Wisdom Teeth Out - how to eat to stay fit?

[showard]

Hey, all,

I'm 24, and since early March, I've been commuting 14 miles roundtrip on my beloved bike. (Plus long weekend rides.) Following many years of procrastination, I'm also getting my wisdom teeth removed next week. All of them!

After reading forums and asking around, it seems that I can expect to be off my bike for about one week. However, I'm mostly worried about losing the muscle mass and fitness that I gained so far this season. I'm already very small, with a frustratingly fast metabolism.

Can any of you recommend how I should eat/drink after the surgery, so that I don't lose too much weight/muscle? I'm thinking lots of homemade protein shakes....but I feel really nervous about the whole thing.

-S

[tulip]

Sounds like you are young and healthy. You will recover quickly, I bet. Protein shakes are good. Don't worry about it so much--once you feel better, you can get back on the bike. Anything muscle you "lose" will make a quick comeback, I'm sure. Sometimes we have to take breaks, and that's okay.

[TsPoet]

+1
You'll be fine. In fact, the week might be good for you to "recover" and get a fresh start.
You may want to gently stretch daily if you can.

[bmccasland]

If you drink shakes, don't use a straw. This is important. Trust me.

(dry sockets are NOT fun)

I was about that age when I had mine removed, and really didn't notice the down time. I felt too bad to care about much of anything else the first couple of days. I did enjoy my strawberry shakes, with strawberry ice cream. And scalloped potatoes, nice and soft and cheesey. After about a week, I was feeling back to normal, and was riding and running again.

oh to be young and recover quickly again. sigh.

You'll be fine. Have someone drive you home after your surgery.

[indysteel]

I agree that you absolutely cannot use a straw.

I had four teeth taken out in September as part of my orthodontic work. Not my wisdom teeth, but given that the were on each side of my mouth top and bottom, it seriously impacted what I could eat. So, too, did having the braces put on in the first place and worked on pretty regularly. After the first 24 hours or so, I could eat normal, but soft, food. Think scrambed eggs, tuna fish, yogurt, soup, and ice cream, macraroni and cheese, cooked potatoes and sweet potatoes. It probably took about two weeks before I more or less started to eat normally, but it really wasn't that big of a deal.

When they say that it's going to take a week, do they mean that you can't exercise at all? I would think that you could at least walk.

Just be sure to follow your oral surgeon's instructions to a T. The faster you heal, the faster you'll be back on the road. I doubt you lose much in the way of fitness in the meantime.

Good luck!

[shootingstar]

I did have my 4 wisdom teeth extracted in my late 20's. I was able to eat more solid stuff in about 3 days. I went back to work around that time. At that time, I wasn't cycling but I took public transit daily and hence, did some walking. The anaethesia wore off for me, within 48 hrs. or less.

In addition to protein shakes here and there, consider making pureed veggie soups (squash, carrot) or veggie broths with some light noodle inside or soup can contain rice inside. (Latter is what I ate as a child when I was sick. )

YOu need to eat in well balanced manner but abit less food since less active during recovery. Otherwise you will weaken yourself, especially if you say you have a fast metabolism.

of course some oatmeal with milk would be great --with a ripe banana. All soft food.

There's always mashed potatoes with abit of milk.
Even gently scrambled eggs with milk whipped in before pouring into pan, should be edible.

And yes, I was (still am) small, with a metabolism that used to be fast like yours.

[MomOnBike]

It's been many years, but I don't remember doing anything special when I had mine out. Of course, I waited so long, and they were so impacted, that I was already on a pretty soft diet before they got yanked. (Try living in the Southwest, and not being able to open you mouth wide enough to eat a taco. Man, I was frustrated.)

You'll be fine. Think of any time off as a recovery break from training. All the cool kids do that, you know.

[Zen]

You're 24
You won't atrophy and look like Mr. Burns in a week

[ny biker]

You're 24
You won't atrophy and look like Mr. Burns in a week

True. I'm 45 and I don't worry about losing fitness if I have to take a week off from exercise. It comes back soon enough.

[snapdragen]

I had no down time when I had my 4 wisdom teeth extracted, but I think I'm a freak of nature. I think everyone is different, you may be up and around faster than you think.

One of my standby smoothies when I couldn't chew was ice cream, orange juice, some wheat germ, whirled up in a blender. You could probably replace the ice cream with a low fat frozen yogurt. I also used to throw a raw egg in, but I guess that would kind of be frowned upon these days. Don't want to add salmonella to the mix!

Good luck!

[pumpkinpony]

Another way to minimize down time is have the teeth removed with a local, not the laughing gas stuff. That's what I did and was back at work the next day with no problems. One of mine was 'impacted' into my sinus or something and required stitches. I took one codeine pill the day of, then Tylenol for the next few days. It really wasn't as bad as the horror stories people like to tell you.

[polly4711]

+1000000 on the no straw... or sucking in your cheeks or any kind. If you do, you will be out for much longer. Make sure that you keep them clean... it does make a difference!

I had carnation instant breakfast, mashed potatoes, and other things of that sort. Try to stay away from salads or other hard foods so that you don't pop your stitches! You'll be fine!

[Biciclista]

I had to have soups only for 1 day. next day, soft foods, how will this hurt your fitness?