

So, look at it this way, they recommend that you only gain 10 lb by 20 weeks. I was where you were, so I decided to give myself a few more lbs. So eat whatever your body feels like and is able to eat, but just limit the intake amount. Give yourself 3 more lbs in the next 4 weeks, so that you are at 12 lb by 20. I think people usually gain more with the second kid. I've done nothing differently than with my first, but I have already gained what I gained in total with my daughter and I have 2.5 weeks to go.

If you are craving greasy food, skip fast food, go to a Greek dinner, order the chicken fingers but also have a salad or fruit salad. Don't deny yourself your cravings, just have an apple or something healthy along with it (I eat Munchies almost every day. Bad for you, but I WANT them. So I let myself have them, along with something healthy).

I had a mad craving for french fries during my second pregnancy. So I would have a grilled chicken sandwich and fries.

If you are craving fried food, try buying the chicken nuggets or fries at the store and baking them, that would cut down on some of the fat. If it is hamburgers you crave, then make them at home with lower fat meat. Also I agree to maybe have a salad of fruit with it.

You can look into learning an effective technique used to eliminate cravings and other discomforts. You may have seen it on a TV show called I Can Make You Thin. Its based on the body's energy meridians used in acupuncture. Instead of needles you tap with your fingertips. It has been taught in hospitals and by therapists and it's one of the stress management tools I teach at Wright College.