Every single time I've been pregnant, I haven't really been hit with a "food cravings" bug. I didn't crave watermelon for weeks on end or start eating gummy bears like they were going out of style. What really got me was the food aversions.
A food aversion is a food that makes a pregnant women sick, nauseous, gag, or unable to swallow. It can be the texture, taste or smell and it's absolutely horrible. It hits at the most random times and it's not always the same foods twice. It's possible to have a food aversion to corn dogs one day and crave them like crazy the next.
There's a few reasons why these food aversions happen but we definitely know for certain its the work of those pesky (and super helpful to grow a baby) hormones. Progesterone rises each day of the first 11 weeks of pregnancy as your body learns to sustain the growth of a human being. At 11 weeks it peaks and levels off. Its like your body is riding a progesterone roller coster and you can't get off. Thankfully some respite is found around 12 weeks but not always.
Hormones will continue to effect your eating habits for the rest of your pregnancy and sometimes even into the first few months postpartum.
My advice? Put some money aside each week in your budget to eat out. Sometimes when someone else makes the food, it makes it easier to eat it. Don't feel bad about your aversions, they are normal albeit frustrating. Just let the people around you know to not be offended if their lasagna (your FAVORITE!!) all of a sudden doesn't seem so appetizing. Embrace the aversions and steer clear of foods that make you gag. Also, keep a bucket near by... just in case.
