Losing weight due to braces
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Losing weight due to braces
anyone get braces, later in life, & find it helped them lose weight, cuz it cut down on their snacking?
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awww shucks, just when I was getting my hopes up!
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Smoothies?
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Cutting food intake and eating less doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to loose fat.
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I got braces in 2011 at the age of 48. In about two months, I lost 10-15 pounds. My teeth hurt for the first few weeks. Nothing terrible, but it hurt to chew certain things. Also, they were a pain to clean so I never snacked after I had cleaned them in the evening. After a few months, they didn't bother me anymore.
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Yeah, there's nothing quite like medical issues for weight loss.
Mine wasn't from braces. But thyroid cancer and subsequent endocrine problems forced a dietary change. I couldn't metabolize alcohol anymore. I used to love beer, but it doesn't love me anymore. One beer gives me hangover type symptoms and body aches, often within a few hours. Just cutting way back on the beer resulted in losing 10 lbs since 2017.
Before surgery a year ago the thyroid tumor was constricting my esophagus so badly I could hardly swallow solid food. For a few months I was on a mostly liquid diet, other than oatmeal, yogurt and ground beef, chicken salad or tuna salad without bread or buns, etc. -- bread tended to get stuck in my throat, which can be a panic-inducing sensation. I wasn't getting enough protein so I mixed up a lot of smoothies, including fresh and frozen fruit. But there's a lot of sugar in that so I don't often add frozen fruit anymore. Mostly I use the lower sugar content protein powders.
I still have a little discomfort swallowing but not enough to hinder my appetite.
I still have about 5 lbs of belly fat, between the tummy and over the kidneys. If I really made an effort I could get down from 150 to 140 lbs. But there's no point since I'm not training for anything, other than enjoying a few spirited group rides. My only goal was to not be that guy everyone is waiting for at the top of the hill. I'm there now. And I'd need to cut out pretty much all sugar and sweets. I've already cut way back. I'm not Harry Hairshirt enough to cut out sugar from my coffee or the occasional cookie or donut.
Mine wasn't from braces. But thyroid cancer and subsequent endocrine problems forced a dietary change. I couldn't metabolize alcohol anymore. I used to love beer, but it doesn't love me anymore. One beer gives me hangover type symptoms and body aches, often within a few hours. Just cutting way back on the beer resulted in losing 10 lbs since 2017.
Before surgery a year ago the thyroid tumor was constricting my esophagus so badly I could hardly swallow solid food. For a few months I was on a mostly liquid diet, other than oatmeal, yogurt and ground beef, chicken salad or tuna salad without bread or buns, etc. -- bread tended to get stuck in my throat, which can be a panic-inducing sensation. I wasn't getting enough protein so I mixed up a lot of smoothies, including fresh and frozen fruit. But there's a lot of sugar in that so I don't often add frozen fruit anymore. Mostly I use the lower sugar content protein powders.
I still have a little discomfort swallowing but not enough to hinder my appetite.
I still have about 5 lbs of belly fat, between the tummy and over the kidneys. If I really made an effort I could get down from 150 to 140 lbs. But there's no point since I'm not training for anything, other than enjoying a few spirited group rides. My only goal was to not be that guy everyone is waiting for at the top of the hill. I'm there now. And I'd need to cut out pretty much all sugar and sweets. I've already cut way back. I'm not Harry Hairshirt enough to cut out sugar from my coffee or the occasional cookie or donut.
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I've cut way back on sugary snacks, ice cream and pie and have gotten down to slightly less than high school weight. I worked on a farm in those days and was more muscular so being under the weight of my 17 y.o. self is about right.
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I met a cyclist the other day who uses removable braces. Invisalign, I presume. He says he can't do hard workouts or fast club rides wearing 'em. If they're that easy to remove and insert, it probably wouldn't be much of a deterrent to snacking.
Even the swallowing difficulty I described above wouldn't be much of a deterrent if I hadn't also cut back on the beer and empty calories. I could just as easily have switched from solid food to milk shakes and beer to supplement my diet.
For me, the most effective deterrent to consuming empty calories -- excess sugar, carbs beyond what I burn with exercise -- is to eat more meat to stay satiated and not risk the low blood sugar that drives cravings for many folks. A friend who's gone full keto/paleo had the same experience. The only diet that worked for him and his wife to overcome decades of obesity was switching to a diet heavy on meat. But I exercise a lot more than he does so I can burn off enough calories to offset my occasional indulgences.
Even the swallowing difficulty I described above wouldn't be much of a deterrent if I hadn't also cut back on the beer and empty calories. I could just as easily have switched from solid food to milk shakes and beer to supplement my diet.
For me, the most effective deterrent to consuming empty calories -- excess sugar, carbs beyond what I burn with exercise -- is to eat more meat to stay satiated and not risk the low blood sugar that drives cravings for many folks. A friend who's gone full keto/paleo had the same experience. The only diet that worked for him and his wife to overcome decades of obesity was switching to a diet heavy on meat. But I exercise a lot more than he does so I can burn off enough calories to offset my occasional indulgences.
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meanwhile, 1 year 9 months later (from pondering the question), I can say that wearing invisaline aligners top & bottom for 11 months has not lead to weight loss. they have interfered with & altered eating habits but not resulting in weight loss. perhaps if there was no planetary pandemic, which shut down my physical activity & altered my normal eating, they would have, but I will never know