• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Conscientious Eater
  • START HERE
  • Recipes
  • Cookbook
  • Meal Plan
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Cookbook
  • 8-Week Meal Plan
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • About
    • Recipes
    • Cookbook
    • 8-Week Meal Plan
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    You are here: Home | WIAW

    WIAW: Third Trimester Exhaustion & Hunger

    Sep 29, 2022 by Faith VanderMolen

    In this WIAW post I talk about some new "pregnancy symptoms" I'm experiencing - third trimester hunger, exhaustion, and lower back pain. I also share what a typical day of eating looks like when I feel like hungry all the time!

    Other than the first trimester when I had periods of exhausted and nausea, I've felt pretty amazing throughout my entire pregnancy. I would still say I'm feeling really great and can carry about my normal life on a daily basis, but this past week I did noticed some new symptoms pop up. 

    Jump To
    • Third Trimester Lower Back Pain
    • Third Trimester Hunger And Exhaustion
    • Breakfast
    • Morning Snack
    • Lunch
    • Afternoon Snacks
    • Dinner
    • Nighttime Snacks
    • Have you experienced increased hunger in your third trimester?

    Third Trimester Lower Back Pain

    One of the symptoms I've been experiencing  is some lower back pain. I know this is really common in pregnancy--and I'm so thankful that until now I haven't had any back pain--but I'm definitely aware of the lower, left side of my back throughout the day now. It totally makes sense to me as to why my back might be hurting. My body isn't used to carrying so much extra weight in the front and things are loosening and expanding to make room for a larger baby. 

    Third Trimester Hunger And Exhaustion

    Two other symptoms are exhaustion and hunger. Other than a week of napping in the first trimester, I've rarely napped during pregnancy until this past week. We were in Destin, Florida with Brett's family this past week and I found myself taking 1-2 naps everyday! I would feel energetic first thing in the morning, but eventually would need a power nap before lunch and sometimes in the afternoon too. This baby is definitely growing faster now!

    That also explains the increased hunger I'm experiencing now as well. Up until this past week, I never really felt the ravenous pregnancy hunger that many women talk about. Occasionally in the past I would need an extra snack or two, but now I need one before lunch and definitely after dinner. Sometimes I get to the end of the day and realize that I haven't really eaten much more than if I wasn't pregnant--which explains why I'm so hungry--so a snack before bed helps me stay full through the night and gives my body energy to keep growing this baby!

    I'll share more pregnancy details soon in my next pregnancy update, but for now let's look at a day of vegan meals during my 31st week of pregnancy.

    Breakfast

    Breakfast this day was pumpkin oatmeal. The base is combination of oats, chia seeds, ground flaxseed, pumpkin puree, chopped apple and cinnamon. I topped everything off with more apple, almond butter and cacao nibs. Fats and protein are needed in all my meals now in order to keep me full and satisfied for longer than an hour!

    Pumpkin Oatmeal with Apple and Almond Butter in a bowl

    Morning Snack

    Two cuties helped tide me over until lunch.

    a hand holding two oranges

    Lunch

    For lunch I whipped up a simple Tahini Chickpea Salad which I'll be sharing the recipe for soon. I toasted two slices of Ezekiel bread and topped them with spinach and the Tahini Chickpea Salad and had some veggies on the side. 

    Vegan Tahini Chickpea Salad on toast with cucumbers and carrots

    Afternoon Snacks

    As per usual, chocolate made an appearance during my day, first in the form of hot chocolate. I used the Sipping Chocolate from Trader Joe's and some coconut milk to make a mug of rich, sweet hot chocolate. 

    Before dinner I also had some pretzels to calm my growling stomach as I prepared my meal.

    a hand holding Vegan Hot Chocolate in a mug

    Dinner

    Dinner came together in a flash due to leftovers. I topped a bed of spinach with a small, chopped sweet potato, a grilled portobello mushroom and some tempeh. I used hummus as a dressing and had some pecans on the side as well.

    Tempeh, Sweet Potato and Mushroom Salad on a plate

    Nighttime Snacks

    Right after dinner I had two squares of this amazing Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Sea Salt. I thought I would be full until bed time, but a couple of hours later my stomach started growling. For another snack I topped a super-seed cracker from Trader Joe's with some almond butter and cherry balsamic jam. It was a strange but good combination and helped keep me full throughout the night.

    a bar of Endangered Species Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Sea Salt
    Trader Joe's Seed Crackers with Almond Butter and Jelly on a plate

    Other than an hour walk while doing some Chinese listening review, I sat around reading and napping all day. I was just so tired!

    Have you experienced increased hunger in your third trimester?

    1. If you've been pregnant or are pregnant, during which trimester / week were you the most tired?
    2. What is your favorite brand of hot chocolate?
    3. What's your favorite Trader Joe's item?

    More WIAW - What I Ate Wednesday

    • WIAW: Eating like a Malaysian for a Day!
    • Easy Raw Vegan Recipes
      WIAW: Eating Raw Vegan for a Day
    • What I Eat in a Day + We Moved to Malaysia!
    • What I Ate in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


    Plant Biased Cookbook


    Plant Biased cover
     

    Plant Biased is my new cookbook and beginner's guide to eating a more plant based diet! I describe it as "the book I wish I had when I went vegan back in 2013."

