Pregnant moms with odd cravings isn’t news; the two go together like newborns and sleep deprivation. As much as we’d like a cold, hard reason for why we crave things completely out of the ordinary when we’re pregnant, that research doesn’t really exist. It is what it is. Some have said that a craving can be linked to a deficiency, your body’s way of raising a red flag and saying “give me some iron,” but the science to back that up hasn’t yet been found.
So why has Jenna Wolfe, a correspondent for the TODAY Show, been so carb crazy during her pregnancy? Mary Hartley, RD says, “My best guess is that Jenna is craving more calories from carbohydrates relative to her former diet, which may have emphasized protein and only enough calories to maintain a svelte figure.”
Prior to becoming pregnant, Wolfe admits on her TODAY Show blog that she maintained an incredibly healthy diet. Just look at her – that’s all the proof you need! “Yogurt, fruit, nuts, eggs, salad, protein, veggies, grains, protein,” she wrote about the way it was.
Today, her pregnancy diet doesn’t look much different than other moms: “Cold cereal, bagel, order a salad for lunch (good), only eat the croutons from that salad (yeesh), pasta, pasta, a pickle, pasta, dessert.”
“Carbohydrates provide energy, and now Jenna needs enough energy to run two bodies,” commented Hartley. Sure, one body is very little, but it is growing fast! Pregnant women need to eat enough calories to support the baby’s weight gain. ”
But like a lot of moms, Wolfe is feeling the unfair pressure of judgment by other moms. She wrote, “I’m battling the pregnancy pitfalls and am struggling to stay on the fitness track. But please know I’m trying.” (more…)
