Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

I have yet to meet or hear of a pregnant woman who doesn’t have strong cravings.  For me it was smoked Gouda cheese and summer sausage by the pound – a real change for the woman who had been a strict vegetarian for years!  Everybody wants to know if it’s okay to go ahead and indulge.  After all, you are eating for two, right?

To get to the bottom of this, first we need to look at your actual nutritional needs.  When you are pregnant, your body expends about the same amount of energy as running a marathon every single day.  No wonder you’re tired – and hungry!  But, believe it or not, you really only need about 300 extra calories per day.  That’s about a cup of yogurt, a glass of milk and an apple or a few tablespoons of peanut butter.  That’s it.

So why is your body telling you to eat so much?  Your body uses cravings to get the nutrients it needs, for both you and your baby, and it’s very important to pay attention to your body’s signals.  Of course the problem comes when your body starts to tell you night after night that what it needs is giant bowls of ice cream… or sausage.

If your body doesn’t get the nutrients it needs during the day, you’ll find yourself with these cravings at night.  So make sure that you are taking your prenatal vitamin every day and that you are eating three to five small, well-balanced meals each day.  These two measures will cut down on the cravings significantly.

Something that my midwife told me midway through my second pregnancy was that sugar cravings are actually protein cravings in disguise.  So before you dig into that pint of sugary goodness, have a slice of lean deli meat or an egg or a spoonful of peanut butter.  When I tried this I was amazed at how well it worked to cut down on my ice cream consumption.

But I still had the occasional (once a week is occasional, right?) desire for that bowl of ice cream.  So I went for it, but only in moderation.  When you serve yourself, pull out a small bowl and put in about half as much as you think you’re going to want.  Remember, you can always go back for more, but once you get that craving met, you probably won’t need to go back for more.