    Plant Biased includes...

    90+ beginner recipes! My top breakfast, main dish, dessert & snack recipes!
    Why Plant Biased? Understand the "why" behind your choice to go plant-based!
    Vegan Cooking Basics: What you need to know and what to avoid when cooking.
    Grocery Shopping: How to confidently find healthy, unprocessed foods at the store.
    Nutritional Guidelines: Make sure you meet all your nutritional needs!
    Kitchen Essentials: Learn to create a place where you'll LOVE to cook!

    Buy it now for only $18.95 $9.95!

     
    Preview & Buy!


    buy Plant Biased on Amazon  

    Customer Reviews
    ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 4.8 out of 5


    31 All-Time Greatest Eats Cookbook!

    For a limited time, I'm giving away a 68-page cookbook of my reader-favorite recipes called my "31 All-Time Greatest Eats"!

    Just click the cover image above or the Download button below and it will take you directly to the PDF!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tiffany Witz says

      August 27, 2018 at 2:07 pm

      I miss Trader Joe's mostly for the chocolate covered sunflower seeds. I used to live in Washington state, now we have moved to Texas, where rhere is no Trader Joes. ????
      Also, I am in my 31st week and since around week 29 or 30, I have noticed a change where I went from being full of energy and eating normal and healthy, to now some days I can't keep my eyes open and end up falling alseep in the middle of the day and I am hungry all the time and getting tempted by unhealthy items (chocolate, sweets, fats).

      Reply
      • Faith says

        August 27, 2018 at 5:06 pm

        Congrats on your pregnancy! You're getting so close! And yeah, third trimester exhaustion and hunger is real. Hang in there. It's so worth it!

        Reply
    2. Alyssa says

      November 29, 2017 at 10:06 am

      Definitely the third trimester is tough for food - you're hungrier but also cannot eat as much because a larger baby is squeezing everything else and making your stomach less able to handle large portions! I would say the first trimester was rough because I had bad nausea (curable only by eating lots of white carbs, potatoes and GF crackers all day every day) and then I felt great from Months 4-7.5, then I started to feel HUGE and I also experienced prodromal labor for 4 weeks before delivery. I would snack all day long, basically, but never eat a lot of any one thing.

      Reply
      • Faith says

        December 01, 2017 at 3:26 pm

        I feel ya! I'm currently still able to eat fairly large portions, but smaller more frequent meals just feel better...and I'm certain will feel even better the more she grows!

        Reply

    Please Leave A Star Review In The Recipe Card! Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    I'm a plant-based digital nomad mom-of-two living in Malaysia. Meet Faith!

    For a limited time, I'm giving away a free cookbook of my Top 31 recipes!

    Get it while you can!

    Free Download

    Eat Healthy in 2023!

    • Healthy Cookie Dough Overnight Oats

    • zucchini bread baked oatmeal
      Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal

    • creamy tomato zucchini soup topped with grilled cheese croutons
      Creamy Vegan Tomato Zucchini Soup

    • Vegan Broccoli Potato Soup (Dairy-Free!)

    • Vegan Soba Noodle Recipe!

    • Refreshing Green Smoothie Recipe!

    Most Popular Recipes

    • whole wheat artisan bread on a cutting board
      Easy Whole Wheat Artisan Bread Recipe

    • Easy Homemade Oatmeal Date Granola Bars

    • Whole Wheat No-Yeast No-Rise Vegan Pizza Dough

    • Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cashews

    • 5 Vegan Overnight Oats Recipes You Can Meal Prep!

    • two glasses of oat milk next to a jar of oat milk
      Homemade Oat Milk Recipe

    8-Week Plant Biased Meal Plan Cover

    DON'T think about recipe planning for weeks!

    ✅ Save Time

    ✅ Reduce Stress

    ✅ Eat Healthy

    Preview & Buy!

    Sourdough Heaven!

    • Vegan Sourdough Waffles

    • Sourdough Pumpkin Bread (Vegan!)

    • Sourdough Banana Bread

    • Easy Sourdough Muffins

    • Vegan Sourdough Pancakes (6 Ingredients!)

    • Vegan Sourdough Bread (Beginner-Friendly!)

    Footer

    The Conscientious Eater

    • START HERE
    • All Recipes
    • Plant Biased Cookbook
    • 8-Week Meal Plan

    Sponsorship

    Sponsor My Emails
    Sponsor Youtube, IG, Website

    My Recipes

    • Breakfast
    • Main Dishes by Cuisine
    • Main Dishes by Recipe Type
    • Condiments
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • Snacks
    • Breads
    • WIAW

    Important Stuff

    • Privacy Policy
    • Site Accessbility
    • No AI Training
    • Disclosure
    • Contact
    • Some icons from flaticon.com

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 This website was designed using the Seasoned Pro Theme from Feast Design Co.