Hunger
I'm 20w1d and the past two days I have been starving, which gives me a lot of anxiety, because...
I've got a BMI of 39 and was losing weight at a good pace before becoming pregnant. This is my second child and with my first I did gain 15 lbs during pregnancy, all of which were gone the day after delivery, and I do remember having a lot of stress about how much to eat and whether I was eating too much. Both times, my midwives told me that my goal should be to "gain no weight" at all during pregnancy, which is why I was very stressed about that 15lbs last time.
At 20w1d I have gained 1.5 pounds total, which I think is pretty good, but I've done that by tracking everything I'm eating and keeping my exercise up. I don't think I'm limiting my calories, as I allow myself 2900 calories a day, and extra on days I exercise. And I've been feeling great.
But yesterday and today I have had this hunger I simply cannot stop. It doesn't matter what foods I choose or how often I eat or how much I eat, I am still hungry. Granted, this is only the second day, but yesterday I did not exercise and I ate 3300 calories. I thought "hey it's one day and I am hungry so maybe the baby needs this."
But now that it's day two I am getting worried that I am eating too much or inappropriately interpreting signals as hunger that aren't really hunger. I've upped my water, which only gave me heartburn to add to my hunger.
I know hunger and pregnancy are normal and this is a time when the baby is growing quickly, but my question is, is it okay to, as an obese person, give into the hunger? To what degree should I eat to fill the hunger, and to what degree should I say "the baby is healthy I don't need this second lunch, even if I am starving"? Everything on-line about obesity and weight in pregnancy talks about limiting calories and reducing weight gain, which sends me the message that this is what I should be doing, ignoring the hunger and limiting calories. But I'm seriously hungry to the point of pain/nausea.
I've got a BMI of 39 and was losing weight at a good pace before becoming pregnant. This is my second child and with my first I did gain 15 lbs during pregnancy, all of which were gone the day after delivery, and I do remember having a lot of stress about how much to eat and whether I was eating too much. Both times, my midwives told me that my goal should be to "gain no weight" at all during pregnancy, which is why I was very stressed about that 15lbs last time.
At 20w1d I have gained 1.5 pounds total, which I think is pretty good, but I've done that by tracking everything I'm eating and keeping my exercise up. I don't think I'm limiting my calories, as I allow myself 2900 calories a day, and extra on days I exercise. And I've been feeling great.
But yesterday and today I have had this hunger I simply cannot stop. It doesn't matter what foods I choose or how often I eat or how much I eat, I am still hungry. Granted, this is only the second day, but yesterday I did not exercise and I ate 3300 calories. I thought "hey it's one day and I am hungry so maybe the baby needs this."
But now that it's day two I am getting worried that I am eating too much or inappropriately interpreting signals as hunger that aren't really hunger. I've upped my water, which only gave me heartburn to add to my hunger.
I know hunger and pregnancy are normal and this is a time when the baby is growing quickly, but my question is, is it okay to, as an obese person, give into the hunger? To what degree should I eat to fill the hunger, and to what degree should I say "the baby is healthy I don't need this second lunch, even if I am starving"? Everything on-line about obesity and weight in pregnancy talks about limiting calories and reducing weight gain, which sends me the message that this is what I should be doing, ignoring the hunger and limiting calories. But I'm seriously hungry to the point of pain/nausea.