If suddenly you feel the desperate need to have an ice cream or burger at super odd hours, and another funny thing being that these items have never been your favorites ever as such. If you’ve been going through this then welcome to the beautiful world of pregnancy.
These are typical early signs that usually are missed or not given much attention to. Cravings begin between the third to eighth week of the first trimester and go on till the end of your pregnancy. These are unusual though but are still seen in 60-90% of women. For me, I used to hate chicken nuggets but when I got pregnant, all that I wanted to eat was chicken nuggets.
Food cravings at times show up alongside food aversions, this further leads to nausea that gets pretty difficult to deal with at times.
Here I am sharing with you the 5 most common pregnancy cravings and simple ways to deal with them
- SWEETS – At times people suddenly develop a sweet tooth during pregnancy. My favourites were chocolates and fruit cream both of which are loaded with sugar. Both these things can be eaten in moderation but dark chocolate would be anyday better to cut down on the extra sugar
- FAST FOOD –I read somewhere that cravings are just a way of your body reaching out in the need of extra calories. Pizzas and burgers from your favourite joint might sound like a fun idea but junk should be avoided. You can opt for slightly healthier options or in another case have home made stiff so you know what exactly goes into it.
- SPICY FOOD – Now I know a lot of friends who craved extra spicy food during their pregnancy but in my opinion it should be avoided as it can cause severe heartburn and increase nausea.
- DAIRY – Again an option a lot of women crave for. While ice- cream and yogurt both come under dairy, only the latter should be considered since it is much healthier. Yogurts can be great even if consumed regularly
- BUTTER/GHEE – Again this is relatable as I used to love a big dollop of butter on my food when I was expecting. Though directly not harmful but the quantity can be kept a check on. It would later only give you a hard time losing the pregnancy weight.
DEALING WITH PREGNANCY CRAVINGS
- Practice moderation in everything. Don’t feel guilty to give in to your cravings however, learn to draw the line.
- Find a healthy substitute for junk foods and desserts.
- Focus on nutrition but allow yourself to indulge in too at times.
- Eat once every few hours to keep a check on your blood sugar levels. It also helps curb cravings
I hope you found this info useful and if you did then do let me know in the comments below.
HAPPY PREGNANCY !!
Moderation is indeed the key to all cravings. I would crave for plenty of sweet things in my pregnancy, I still remember
Cravings have a big share in pregnancy. Luckily, I didn’t have a single craving in my pregnancies. But yes, I have seen going-to-be moms having some. keeping a check on what you are eating and at the same time satisfying the cravings is tough during pregnancy as not always we crave for something healthy but it is doable.
Pregnancy cravings are legendary and no two pregnant women have the same craving. It is also often said that if one craves sweets a lot the lady will give birth to a girl and if she craves sour/spicy food it is definitely going to be a boy.
I feel anything in moderation is fine. Spicy food should be completely avoided as it can do more harm. Great advice Taranpreet.
I used to have craving for spicy food during my both pregnancies. You had shared really helpful tips, will help pregnant women dealing with their cravings.
When I was carrying I seriously had carving for shrikhand always and yes even cakes and chatpata stuff and I love that moment.. Loved the post.
Anything is good in moderation. Honestly in both my pregnancies I never had any craving. I was so overworked that i guess my only craving was to sleep. Which i am still deprived of.
So true, infact most Indian families encourage the ghee during pregnancy but if its not taken in moderation, it may lead to a huge weight gain. I loved your simple and doable tips
I had sweet cravings during pregnancy too and had a cube of dark chocolate everyday after dinner. Moderation is a must since good health and digestion are crucial at that time.
Luckily I didn’t experience pregnancy craving but I know that pregnancy cravings are of real and it will surely help for pregnant ladies to control and manage pregnancy craving.
i have never had cravings during my pregnancies. i did have a lot of aversions though but just those foods that I did not really like normally either. this is nice for those with cravings and not sure how to handle them.
It’s not easy to deal with pregnancy cravings. These tips going to help a lot. Agree we should learn how to avoid overeating so that it doesn’t create problem further
Pregnancy craving sometimes goes worse too . We should draw a line for the craving as you said. Your tips are helpful.
I felt a craving of chatpata food in my first pregnancy. But in my second pregnancy, I lost my interest in this type of foods and I like simple food with great taste. I put a lot of weight in my both pregnancies. Your dealing tips are good.
I actually didn’t have any pregnancy craving but i was always feeling extremely hungry. I have not eaten so much in my life what i ate during those 9 months!!!!
Lots of omeg 3 in the form of chia seeds, and immunity-boosting jaggery….Thanks for this post. Pregnancy nutrition especially around COVID-19 is an overall good topic to build awareness around.