Sympathy Cravings

cake3

Ok, let me go ahead and describe what that was in detail:

6 layers of chocolate cake with fudge and caramel

Dark chocolate frosting

A layer of chocolate chips pressed into the frosting.

The craziest part? It wasn’t even my idea.

The other night, Tom was like, “I really need some chocolate cake. Do you want chocolate cake? Let’s go get some.”

Do I want chocolate cake? Is the Pope Catholic?

So there we were at Risky Business, diving into chocolate cake like we’d never seen it before. And it was AWESOME.

The funny thing is that throughout the pregnancy, with the exceptions of a crazy salad moment and a strong hankering for a poptart, the cravings haven’t been too intense. I’ve been back to my usual eats for a while now, and if I want something unusual, I eat it, but it hasn’t happened on a regular basis. My husband on the other hand, is an entirely different story. I’ve usually been the one with the sweet tooth in this family [and the short end of the metabolism stick], and as I type this, he’s scrounging in the fridge for “something sweet.”

Even this afternoon, he was heating up blueberry waffles and while they were cooking, alternating between eating pickles and jalapenos.

Who’s pregnant here?

Is it secretly him? Or have all of my potential cravings manifested in him instead?

Did you have any crazy cravings while you were pregnant, or did your partner have sympathy cravings? Friends sans kids: what’s the weirdest food combo you’ve ever tried?

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42 Comments

  1. Natasha on September 27, 2011 at 12:32 am

    When I was pregnant I didnt have to many wierd food cravings. I did go through a bbq sauce phase….had it on everything, and a hot sauce phase, once again on everything. Other then that I craved sugar, sugar, and more sugar….then found out I had gestational diabetes……so yeah didnt matter much after that what I craved, I basically couldn’t have it. 🙂 As far as my husband, he didn’t have cravings, but his food intake increased….. maybe he felt like he had to keep up with my weight gain hehehehe.

  2. Lauren on September 27, 2011 at 12:33 am

    Oh my gosh, now I NEEEEED chocolate cake 😉 I’ve never been much of a fruit eater (I eat tons of veggies) but when I was pregnant I had to have pineapple and mango multiple times a day. And lemonade! I never drank sweet drinks but it was the best thing ever. The only one that was weird to me was Jelly Bellies. My husband wasn’t around for the last 3 months of my pregnancy due to work so my awesome neighbors would often bring by Jelly Bellies to satisfy my craving.

  3. Gia @ rungiarun on September 27, 2011 at 12:43 am

    I used to work at Risky’s in college 🙂
    I didn’t have strong cravings either. However I did really need cold icy drinks all the time. My husband on the other had was just like the Pilot. He would “crave” indulgence food and then explain that he was actually ordering it for me … um??

    • Fitnessista on September 27, 2011 at 12:45 am

      haha!
      did you ever have the cake?!

      • Gia @ rungiarun on September 27, 2011 at 1:28 pm

        Oh Yes … I am very familiar with that lovely cake. My fav thing there was the salsa … its nothing crazy special but something about that salsa was just super YUM to me.

  4. Ali on September 27, 2011 at 1:00 am

    That is so funny and so cute. My boyfriend has a really funny appetite too! He will eat a whole pineapple, then go get sushi or subway because he needs it. Boys are weird.

  5. Carly on September 27, 2011 at 1:40 am

    I am not a cake lover, but that sounds amazing 🙂 Where is it from???

  6. Amanda on September 27, 2011 at 5:57 am

    lol, that’s awesome! Pickles and jalapenos???? Epic.

  7. Hillary on September 27, 2011 at 7:09 am

    I have a pretty intense sweet tooth, but my boyfriend’s is three times as bad as mine. I cannot wait to see what that transforms into when I get pregnant. God knows what we’ll come up with!

  8. Yolie @ Practising Wellness on September 27, 2011 at 7:14 am

    Haha! That’s too funny! 😀 And that chocolate cake sounds ridiculous. 🙂 I’ve read in US magazine – so not a pregnancy tome, I know, so not really relevant 😉 – about guys getting cravings when their wife is pregnant. It’s cute! Like, supportive, lol! 😛 Hmmm….I don’t really knwo about food combos – I had a peanut butter and bacon sandwich once, back in the day, and that was divine. And pretty weird, I thought! <3 xyx

  9. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga on September 27, 2011 at 7:25 am

    When I was pregnant, I ate white carbs like white toast, saltines, white rice, crackers, white potatoes…just anything white and carby. And I loved it. The gluten killed me but that’s another story.

    But I wanted very little to do with salads, fresh produce, fresh veggies & fruit, anything raw…pretty much polar opposite of my non-pregnant self.

