New year! Food and wine

Happy New Year! Another Christmas and NY week has passed and all that contains. For most of us it means lots of food and drinks and everyone making excuses about not doing much. Here in Australia we are in the middle of summer so the food is mainly all about the BBQ and being outdoors. And I LOVE all of it but this brace plate has really put a real dampener on it. I’m getting really really frustrated with not being able to eat properly. It’s not just having to chose foods that don’t need chewing or at least are able to be crushed with my tongue it’s also the total frustration of getting everything stuck everywhere and having to get organised to be able to clean everything out and bring toothbrushes and bits and bobs out with me. I now eat breakfast of a mango and banana smoothie and a scrambled egg and then don’t have a bean until lunchtime. I didnt realise how much incidental snacks i have in-between meals. I don’t like cakes and sweet things anyway so I have never been a coffee and muffin kinda gal, but even not even eating a cracker with cheese midway through the day has made me realise how much I do eat.

When I do eat i’m having to really think about each meal I produce and cook and how i’m going to eat it! Thankfully I like cooking so there is a mild challenge in trying to find new food combinations that are edible for those with braces but what’s made it worse is that I now have a huge ulcer under my tongue where the central wire cuts  across my mouth. It’s really painful as anyone who has had mouth ulcers can attest! Even just basic swallowing is awful and as soon as anything harsher than water touches it it just makes me want to cry. I can’t treat with anything or put wax on the wire as it just comes straight off so i’m just hoping eventually it will heal and go away.

Right now every meal is a chore. I’d actually rather not eat at all but of course i’m hungry and need to and with this week it has made it really hard to turn down food that others have prepared. The pain of the ulcer just makes me feel nauseous when i’m eating and I just stop. But of course I know i’m going to be hungry pretty soon if I give up after only 2 mouthfuls so I force each bite down and then clean everything up and just sip water until the next meal.

Urgh, It sounds like such a winge but i’m really hoping that I don’t have to have the next 2 years of dreading each meal and getting ulcers. I’m already losing weight and i actually  don’t need to.

It’s a pretty extreme way to change your diet and lose weight but it certainly works- and it’s a lot less expensive than surgery of some kind!

I’d love to hear from others who can give me encouragement that the ulcers do heal and that eating becomes fun again!