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Pregnancy Weight Gain and Cravings
By Mommie | October 5, 2008
Many women gain a substantial amount of weight when they are pregnant, anywhere from 25-45 pounds. Doctors try to keep the pregnant woman within an acceptable weight gain that will support the pregnancy without all of the empty calories that will hold onto the mother for months to come. But what happens when you have cravings that you just need to fulfill? Where does the weight gain fit into the picture when cravings are involved?
Many people say that cravings are actually the baby signaling to your body that it is missing something. If you crave a hamburger, you might need iron or protein. If you crave milk, you might need calcium.
With my son I craved beans, mostly fulfilled through burritos, nachos, more burritos, you name it. Chili, lots of chili. I can understand that, as my body might have needed protein or something. But with this baby I crave sugar. It was chocolate cake in the first trimester, now it’s chocolate, taffy, any hard candy, you name it.
So you can’t tell me that my body needs empty sugar calories this pregnancy, that just doesn’t fly. So how do the two go together?
It is said that you should indulge your cravings a little. I guess they would mean eating a few pieces of chocolate and not the whole bag. But when you go overboard, there is only empty calories going into your system, calories that only lead to weight gain and not to baby development. This being said, while you should not shoot for weight loss when pregnant, you can focus on limiting some calories.
While I hate, and I mean really HATE the fact that I do overindulge, I think it is ok once and a while for sanity’s sake. I look at my huge belly and how my clothes really don’t fit me like they did months ago and realize it’s only temporary. Cravings do get fulfilled and the pregnancy weight gain is something that most every mother will have to deal with. But for me, I think some chocolate cake in the interim is ok, as long as I’m fulfilling my other nutritional requirements.
(FYI, my view may change the heavier I get, lol)
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Topics: Pregnancy |
October 5th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
hi,i overindulged when i was pregnant.it was weird,i didnt eat chicken,not at all which was strange.chicken was my most fav food.i ate and ate chocolates and ate some more,lol.i was craving sweets a lot.now,im back to normal.
October 7th, 2008 at 5:06 am
I totally gave in to my cravings, but they weren’t too bad. Aside from the mad Doritos craving, I indulged in pizza once a week (I never eat it normally) and I also craved fruit smoothies! I balanced my cravings with healthy Breakfast, lunch and dinners. I gained about 40 lbs with my pregnancy, but the weight is coming off pretty well. I stayed in shape, exercising regularly which helped too.