Throughout my pregnancy I've had a lot of people ask me if I've had any strange cravings. And honestly, I can't say that I have. The only thing I've experienced that may be close to cravings is really wanting citrusy fruits in the first trimester. I couldn't get enough of oranges, lemons, orange juice and the like. This may have had something to do with quelching nausea to some degree.
Other than citrus, I haven't had any abnormal cravings of note. Now this is not to say that I haven't craved certain foods at one time or another. But, I really don't believe this is out of the ordinary for any person, pregnant or not. When you talk with some women about their pregnancy cravings, they usually list things like ice cream, oreos, chips, McDonald's fries, pop-tarts, sugary cereals, etc. Have you ever noticed they rarely list foods like broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, chicken breast, egg whites, etc.? Hmmmm.... I wonder if these are real "pregnancy cravings", or just everyday cravings to eat junk food that we all encounter. I mean, come on, who doesn't crave McDonald's fries every once in a while??
What got me thinking about this was watching an episode of TLC's Baby Story where a pregnant mom was caught eating oreos dunked in milk after a bag of potato chips at 1:00 am. Both husband and wife laughed it off as "those crazy pregnancy cravings". Ok, even if I crave oreos at one in the morning (and who doesn't?), I'm not going to get out of bed and go eat half a bag! Seriously, a little discipline people. And no, baby doesn't want oreos.
I must admit, however, that I have used my increased calorie requirements as an excuse to make poor food choices. Once at a restaurant this past summer, we joked that the seafood fettucine must be the highest calorie choice on the menu, and then what did I end up ordering? Seafood fettucine. Bad choice. Not a craving. I know I can get away with a less than perfect diet because I need more calories, especially from fat. But, the trick is not to go overboard and regret my pregnancy habits when I can't lose all my belly fat a year (or twelve years!) from now. I must ignore the old adage "eating for two" because I'm not really. I'm simply eating for myself plus a little extra...about the amount of half a sandwich more per day.
Disclaimer: I'm sure there have been numerous studies performed on pregnancy cravings, confirming it is a real symptom. I don't fault these studies or say they're wrong. I just think that most pregnant women have gone off the deep end with the findings. Yes, some cravings might be real, but so are bad choices. If you happen to "crave" pop-tarts at 3 in the morning, chances are your body and baby don't need a pop-tart...you're just on the verge of giving in to a food temptation.
OTHER WEEK 36 OBSERVATIONS
Well I'm at 35 1/2 weeks and in the heat of the battle. I'm sore ALL THE TIME. My hips hurt, my back hurts, my low abs are in a vice, and I get shooting pains through my pelvis. Everything is difficult. The worst thing is if I accidentally drop something on the floor...it's going to have to stay there for the next 4 weeks.
I'm trying to keep exercising. But this is reduced now to about 1 or 2 strength training sessions and maybe 2 yoga sessions per week. The strength training is somewhat pitiful (in my mind), but at least I'm still doing it. I'm pretty much ready to be done with this. I'm on the home stretch!!
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