# I have braces or How Soon will I die? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 26, 2013, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-braces-or-how-soon-will-i-die/648387 "2013-01-26T01:18:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-braces-or-how-soon-will-i-die/648387/21 "2013-01-26T21:56:10Z")
OP, perhaps you should shift to something else for your teeth if you can’t eat with the Invisilines on. And I agree that there’s something wonky with your eating or diet if you supposedly don’t eat much but are overweight and graze all day. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-braces-or-how-soon-will-i-die/648387/22 "2013-01-26T22:20:51Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > Take a quick look at the[Minnesota Starvation Experiment](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment) methods and results. They ended the study before the participants died? Just how much can you learn from a half-assed experiment like that? Feh, Mengele would’ve taken it to its obvious conclusion, and wouldn’t have let them near any axes, either. Pikers. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-braces-or-how-soon-will-i-die/648387/23 "2013-01-26T23:07:57Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I don’t get the “I have no appetite/tiny stomach/I do 30 minutes of cardio a day” scenario and the fact that you are 40-50 lbs overweight even if you “graze”. If you are eating enough to weigh 190 you have quite a significant appetite. If you stopped continuously grazing junk food you might rediscover that you do have an appetite. If so this should be a win-win for you. Unless you have a medical condition of some kind the stomach can normally contract and expand considerably. You did not mention it but have you had some kind of stomach stapling or gastric bypass surgery? > > Based on your weight and activity level and an (apparently) fairly slow metabolism your daily burn rate will be approx 10-12 calories per lb of body weight per day. Assuming your weight target is 150 if we average to 11 cals you need approx 2090 cals daily to maintain your current weight. If you drop to 1500 cals per day on a restricted diet you will have a 600 cal per day deficit and you will initially lose approx one lb per week. You can easily get all the calories and nutrients you need with protein shakes and vitamins. Roughage is a different issue. Your braces diet should carry you through about a year of weight loss. > > Your rate of loss will obviously slow as your weight decreases which is taken into account below so using 160 lbs of maintained weight as the average over time = 1760 per day > > 3500 cals per lb of fat lost. Adjust as needed for your actual realworld target goals. > > 1500 cals per day - loss = .89 lbs per week > 1000 cals per day - loss = 1.52 lbs per week (over time) > (not advised) 500 cals per day - loss = 2.52 lbs per week I have never had any stomach surgery. For the past couple of years I am never hungry even when I do not eat all day long. For example yesterday I did not eat anything all day and was never hungry. Sometimes, when there is no food in the house and I am too lazy to grocery shop, I go a few days without eating. I agree I have a super slow metabolism. I am completely sedentary except for the cardio. Prior to the braces I would eat only for the taste of whatever I was eating and I ate tiny amounts because of the feeling of fullness. Possibly my stomach has shrunk? I am very grateful for the information you provided. Since my teeth are not too crooked; I only need to wear these for another 17 weeks. If I lose as much as 2.52 lbs per week; that will only be a loss of 42.84 lbs. And hopefully after that time I will no longer want to eat junk food. I am not having any cravings. I read some place it takes 21 days to form a habit. I have not had any junk food for 23 days. :eek: Wow new smile and a new body! And I won’t die! Astro I love you! (In a purely platonic way:o) ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-braces-or-how-soon-will-i-die/648387/24 "2013-01-26T23:26:22Z")
CT\_Damsel, have you ever checked with your doctor for any medical issues due to your eating or not eating? Not eating for several days and not feeling hungry (even for a day) raises some alarm bells. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-braces-or-how-soon-will-i-die/648387/25 "2013-01-27T01:04:47Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > How hard is it to take them out for the 10 or 15 minutes it would take you to eat your smaller portions? People do it with these all the time. Take them out, eat, bam, put them back in. > [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > A real pain. You have to clean them, brush and floss before reinserting them. I have timed myself and it hasn’t worked. You’re putting way too much into it. I’ve worn them myself, and still do use them as my night retainers. All they need is a quick rinse after you take them out (if you don’t want to gross yourself out by putting them back in without a rinse). And you should probably have a quick tooth brushing and flossing after eating, anyway, if there’s food stuck in your teeth. Total elapsed time: 5 minutes, if you’re a really slow flosser. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-braces-or-how-soon-will-i-die/648387/26 "2013-01-27T17:37:40Z")
> [@computergeek](#): > > CT\_Damsel, have you ever checked with your doctor for any medical issues due to your eating or not eating? Not eating for several days and not feeling hungry (even for a day) raises some alarm bells. Yes. No problems found > [@needscoffee](#): > > You’re putting way too much into it. I’ve worn them myself, and still do use them as my night retainers. All they need is a quick rinse after you take them out (if you don’t want to gross yourself out by putting them back in without a rinse). And you should probably have a quick tooth brushing and flossing after eating, anyway, if there’s food stuck in your teeth. Total elapsed time: 5 minutes, if you’re a really slow flosser. **You’re putting way too much into it** You are right [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-braces-or-how-soon-will-i-die/648387.md?page=1)