The Dental Work Diet
I lost over two pounds in one week's time, without even trying. I highly recommend this effective weight loss method. I think I'll call it the Dental Work Diet.
Now, I rarely diet, since I have been blessed with a fast metabolism. In fact, until I hit menopause, I had to work hard to maintain a reasonable, healthy weight. I must admit that I got mighty tired of hearing people accuse me of being anorexic, because I wasn't. Instead, I was a rare woman who could eat anything I wanted and still stay too thin, according to my mother and other assorted friends and relatives.
My metabolism has apparently slowed down just a touch over the past several years. I've put on a few pounds, in mostly the right places, enough that the A word has not come up in quite a while. In fact, I wouldn't mind losing five pounds or so.
And now, I have a head start with this new Dental Work Diet. There's only one catch. First you have to have some expensive dental surgery. In my case, I had two procedures for the price of one--well, not really, since I was charged for both of them. But I had two procedures the same day, courtesy of a competent periodontal surgeon in Fort Collins. For the curious people among you: she did a crown lengthening on a molar, and a connective tissue graft for my bottom front teeth. Both procedures will help me keep my existing teeth, so that's a good thing.
I left the dentist's office with a mouthful of stitches, covered by three separate "bandages," which looked and felt like pieces of Silly Putty that the nurse molded to fit in my mouth. They stuck to my gums just like bubblegum, and stayed there for three or four days, when they fell out on their own. Those bandages, combined with some inevitable pain, made talking, and eating anything at all, a bit difficult for the first few days after surgery.
Right after the surgery, I found it a little challenging to take a drink of cold water. It would have been easier with a straw, but that has been a definite no-no, for some reason. Since then, I have been eating a mostly soft diet, like (and I quote from my post surgical instruction sheet) "soups, pastas, ground meat, eggs, applesauce, milkshakes, yogurt, mashed potatoes, Jell-O, custard, pudding, and cottage cheese." I have been instructed to chew on the unaffected side of my mouth which, in my case, equals about one-fourth of my teeth. In addition, I have been cautioned to avoid hard, crunchy foods, and to refrain from biting into anything with my front teeth--but specifically, "No chips, popcorn, or pizza."
What I wouldn't give for some food with a nice, satisfying crunch! Apparently, crispy food, which may mess with my incisions, also has a surplus of calories that might account for some of my weight loss.
My follow-up appointment has been delayed because of Thanksgiving, so I'll have to stick with my soft diet a little longer. But, the good news is that most Thanksgiving food is on my diet! Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes--all on my diet, along with pumpkin pie and whipped cream!
Today, I am thankful for skillful dental personnel, and for my new dental insurance, offered at a reasonable cost at just the right time, by the Nebraska Association of Retired School Personnel. But today, most of all, I am thankful for Thanksgiving leftovers.
Now, I rarely diet, since I have been blessed with a fast metabolism. In fact, until I hit menopause, I had to work hard to maintain a reasonable, healthy weight. I must admit that I got mighty tired of hearing people accuse me of being anorexic, because I wasn't. Instead, I was a rare woman who could eat anything I wanted and still stay too thin, according to my mother and other assorted friends and relatives.
My metabolism has apparently slowed down just a touch over the past several years. I've put on a few pounds, in mostly the right places, enough that the A word has not come up in quite a while. In fact, I wouldn't mind losing five pounds or so.
And now, I have a head start with this new Dental Work Diet. There's only one catch. First you have to have some expensive dental surgery. In my case, I had two procedures for the price of one--well, not really, since I was charged for both of them. But I had two procedures the same day, courtesy of a competent periodontal surgeon in Fort Collins. For the curious people among you: she did a crown lengthening on a molar, and a connective tissue graft for my bottom front teeth. Both procedures will help me keep my existing teeth, so that's a good thing.
I left the dentist's office with a mouthful of stitches, covered by three separate "bandages," which looked and felt like pieces of Silly Putty that the nurse molded to fit in my mouth. They stuck to my gums just like bubblegum, and stayed there for three or four days, when they fell out on their own. Those bandages, combined with some inevitable pain, made talking, and eating anything at all, a bit difficult for the first few days after surgery.
Right after the surgery, I found it a little challenging to take a drink of cold water. It would have been easier with a straw, but that has been a definite no-no, for some reason. Since then, I have been eating a mostly soft diet, like (and I quote from my post surgical instruction sheet) "soups, pastas, ground meat, eggs, applesauce, milkshakes, yogurt, mashed potatoes, Jell-O, custard, pudding, and cottage cheese." I have been instructed to chew on the unaffected side of my mouth which, in my case, equals about one-fourth of my teeth. In addition, I have been cautioned to avoid hard, crunchy foods, and to refrain from biting into anything with my front teeth--but specifically, "No chips, popcorn, or pizza."
What I wouldn't give for some food with a nice, satisfying crunch! Apparently, crispy food, which may mess with my incisions, also has a surplus of calories that might account for some of my weight loss.
My follow-up appointment has been delayed because of Thanksgiving, so I'll have to stick with my soft diet a little longer. But, the good news is that most Thanksgiving food is on my diet! Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes--all on my diet, along with pumpkin pie and whipped cream!
Today, I am thankful for skillful dental personnel, and for my new dental insurance, offered at a reasonable cost at just the right time, by the Nebraska Association of Retired School Personnel. But today, most of all, I am thankful for Thanksgiving leftovers.
All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.
When you give it to them, they gather it up;
When you give it to them, they gather it up;
When you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things...
I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Psalm 104: 27-28, 33
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