Increases and Decreases in Your Appetite
During pregnancy it is likely for your appetite to wax and wane. You may find yourself overeating, or under eating on any given day. While this can be the “norm” during pregnancy, it isn’t necessarily good for you or your baby.
During the first trimester, especially if you are dealing with morning sickness, you might find that you don’t have any appetite and can go hours without eating. You might find that unless you force yourself to eat, you could go all day and it wouldn’t bother you. This is not healthy as your body needs food for energy to help your baby grow.
The opposite can be true in early pregnancy as well. If you are one of the lucky ones, feeling fantastic and enjoying the pregnancy glow with very little or no morning sickness, you might find that your appetite is huge, or at least, that it is bigger. You may find yourself wanting to eat everything in sight. It is important to watch how much food you eat, especially the amount of sweets as you do not want to gain an unhealthy amount of weight during your pregnancy.
A pregnant woman should eat extra calories during her pregnancy, but contrary to popular belief, she should not “eat for 2” or double the amount of calories that she normally takes in. A woman only needs an extra 300-500 calories a day to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby, and most experts say these extra calories aren’t needed until after the first trimester.
As the second trimester begins you may find that your appetite comes back (if you lost it during the first), and that you are more interested in food again. Use this time to eat healthy and gain back any weight you have lost. If you had a large increase in appetite during the first trimester you may find that it normalizes and stabilizes during these 13 weeks.
As you enter the third trimester when your baby will do most of its growing, you are likely to feel an increase in your appetite. Your baby will put on the majority of his weight during these last 13 weeks and your body will need more food to feed your baby. Try to make sure you are making healthy choices, and try to stay away from desserts and sweets as much as possible.
As the end of your pregnancy nears, you may once again see a decrease in your appetite. The baby has gotten so big he is probably pushing on your stomach and not giving it as much room to expand. You may find that you are getting fuller faster, and that certain foods once again do not appeal to you. If this happens try to eat smaller, healthy meals as a way to get the calories and nutrients to your baby, while not making yourself fill up so much that you want to skip meals.
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Dina says...
This is a very good answer. I knew what i needed exactly. Thanks
Sandy says...
So, I agree with this article but what about being extremely sick/nausea in the first trimester with also an insatiable appetite…eating ever 30 minutes to one hour? It is driving me crazy..keeps me up at night (need to eat 3-5 times) unless I eat a super fatty snack just before bedtime..Any other thoughts on this? I am 5′9″ and normal weight is 136.