Weight loss with braces

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#16 Post by **LizzyG** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 1:07 am

I'm a bit worried about this too, because I get married in July and have already ordered my dress, I want it to still be the right size! I am pretty skinny already and don't want to lose any weight anyway.

#17 Post by **littleshaddies** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 4:40 am

Before braces I was 4lbs under my ideal weight. I had the same weight for the last 8 years so that little underweight didn't cause me problems.
I lost 2lbs more at the start of my treatment. I normaly have a lot of sugar in my diet and never had teeth problems related to it but was advised to stay away from sugary food and drinks during braces. I even suffered with sugar-low spells and colapsed and had to go to A&E.
Back on track now, butter bread does wonders and tastes soo good and pepsi is a must. I don't care about the sugar intake now (about being bad for teeth), I have as much as my body asks for. My weight is back to where it was so me and my braces are friends again.

#18 Post by **OnMyWay** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:44 am

Who knew there were so many people who didnt want lose a few pounds. I sure didnt!!!!

#19 Post by **ingyandbert** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:57 pm

MCC wrote:Ice cream and any liquid meal won't do the trick. I tried to live off of shakes and ice cream and I kept losing weight. Solid foods are the only things that will help. You have to wait til your teeth adjust to the braces. It really sucks!!!

I wasn't implying anyone should "live off" milkshakes. If someone's trying to gain weight (or at least not lose it), milkshakes can be added in addition to meals.

#20 Post by **chops** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:47 pm

this is strange because I have actually gained about 2-4 pounds since getting braced. it may just be that I always have gained weight around this time of year. so maybe it has nothing to do with the braces. I do also notice that I still snack regularly!

then again I only have braces on the top and not on all my teeth either....hrmmm, but I"ve also broken 2 brackets in less than 2 months

it seems I'm in a boat of my own....my ortho treatment doesn't seem very normal....

#21 Post by **montesser** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:12 pm

OnMyWay wrote:Who knew there were so many people who didnt want lose a few pounds. I sure didnt!!!!

I am on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. That's one of the things that about getting braces that appealed to me. I have over 100lbs to lose and so far, this was by far better than getting gastric bypass surgery. In total, I've lost 5lbs. It's fluctuated because as soon as I can start to eat again, I go crazy. One thing I do that I notice that always gain back a couple of lbs is that I don't chew my food completely. It's not healthy, but when you can't bite down completely, your food is not going to be chewed properly. I try to mash most of it with my tounge and the roof of my mouth, but it still doesn't help. For me and those that are trying to lose weight, make sure you take smaller bites and portions. It does take a lot longer to eat. For those that don't need to gain weight, snacking more during the day does help, or increase "inactivity" after eating. It's weird, but I think I can be an expert on gaining weight.

#22 Post by **jennandtonic** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:38 pm

I just got my braces a couple of days ago, and am really worried about losing weight as well...I'm already under 100 pounds and I'm 5'5, if anything, i need to gain really badly!

I had tooth extractions (including my wisdom teeth) a month and a half ago, and lost 10 pounds after that. I don't plan on doing that again, so now I've been trying to eat every meal, finding something I could eat no matter what.

I went to a mexican restaurant with my family yesterday and found that if I was really careful I could eat cheese enchiladas and the refried beans without chewing. I've also been planning on fixing myself spaghetti, lasagna, baked potatoes, milkshakes, stuff like that that definitely won't help me lose weight.

Then in the mornings there's always scrambled egg, softened cereal, et cetera.

Anyone else have any other food suggestions for all of us skinny people on here?

#23 Post by **jcdamon3** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:11 pm

You guys are all making me hungry!

I am having trouble keeping the weight on too. I never thought this would be a problem for me as I can almost always find a way to eat.

Anyway to answer your question, jennandtonic (prefer gin martinis myself

) I eat peanut butter by the spoonful between meals. If you get the smooth stuff it sort of melts in your mouth and you don't have to brush.

#24 Post by **Svensk Tiger** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 4:32 am

usa1 wrote:Im in the same boat. I was at my ideal weight before wisdom tooth surgery and braces. Ive lost 12 lbs and cant get it back. Ice cream wont do it alone. I have always loved it and no joke go through 1/2 gal every 2-3 days. The problem is it takes me so long to eat I get board/tired and everyone else is through that I just stop. I end up eating about 1/2 what I used to eat. The bad part is that I have jaw surgery coming this Oct.

Same here. I was also at my ideal weight before braces. I've lost about 7 pounds so far and am facing jaw surgery this September. I wouldn't be too bothered if it wasn't for the surgery but I am sure to lose more after that too

#25 Post by **jennandtonic** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 6:33 pm

jcdamon3 wrote:You guys are all making me hungry! I am having trouble keeping the weight on too. I never thought this would be a problem for me as I can almost always find a way to eat.

Anyway to answer your question, jennandtonic (prefer gin martinis myself ) I eat peanut butter by the spoonful between meals. If you get the smooth stuff it sort of melts in your mouth and you don't have to brush.

I actually discovered that yesterday, I was sooo hungry and spotted the creamy peanut butter jar.

#26 Post by **Destor** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:26 pm

ugh I've lost around 10 pounds since getting braces too, and I'm skinny enough as it is!!

really gotta start slamming the protein shakes

#27 Post by **Evelyn** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:58 pm

Destor wrote:ugh I've lost around 10 pounds since getting braces too, and I'm skinny enough as it is!!

really gotta start slamming the protein shakes

Haha ditto!

#28 Post by **Silverware** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 8:28 pm

Awhile before I got braces I started a very careful recording process of all the food I eat as well as my exercise. This has helped me to keep a very regular schedule of the types and quality of food, as well as to make sure that I am not eating more than I am burning. I've lost 10lbs in a month while using this method. Now that I have my braces, I've noticed that I eat about half as much as I did before I got them on, but I'm not hungrier. I'm a bit worried because I know that the way to weight loss is not to drastically reduce your food intake but to regulate and increase activity.

For those of you who don't want to (or even do) lose weight, I recommend you check out www.fitday.com. It's free to use the web-based version, and you can input your diet each day (as well as activities) and it will keep track of everything for you. If you don't want to lose weight, just make sure you keep that calorie count at the proper amount each day (with a balance between fat, carbs, and protein) There's too much to explain about it, so go check it out

#29 Post by **Joanna20** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:19 pm

Hey! Yes I have lost weight when I braces the first time and gained weight when I removed the braces. My face also looked more skinny at the time. But loads of ice cream and stuff!
I hope I get to lose weight as well because I wouldn't mind! I don't want to lose a lot of weight though.
Good luck,
Joe

#30 Post by **kirst1583** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:38 pm

Silverware wrote:For those of you who don't want to (or even do) lose weight, I recommend you check out www.fitday.com. It's free to use the web-based version, and you can input your diet each day (as well as activities) and it will keep track of everything for you.

That site looked great but unfortunately none of it could be changed to metric so it was totally confusing for me.