Extreme hunger: is this normal?
Mama’s now eating for two!
During your first trimester, your body begins to produce large amounts of leptin, the “satiety hormone” [1]. Too much leptin can cause an extreme loss of appetite and provoke nausea, even when served your favorite foods, but what’s happening is baby is “tasting” all the foods in your normal diet. Your eating habits then change to accommodate baby’s tastes as your body responds positively or negatively to these foods. Your digestive system also begins to adapt to an upcoming increased intake of food [1, 2].
Once this process is complete, your body still retains a high amount of leptin (which scientists believe aids in milk production), but your body disables sensitivity to this hormone [2]. This leads to extreme hunger!
Though it may feel extreme, your appetite is only causing you to eat about 15% more than usual to take in the extra 300-400 daily calories needed for baby’s growth [3]. Not only is this perfectly normal, it’s important! It just feels jarring after your dampened appetite during the first trimester.
Roughly 7.5% of pregnant women experience eating disorders, including bulimia, binging, or anorexia. These eating disorders are not brought on by pregnancy, but are preexisting conditions. Some expectant mothers with eating disorders do not experience them during pregnancy [4]. If you find yourself overly focused on calorie counting, shift your attention instead to nutrition, including vitamins and macro- and micronutrients.
