Advice for a dropout?

[EmilyK]

So I'm not sure how many of the long-timers around here might remember me--I was pretty active here for a period a couple of years ago.  Since then, I've been kind of hit and miss with eating the way I know i should but overall have been feeling well so I haven't been as tight with my nutrition as I have been in the past.  A lot of what I learned while I was focusing very intensely on my food choices has internalized well and I had managed to strike a decent, sustainable balance of making Good Choices that fit in well with my Real Life.

However! Now, I'm about 11 weeks pregnant with my third baby and am finding myself struggling HARD with a few things nutrition-wise.  Now that I'm past the nausea, my appetite is kicking in full force and considering the fact that I am now 34 years old instead of 22, I would prefer not to gain 100 pounds (like I did with my first pregnancy which carried a very similar appetite increase overall.  My second time around, I had hyperemesis so the challenges were entirely different).

Besides being starving seemingly ALL THE TIME, I am also having SERIOUS cravings for drunk college kid food--Hot Pockets, Chef Boyardee ravioli/spaghettios, tater tots, cheesy garlic bread, burritos, etc...and that is clearly NOT a sustainable business model for me as this pregnancy progresses.  I'm pretty sure that those cravings are pointing me toward my body asking for protein/iron (LOTS of red meat cravings going on), salt/electrolytes (not as obvious as the craving to drink ALL THE PICKLE BRINE that I was having early on, but still, I know that the processed junk is heavily laden with sodium), and fat.  I just need better places to get those things from.

I know my breakfasts need work--I have fallen hard off the meal prep bandwagon and generally I'm still a little queasy first thing in the mornings which makes it hard to want a Good Breakfast, but I am thinking I will at least go back to my old awesome Frittata/(Sweet) potato/avocado combination.  But I also would love some additional guidance on how to structure my eating throughout the day with this new Pregnant Appetite that will keep me nourished and satisfied in a positive and healthy way.  I'm definitely not looking to do a full-out, balls-to-the-wall Whole30 at this point, but I know that it'll be easier to course-correct at this juncture than in a few more months, or ESPECIALLY after delivery.

Thanks so much!

[ladyshanny]

I definitely remember you! Congrats!

When I read your cravings it sounded to me like carbs, carbs, carbs topped with fat. Are you eating a good amount of potatoes, squash etc and getting dense fat sources? 

I have no real information to give you around how to structure your eating except to encourage you to go for the meal template as best you can and then take the between meal "snacks" as whole-foods as you can. 

Have you read Melissa's article on eating while pregnant/aversions?

[EmilyK]

2 minutes ago, ladyshanny said:

I definitely remember you! Congrats!

When I read your cravings it sounded to me like carbs, carbs, carbs topped with fat. Are you eating a good amount of potatoes, squash etc and getting dense fat sources? 

I have no real information to give you around how to structure your eating except to encourage you to go for the meal template as best you can and then take the between meal "snacks" as whole-foods as you can. 

Have you read Melissa's article on eating while pregnant/aversions?

Thanks!  It's my husband's first, so we're definitely excited.

I really do think that eating a better breakfast overall will help me a ton.  I haven't been eating enough starchy veggies or good fats at all--I was dealing with nausea/aversions up until a week or so ago and then I actually had to have an emergency appendectomy last week  and so the surgery and aftermath meant I've pretty much been eating soup and crackers for two weeks.

I will look that article up for sure--all I know is that if I really don't want to gain 100 pounds, I need to not be eating ALL THE HOT POCKETS.