    Glad you had that amazing! choc cake, and that Tom suggested it 🙂

  10. Suzanne on September 27, 2011 at 7:49 am

    When I was pregnant, we were doing a total renovating on our house (believe me it was derelict!) and I was absolutely obsessed with the smell of damp wood and old brick dust. I really couldn’t get enough of it. I used to stick my head down under the broken floorboards so I could get my fix of the antique air! So weird!

    Sorry not really food related!

  11. kathleen @ the daily crumb on September 27, 2011 at 8:06 am

    ha! that is hilarious. i’ve never been pregnant, but have heard of hubby’s taking on certain pregnancy symptoms… my girlfriend’s husband demanded ice cream at 2:30 a.m. every morning, no joke!

  12. Krista on September 27, 2011 at 8:55 am

    I like eggs with cheese and maple syrup sometimes! Funny thing is, I HATE my food to touch normally. My husband on the other hand eats biscuits, gravy, velveeta and apple butter all in one bite. He’s British, so I just tell myself it has to do with that!

  13. Elizabeth on September 27, 2011 at 9:10 am

    Hahaha, the Pilot stories are great, he’s too funny. Those restaurant people probably thought “Oh how sweet, this husband is taking his chocolate-craving pregnant wife out for cake.” But hey, as long as you get chocolate out of the deal…!

    Remember the I Love Lucy episode where Ricky starts having sympathy pregnancy too? I think he eats some of the crazy things she’s craving.

  14. Jenny on September 27, 2011 at 9:33 am

    watching people eat pickles and pb makes me sick so I think I’d know that the minute I start wanting that, I’m probably en route to holding a baby..

  15. Joelle (On A Pink Typewriter) on September 27, 2011 at 9:52 am

    “Who’s pregnant here?” <– Hilarious!!

  16. Samantha on September 27, 2011 at 10:26 am

    Haha this is too funny! Love your stories with the Pilot. I’m like you, and I will always go for chocolate. I laughed out loud when you said “Do I want chocolate cake? Is the Pope Catholic? Yep, that’s me to a tee. My boyfriend, on the other hand, isn’t really into sweets. He’ll have them once in a while, but never a lot. So if we ever have kids together, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with cravings!

  17. amy on September 27, 2011 at 10:41 am

    My first roommate introduced me to spicy hot Cheetos dipped in cream cheese. I haven’t eaten that in years but I remember it being quite delicious (especially after some sort of debauchery). I guess I don’t eat much “weird” food, unless you count the 3 years that I dated Taiwanese boy and ate a lot of things I never would have eaten otherwise.

  18. Anna @ On Anna's Plate on September 27, 2011 at 10:43 am

    Bahaha…I keep waiting to see if my husband is going to have any “sympathy” pregnancy moments 🙂 My cravings haven’t been strong, but I’m just now out of my first trimester. I had a craving for red meat this weekend, which NEVER happened before I was pregnant– it was the first time I’d had steak in about three years, I think. But– I went with it. I think you have to trust your cravings during this time…unless they’re for, you know, donuts every morning 🙂

  19. ecoprincess on September 27, 2011 at 10:46 am

    Such a cute post! I love “who’s pregnant here” haha I love it when you post stories about the Pilot.

  20. Erin @ Girl Gone Veggie on September 27, 2011 at 10:54 am

    That chocolate cake sounds amazing! I would crave that any day of the week!

    And that is too funny about Tom, guys are like that it seems. They can eat anything, generally in unusual flavors or combinations, and not gain a pound. Its unfair. ;p

  21. Angela on September 27, 2011 at 11:02 am

    My husband craved moon pies the entire time I was pregnant with our twins. I’m pretty sure he had at least one on a daily basis. However, our twins are two now and I don’t believe he has had one since they’ve been born! =)

  22. Danica @ It's Progression Not Perfection on September 27, 2011 at 12:35 pm

    “who’s pregnant here?” haha too funny….I’ve never been pregnant but it’s really common for me to have a lot of cravings (is this normal?!). It’s usually nothing too abnormal, but once I get a craving for something I’m completely determined to get it one way or another! : )

  23. Megan on September 27, 2011 at 1:03 pm

    My husband doesn’t get sympathy cravings. I made a giant beef pot roast last night and went nuts with it, and he was like, hmm…this is a lot of meat, honey. You made a 5 pound roast for two people. So, yeah, lets just say my meat craving wasn’t shared, lol. 🙂 I wish I didn’t have cravings, waiting for the second trimester, maybe it’ll get better then.

  24. KaraLynn on September 27, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    I’m not the only one who takes advantage of “The baby wants this for dinner.” My husband does it more than I do 🙂 Have you ever heard of Couvade Syndrome? You should look it up!!

