There is something very powerful about being hungry. As soon as your stomach starts aching for food, your mood can make a U-turn so fast, it feels like a superpower. Like you’re the Hulk, except with hunger.

Given this, you can imagine why the term hangry was invented. Or what it feels like. Or what it also entails if you end up making an already hangry person even hangrier by eating their food.

A very hangry woman recently turned to the Am I The [Jerk]? community for some perspective on a situation she got herself into. A very hangry situation where her pregnant sister-in-law ate her food.

More Info: Reddit

When a hangry person and a pregnant woman meet, you can bet that there will be competition over scarce resources

Image credits: Tony Alter (not the actual photo)

A woman by the Reddit nickname of u/Sal9653133, or Sal for short, shared how recently her husband’s pregnant sister had moved in with them after an argument she had, assuming with her partner (the assumption is based on the idea that the argument was about her baby’s name).

Anywho, the sister-in-law is already 7 months in, and very picky about her food. This in turn meant that she was not going to eat any of OP’s food. So, this meant that the hubby and Sal needed to adjust their food plan.

However, that was not an option. You see, OP has allergies, so she is more or less forced to eat a more limited selection of food than most other folks can. And this is where conflict starts to brew.

And so two such people met. And said scarce resources, the takeout OP ordered, became the prey of her pregnant sister-in-law

Image credits: Sal9653133

For some time, they cooked the sister-in-law’s favorite food, leaving OP to figure out separately what she would be eating every day. After some time, OP asked her husband if they could start preparing meals for the sister-in-law and for them separately. Husband had no problem with that, so problem solved, right?!

Wrong.

One day—after a very long day—OP returned home only to find that there was no meal prepared for the couple. Only food that the husband and the sister-in-law could eat. He canceled on the meal they had planned. Why? Turns out that the sister-in-law convinced him to eat with her, consequently not preparing the meal they both agreed upon.

After a long day and betrayal by the husband, OP snapped, telling her sister-in-law to pack her stuff and leave

Image credits: Sal9653133

Image credits: Brad.K (not the actual photo)

OP seemed to be frustrated with that idea, but had a grip of her emotions and thought it was no biggy—she’d order take-out. In the meantime, she took a shower and got some work done, only to later find that her order had arrived without her noticing it and was open and partially eaten. OK, well, “the majority of it” was eaten.

Sal turned around to confront the sister-in-law about it. Her excuse was that she woke up hungry from a nap and couldn’t “resist” the smell coming from the box.

You can imagine just how hangry OP was at this point because she snapped—she went full ballistic on the pregnant family member. The sister-in-law did try to justify her actions by saying that she left some, meaning rice and dressing, but not whatever was the main part of the meal.

Folks online sided with OP—not just because the sister-in-law was in the wrong, but the husband was also to blame

The already heated argument got even more heated, as the sister-in-law started crying when OP, in her frustration and hanger, told her to pack her things and get the heck out of her house. The husband overheard it and got involved, which did not de-escalate the situation at all. He took his sister’s side, arguing that she couldn’t help it as she’s now eating for 2.

Right off the bat, the community thought that OP is not the jerk here. Most figured that the problem here is probably not the sister-in-law, but the husband. He did not honor the agreement, let alone got dissuaded from it, showing his allegiance in the situation and his stance on his marriage.

But the sister wasn’t exempt from the criticism either. Commenters believe that she was an adult, she knew what she was doing, and still she decided to act against her own better judgment. “Spoiled, selfish, and entitled” was the theme throughout some comments.

Now, we did some digging into pregnancy cravings. If you’re not aware, these are sudden urges among pregnant women to eat certain foods. A certain kind of munchies. Certified Dietitian Nutritionist, Janine Higbie, MS, CNS, CDN, of JH Wellness told Bored Panda that despite how prominently cravings are often portrayed in movies and TV, there is no general clinical consensus on what causes cravings and what they actually mean. Hence, it’s hard to say if it’s a need or a desire.

“It’s very possible that carbohydrate cravings in early pregnancy are a physiological response to low blood sugar, signaling your body that it’s time to eat. Cravings are also theorized to be a response to nutritional deficiencies, a wisdom of the body. For example, ice cream provides necessary calcium and iodine, pickles and other salty foods provide needed sodium, and red meat provides critical iron,” elaborated Higbie.

“However, cravings vary significantly across geographic regions so some argue that cravings are more of a result of cultural and psycho-social factors regarding pregnancy expectations and a willingness to indulge in otherwise restricted or ‘forbidden’ foods.”

Higbie continued: “Craving or not, anytime someone is hungry during pregnancy, she should honor that hunger signal and eat. Pregnancy is not a time for dieting or restriction. You will be significantly more hungry at some points in pregnancy, while eating close to your normal diet at others. Trust your body and eat when hungry.”

“However, pregnancy is not carte blanche to eat anything and everything. ‘Eating for two’ is a misnomer. The general consensus is a pregnant woman needs an additional 300 calories per day during pregnancy. This is more in line with eating for 1.1 or 1.2 than eating for two. Excess weight gain during pregnancy does put mom and baby at higher risk for certain complications (as does undereating in pregnancy).”

“Because of all of that, I advise my clients to not get caught up in calories. Sure, you need more energy (calories), but I’d argue it’s more relevant to think about the higher nutrient demands (think vitamins, minerals, and other essential components of food) of pregnancy. In order to meet the needs of mom and growing baby, relying on empty calories (think ultraprocessed foods, sweets, pastries, snacks, etc) won’t cut it. A healthy prenatal diet should consist of additional protein (approximately 80 to 100 grams/day); heart healthy fats, including DHA, a type of omega-3 fat most commonly found in cold water, fatty fish; and as wide of a variety of vegetables and fruits as your body will tolerate.”

“Enjoy the occasional indulgence, but it should be just that—occasional!” concluded Higbie.

If you’ve enjoyed Janine Higbie’s explanation of pregnancy cravings and how they work, be sure to check out more of her work on her website as well as follow her Instagram to learn more about nutrition, pregnancy, and everything in-between.

You can read the whole post and the comments in context on Reddit here. And if you want to read more, you can go nuts with this article about a man who got slammed for buying expensive coffee, or check out some of the lists we’ve recently compiled, like this one about the Angry Upvote community, or this one about frustrating cooking myths.

But before you go, tell us your thoughts on this. Is there only one person to blame here? Do you think OP is fully in the clear? What will you be having for dinner tonight? Let us know in the comment section below!

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