Losing weight with braces?

[WanderingWallflower]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone else lost weight since they got their braces? I've had my upper for two months and my lower for one month. I've lost a total of 11lbs since then. It's quite worrying since I've always been underweight and just recently achieved an average weight. How do you combat this?

[assertives]

I didn't lose any weight. In fact, I think I gained.

Was your weight loss due to not consuming enough calories because you weren't able to eat due to pain? If that is the case, you could perhaps try nutrition milk such as ensure and baby food until your teeth hurt less to eat properly.

[EmilyTravels]

I had my jaw wired together due to a fracture in April (bike accident). I kept my weight up by having lots of delicious home made milkshakes with extra protein powder added. My favorite was chocolate milkshake + vanilla protein powder + peanut butter. Tons of calories!

I also had healthy fruit/veggie smoothies and soups, but I am sure the milkshakes kept me from losing more than 3 lbs. over a five-week period. I was also thin going into this so did not need to lose weight. I also used whole-milk yogurt in my smoothies for some extra calories.

I've had braces for three weeks now and have not lost any weight, but I am able to eat pretty much normally, avoiding only things like apples, carrots, almonds, and really chewy things -- and popcorn, of course.