Braces does a body good!!!!!!!!!!!! Read!

[bsimpson]

Slightly unexpected weight loss.

The last thing on my mind when I had a brace put on 1 month ago was what I was going to eat but you rapidly realise that your old eating habits have to change overnight.

In the 1st week I was in so much pain with rubbing and all over jaw ache that I couldn't give a monkeys about food. The 2nd and 3rd week when my mouth had settled a bit I had to learn what was practicle to eat.

I had an ok diet before, I live in London with my family and a busy job and I eat a tylpical diet of cereal (the odd bacon sandwich,) sandwichs for lunch and a big meal when I get home. I eat out quite a bit, I dont drink much water and maybe i eat a bit too much meat!

Sudden changes.
There are definate no go areas. Some foods just cannot be attempted.
- nuts
- raw crunchy veg like carrots
- RED MEAT ...!
- no curry, it stains the ceramic brace bright orange
- Toffee
-Chewing gum (although if you ar not eating red meat you dont need it...)
- chewy sweets, in fact almost all bars and sweets
- toasted sandwiches
- crusty bread
- bacon sandwiches!!!!!

not only do my teeth not feel strong enough to bite into these things, my braces (lingual top ceramic bottom) prevent me from attempting them more than once.

So my diet has change to
- weetabix and other soft cereal
- tuna or egg mayo sandwiches
- bananas and loads of other soft fruit
- Fish, all fish and loads of roasted tomatoes
- boiled veg
- yoghurt
- water, litres of the stuff

Not only is my diet healthier but I take my time eating and find I dont snack as I cant be bothered to go through the cleaning process again every time

Anyhow the net result is I have lost 7lbs (3kg) in 4 weeks and (apart from the obvious brace discomfort/ hassle / embarrasment / lisp / an general aches) I feel pretty good. I didn't expect that.

[Volare]

Just wait a while. After you get used to the braces, you'll be back to eating everything you did before, unless you choose not to simply to avoid the cleaning requried afterwards. The only thing I haven't eaten since getting mine is chewing gum and popcorn.

[loopyloo]

You know what, after a few months you wont even care what goes into your mouth. Amazing how u get used to it really. I was oh so catious initially, only daring to eat soup, and only wanting to eat it too. But now, I dont care, munch away on anything, the only annoyance is that it gets stuck in your braces afterwards. But you adapt. I take my toothbrush with me at work. As soon as I finish eating I rush to brush. I often daydream about the day when they come off and I no longer have to brush my teeth 5 times a day

[lingualslady]

Yes snacking is definately out - far more trouble than it's worth!

[katieGC]

Nearly 12 months in and I have lost and kept off 10 kilos. No sign of it returning even though my diet is 95% the same as Pre braces. There's hope ladies!

[annepanne]

But what about your speech? I'm getting my top linguals in August, and I'm sooooo afraid I can't talk properly! 3 weeks later I'll start my final Graduate year, and I need to present my work all the time!