Discussion Board

Hello!
We started back on the McDougall diet a few months ago (after a long absence). I just found out I am 8 weeks pregnant with baby #5, and all I want is meat! And eggs, and milk, and meat!

We need to stay on plan, of course, and cant afford meat anyway, but the cravings are insane since becoming pregnant again. Any advice from other McDougall mamas?

Wow, I am not sure what craving for a specific food group would feel like. Is it texture or the spices? Meat really doesn't have flavor in my memory until it is covered with sauces or spices. Could it be that you are just more hungry? When you are pregnant your body uses sugars differently and maybe your sugar levels are going a little lower and this is causing you to have cravings. Maybe an extra potato or two along the way throughout the day would be helpful. You are lucky to know this information before you got pregnant so that you can give your baby the very best start in life. I wish I had known what I know now....
More and more information is coming out concerning the importance of good prenatal nutrition for the long term health of the baby. I hope you have a wonderful pregnancy.

sometimes i crave something "meat-ish" and generally doing something w/ beans will take care of that.

if you can identify what sort of concoction you crave, maybe you can make a McD version of that food/recipe.... ex., really wish there was a great and nutritionally kosher hotdog/bratwurst. have to figure out legal substitutions.

you don't need the meat/milk/eggs.... you're just associating those nutritional mainstays w/ this preg (did you eat them in your previous pregnancies?)...

yes, happy and healthy pregnancy, Lentilloaf!

Yes, I did eat those things with the previous pregnancy, but I trust the McDougall plan and know I don't "need" them. Subbing bean dishes might work, as you suggest, I've really been craving plain, whole kidney beans, too.

As for the concoctions I'm craving, to make McDougall legal subs, well I'm still working on what exactly I'm craving from the meat dishes. As the previous poster said, it could be the spices or texture. Probably the juicy fattiness of burgers, fried nuggets, and sausages. We have to stay on plan, no room in the budget for cheats (which is a good thing), I'll just have to pinpoint the cravings and try to find healthy substitutions.

Thanks for the help!

This doesn't fit the whole foods part, and probably isn't the best, but I've found a veggie hot dog with a little mustard helps with my meat cravings.

Another thing that is really random that helps is pears. I have no idea why it helps, but it really works.

I haven't had meat in about 11 years so I don't really recall what craving meat is like, but whenever I crave protein I find something very bean-heavy, especially a bean-based veggie burger really helps!

When I first gave up dairy, I was also craving fatty foods a lot, and since I actually started losing too much weight, I upped my fat intake a bit by eating avocado regularly and it really helped keep my weight from dropping and curbed my ravenous hunger. Depending on whether or not your goals are weight loss vs. maintenance/gain you could try a bit of that?