My appetite has ebbed and flowed all throughout pregnancy. First trimester, I was STARVING all the time–which is uncharacteristic of that time. Most women are doing their best to keep any food down at all. My second trimester is when it slacked off, and I was eating more like my normal amount. At the time of writing this post, I am in the beginning of my third trimester, and my appetite is pretty large again.
I wanted to share what I eat in a day–not that you should model your meals after me because, while I try to be conscious of what I eat, I’m no dietician. This is simply to give you, the reader, maybe a starting point if you feel like a bottomless pit as well. These meals and tips are some things I did to feel fuller for longer and to make sure I wasn’t eating junk–something I have felt inclined to do quite often.
Firstly, think about what you’re keeping in your kitchen. If I had ice cream in the freezer all the time, I would be eating it all the time. However, exhibiting some self control while grocery shopping (and not going while hungry) can prevent this. Keeping bananas and honey crisp apples with either nutella or peanut butter helped me because I would snack on that since it’s what I had on hand, rather than ice cream or oreos. Also think about keeping granola bars instead of candy or juice instead of sugary sodas. For some, this may not be an issue–maybe you can keep less healthy options around and only splurge on them every now and then. It’s about knowing yourself and your limitations, and this is what works best for me.
Secondly, do some research and then some experimenting to figure out which foods stick with you the longest. From my research, I saw that foods high in fiber, protein, and healthy fats were the best place to start. I’ve also found that making sure I’m not cutting carbs out will keep me fuller. It’s truly different for everyone.
Now to break down what I eat in a day that works for me:
I fill up my gallon water bottle with tick marks like this one. I find it helps keep me on track for drinking my water during the day. I don’t always drink the whole thing, but I do try to drink between a half to a full gallon most days.
Breakfast: a bowl of brown sugar oatmeal with a scoop of plain greek yogurt and half a handful of dark chocolate chips. The additions to the oatmeal are to keep me from getting bored of just plain oatmeal, and this keeps me satisfied for a while.
Mid-morning snack: one cup of coffee with creamer (I usually go full fat/full sugar creamer because I’m not a true coffee drinker–I find it to be bitter) with a banana and nutella/peanut butter.
Lunch: This varies each day because sometimes it’s leftovers from the night before. I usually try to ensure I have some form of protein, vegetable, and carbs. This week I made chicken salad and made it into a sandwich and had raw veggies like carrots or broccoli with ranch. If I need some sugar, I’ll have a granola bar to go with it. Full disclosure: somedays I just wanted Chick-Fil-A, and I absolutely went and got it. Balance.
Mid-afternoon snack: some days I don’t need this, but on the days that I do, I opt for fruit again like a banana or apple. If that’s not available, I have a cup of yogurt or granola bar.
Supper: I always plan suppers at the beginning of the week so the grocery shopping is done all at once. It keeps us from spending too much going out. I keep the same rule of thumb as with lunch though: protein, veggies, carbs. Just as an example (because it always changes) tonight I am making a cabbage and ground venison stir fry with a side of rice.
This is what works best for me. This is also just how I try to eat more than half of the time. Do I indulge on sweet treats, fried food, etc? Absolutely–I would lose my mind if I didn’t. I just make sure it’s not how I eat everyday. I think of my daughter and how she eats what I eat. I want her to be as healthy as possible! And it’s up to me to ensure she eats well. At the end of the day, you want to take care of yourself and baby as much as possible.
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