Starting to eat.....

So here are some interesting things from my virgin encounters of brace wearing...

Soup and yoghurt's, my best friend over the last few days.  Not for every meal, I was adventurous and had roast duck at a restaurant with my friend.  But it definitely helped my teeth settle down.

The first few days were reasonable painful.  Not so much that it stopped me doing anything, but I did resort to painkillers.  It is more or a pressure than pain, which is still there now, and to be honest I think that I will have to put up with that for the duration, but I will keep you posted!

On last weekend we decided to have a fry up (or grill up as we call it) for breakfast, now that was interesting to try and eat.  OK,  mushrooms and egg, simple enough, sausage, quite soft in the middle, cut into small pieces, yep fine.  Bacon, oh dear, bacon, I still don't know what hurt most, trying to eat it or giving it away to my other half because it was too hard to eat! 

The problem was for the first few days I couldn't grind food with my teeth, chomping, up and down to squidge it, absolutely fine, but grinding, not a hope.  I also have quite sensitive teeth, so I generally only use one side of my mouth, so I am currently down to 2 teeth, one top and one bottom, to chew with.  Now it has eased off a bit though it is getting easier.  I am still looking at foods and quivering at the thought, but it is all about cutting it to small pieces and taking your time.  About a quarter of a fork full is my current limit in one go, and eating slowly is good for you, right?

The added issue for me is that I am currently training for a half marathon in April.  Which means that even if I was struggling to eat, I would still have to train.  This is why I turned to yoghurts, high calorie, calcium and fruit, if I hadn't eaten enough because my teeth hurt, I just topped up with those.  I can understand people saying they lost loads of weight in the first few weeks, but there are plenty of energy rich foods and drinks on the market to ensure you still get a balanced diet.  I had a contingency that if I was in too much pain I would live on soup, mashed potatoes and fruit smoothies, but fortunately this hasn't been a massive issue for me.

All in all, in my opinion, it isn't so bad you can't eat, and it isn't like normal where you can do anything, but it is livable, and hasn't for one minute made me wonder if I did right having the braces fitted.

Well I am going out for pizza tonight for tea, wish me luck!!!!