You may start craving certain foods, and foods that you previously enjoyed might start to taste different. By the fourth week of pregnancy, a woman may gain one pound in weight.

At this early stage, you are more likely to experience a change in your appetite than cravings for particular foods . You may notice a metallic taste in your mouth and be extra sensitive to the smells of food or cooking (Newson 2014, NHS 2016). The pregnancy hormone, progesterone, may make you feel hungrier .

If you do start having cravings, it’ll probably be in your first trimester (it could be as early as 5 weeks into pregnancy). They’ll get stronger in your second trimester, and then eventually stop in your third trimester. Cravings come in all shapes and sizes. Some women crave fatty foods like chips.

It’s said that if you’re craving sweet foods like chocolate, fruit and dairy, you’ve got a girl on the way. If you feel like you can’t get enough salty foods, such as chips or pizza, expect a boy!

One common myth is that your baby “makes” you crave certain foods. While this is untrue, there is some grain of truth to the concept that your baby might end up liking the foods you crave during pregnancy, for a variety of reasons.

Pickles. These salt-and-vinegar-soaked zingers are undoubtedly one of the most common food cravings for pregnant women. If you find yourself reaching for the dill pickles in the back of your fridge, it may because you have low sodium levels. Regardless of the cause, feel free to eat up.

Craving pickles during pregnancy ‘Cravings for salty foods are common and pickles are certainly one such food,’ says Hayley. ‘It may reflect low sodium levels. ‘ Salt holds water in the body and is really important in keeping the fluids running from mother to baby.

The brain regions responsible for memory, pleasure, and reward play a role in food cravings. An imbalance of hormones, such as leptin and serotonin, could also lead to food cravings. Cravings also involve the appetite centers of the brain, even though they tend to be separate from hunger.

Vitamin D deficiency strongly exaggerates the craving for and effects of opioids, potentially increasing the risk for dependence and addiction, according to a new study led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

“Insatiable cravings may signal an imbalance in the body or the emotions,” she says. “The cravings are a form of self-medicating, in which the body is trying to reach an internal equilibrium through using the mood and energy-altering properties of various foods and drinks. “This is all done unconsciously.

Emotional hunger is not love. It is a strong emotional need caused by deprivation in childhood. It is a primitive condition of pain and longing which people often act out in a desperate attempt to fill a void or emptiness. Feelings of emotional hunger are deep and are like a dull but powerful aching in your insides.

Cravings for salty, crunchy foods might indicate “frustration, anger, stress, or resentment,” she adds. “Crunching down with your jaw is cathartic, almost like punching a wall. When I got stressed before, I would often turn to pretzels.” Then again, you might just really want something salty.