  25. R @ Learning As I Chop on September 27, 2011 at 1:31 pm

    Oddly enough, I crave dairy – cheese, milk, cottage cheese, cream cheese etc. My husband says I go through about a carton of milk every two days. Chocolate cake does sound good though.

    • Fitnessista on September 27, 2011 at 6:09 pm

      i’m the same way- i’ve been going through way more goat cheese than usual, which says a lot

  26. Jamie @ Food in Real Life on September 27, 2011 at 1:58 pm

    During my first trimester I mentioned to my husband that I was having a craving for fried chicken that I would like to fulfill at some point. The craving came and went and I never got the chicken. Now I’m over it, but my husband keeps asking if I’m ready to get that chicken, or if tonight is the night for fried chicken. He is way more excited about it than I am! LOL

  27. laura on September 27, 2011 at 4:59 pm

    This made me laugh…my husband has sympathy cravings but I tell him he is “stealing” my cravings because I haven’t had a strong craving for anything yet! I am 16 weeks so they may be coming in the near future. He also has never been a big sweets eater…that has been my department but since I’ve been pregnant he has be craving sweets as well. It’s funny how that happens!

  28. April on September 27, 2011 at 5:15 pm

    That is a riot Gina, i LOVE that Tom is ‘acting’ preggers with his eats, hee hee SO cute! And it’s funny, now that you mention it, my hubby has been eating a TON of sweets ever since i got preggers – and i haven’t been craving them at all. I mean, hey, who doesn’t want a sweet, but i wouldn’t say i want them any more now than before, if you know what i mean.
    I was just cracking up reading this…too funny! I have to say i crave fruit juices now – Vitamin water is my new love:) I guess it could be worse huh?!?

  29. Dee on September 27, 2011 at 6:03 pm

    Not preggo, and maybe this isn’t so weird, but recently I’ve enjoyed penne pasta with green garlic stuffed olives and sardines mixed in. It taste so amazing to me right now, I want it every other day.

    • Fitnessista on September 27, 2011 at 6:05 pm

      wow, and now i want some 🙂

  30. Lisa @ Fresh Spinach on September 27, 2011 at 6:22 pm

    That is hilarious! Although, I’ve gotta say, I’ve seen my fiance eat like that with his only excuse being that he’s, “a growing boy.” He’s 32.

  31. Shaina on September 27, 2011 at 6:24 pm

    Not that I wasn’t into your family posts before, but now I’m *REALLY* into them 😉 Thank you for writing such awesome stuff throughout your whole pregnancy!

    • Fitnessista on September 27, 2011 at 7:15 pm

      <3 thank you for reading!

  32. Jen @familyfoodfitnessandfun on September 27, 2011 at 6:31 pm

    LOL…this post made me laugh! When I was preggers the first time, I think my hubby gained almost as much weight as I gained. I guess he figured if I was going to indulge, then he shouldn’t be left out! That cake sounds divine 🙂

    • Fitnessista on September 27, 2011 at 7:14 pm

      haha so funny mine isn’t the only one 🙂
      and yes, the cake was fantastic

  33. Megan on September 28, 2011 at 9:09 am

    LOL I don’t remember my cravings, only my aversions. When I would have a craving I’d tell my husband, he’d say no, I’d cry then eat something else and try to forget about it. I must have succeeded! You have a wonderful loving husband 🙂 Well, I do too, but there was something about my cravings and crying he just didn’t “get”.

  34. Sonia (the Mexigarian) on September 28, 2011 at 3:35 pm

    I tend to get crazy cravings as I am now. One minute I want a tuna sandwich and the next I am craving cauliflower soup. (that was last nights dilemma) Hubby always teases that whenever I get pregnant, that my crazy cravings are either going to peace out in zen mode or amplify a billion fold and he’d have to go into hiding. lol. It’d be fun to see if he gets sympathy cravings or not.. . ..

    fun post!

  35. Nicole Rodriguez (@Nicole2112) on September 29, 2011 at 12:07 pm

    I love how there isn’t a picture of the cake until it’s gone. Bwahahaha! Love it!

  36. Carrie on September 29, 2011 at 5:00 pm

    I too love that the cake is snapped post-destruction…hilarious!!! 🙂

    The husband and I don’t have any babies yet, but he literally will jump off the couch and demand Cuban food a few times a month, so I know that’s coming when we are similarly blessed…Chinese is always a big hit around here too. Most of the women I know that have children have stated that their husbands gained about 15 lbs. when they were pregnant…

    As for me, I like a nice handful of Kettle Chips dipped in peanut butter. What can you do. 🙂

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