Some women experience a lack of appetite during pregnancy especially the first trimester because of morning sickness. It’s difficult to find the will to eat when you are plagued with nausea and perhaps many other morning sickness symptoms. Nonetheless, it is important to try to eat a healthy balanced diet despite the non-existent appetite.
As my pregnancy slowly progress (I’m approaching week 7) my appetite seems to decrease more and more. The nausea persists. When I am nauseated I don’t want to eat. Food doesn’t sound good to me at all. The mere thought of food is mentally unpleasant, even the thought of chocolate cake provides no pleasure, just feelings of being ill. I may or may not be, in actuality, nauseated but the mental experience is almost as bad as the physical experience of nausea. Not Fun! While the thought of food makes me mentally nauseated, eating food doesn’t at all and in most cases it makes me feel much better. This still creates the difficulty of deciding what to eat because NOTHING sounds good or appetizing. This is where knowledge is unbelievably helpful. I can eat and feel fine but I have no desire to eat. So when it comes to meals and snacks, eating protein and nutrient dense foods is key. I have to use my brain and choose to eat good healthy foods.
It seems kind of backwards, but sometimes healthy foods aren’t always the most appetizing especially when food companies work tirelessly to make their processed creations more desirable and easier than the healthier options. This of course doesn’t change the fact that our bodies crave healthy whole foods. Eating these healthy whole foods especially while pregnant is essential to more manageable morning sickness and a healthy pregnancy. Even though it may be hard to eat and perhaps even more difficult to eat healthy foods during pregnancy, strive to do so anyway. Do it for yourself! Do it for your baby! You may be surprised at how much better you feel throughout the day!