Pregnancy Eating

Food and I have always gotten along well. In fact, you might say that we've been a little too close in the past. Often I've had to fight off my desire to spend more quality time with food than is technically good for me. Fortunately, we had reached an uneasy peace in which I usually ate carefully, but still very much enjoyed my meals.

Then along came pregnancy, and everything just went crazy. Now the relationship is not just between the two of us. Somebody else is very much impacted by the choices I make, and, as if that weren't complicated enough, she likes to make her wishes known as well. Sometimes, I feel as if the three of us have reached an eating impasse.

Early on in my pregnancy, the food thing was the most complicated. At the time in my life when I most needed to eat well, I had the least interest in food. Nearly all vegetables, formerly some of my most favorite foods, became unpalatable. Many strong flavors were unappealing, and the only things I really wanted to eat were plain pasta (the whole grain kind at least) and fruit. I forced down so much non-fat dairy and ginger (not together) during that time that I still have trouble with those flavors.

Now that the nausea has gone away, I find that food is easier, but still not the same as it was in the before times. For one thing, I'm now hungry all the time. I can't eat much at any meal, so I have to eat constantly. However, just because I'm hungry doesn't mean anything sounds good. There are times when I know I should eat, but it is very tough to get motivated about anything. I keep a running tally of protein, iron, and calcium in my head, and I keep less careful track of fiber and other goodies. This should allow me to bulk up on one or more items if I'm running low. Often it works, and I eat good healthy things.

Then there are the cookie times. I don't think I've had any actual cravings, but I am having more trouble resisting the call of some kinds of goodies. The old me frequently passed up plates of holiday cookies. The new me is far less disciplined. Let's just hope that our little darling gets everything she needs to grow up big (but not too big!) and strong, and that I don't become a spherical object in the process.