1200 Cals a Day???

Hi Everyone! Hope everyone's day is off to a great start. I was wondering if you all were given a daily calorie goal to stay under for maintenance? Especially those that have been good and seen their surgeon's after 1 year I keep reading on the boards that so many people are told to stay under 1200 calories for life. YIKES!?! I never got a NUT and my surgeon, God love him, but I've kinda been on my own for after care. The last time I asked him about calorie intake, he told me to "just follow the rules and stop eating when my pouch told me I was full." Ummmm, NO. IMHO you can't tell a former MO person to "trust" anything when it comes to portion control and not overeating. I never eat until I feel full--even from the start, I've ALWAYS been able to eat more than I know I should with this pouch! So that doesn't work for me. I still measure. But 1200 sounds unreasonable, especially if I'm working out! 1200 cals gives me bad Weigh****cher flashbacks! I know I eat a MINIMUM of 1200 a day, sometimes probably even 1500-1800! All those BMR tables say I should stay around 1450, that's not bad and that's what I've been going by. I'm not gaining, but just something I've been wondering about. What do you think? What have you been told?

Rebeka, I also was not given a specific number to shoot for. I am very bad about counting calories. I never realy have counted them. I jus****ch the scale. I have given myselft a 5 pound range from my lowest weight. When I exceed that 5 pounds I cut back on eating the crap and watch things a lot more closely. I think we just have to do what works for us. The only number I really watch is the scale. I weigh every day. I figure it is easier to reverse a small gain then not weigh for a week or two and all of the sudden have gained 10 pounds. My problem is that I feel I would really be depressed and just want to throw in the towel so I don't want to travel down that road. It sounds like you are doing great. Take care, Rick

Hi Rick! I'm a daily weigher too! That's exactly how I feel and what I've been doing! I'd rather have to just cut back a little to lose 3-5 pounds, than full blown DIET (four letter word!) to lose 10 or more! That would freak me out! thanks for the input!

I had a med-gem at my Nut office at 1 year post-op and I will have it again at 2 years post-op. It's a test to check your metobolism. You breathe into a tube that goes into a machine. Based carbon dioxide and other gases; it can figure out how many calories you burn per day. I also got a print out with the number of calories to eat to maintain my weight. Based on the test and if I remeber correctly my calorie range should be around 1700-2000. The test is really cool. My fitness center also offers the test. I think if you are maintaining your weight then you are eating the right number of calories for you. If you can find a place to have the test done; I highly recommend it. We all have different metobolisms and activity levels. I found the info to be very useful. Belinda

Hi Belinda, That is a great idea also. I believe my gym offers that test too! I'm going to look into it. Thanks!

I'm right there with ya on this one Rebeka. My nutritionist and bariatric program hands out a sheet at the first year visit that indicates 1,000 calories per day is ideal. I had a fairly large conniption in their office. I asked them how they could possibly expect someone to live for the rest of their lives on 1,000 calories a day??? They said it is just a guideline. I felt that it was irresponsible to hand something like that out. I'd never make it on that few calories. Even though I see a nutritionist every six months through the bariatric program, I have to say I don't think they are very good. They treat me as if I am a regular patient. And, I'm not. I usually end up leaving the appointment steaming. It's a waste of my time and my insurance company's money for me to listen to them tell me things that don't apply to someone who had WLS. I'm going to start tracking my food again in fitday.com beginning Sunday to see where I'm at for calories per day, protein grams, carbs, etc. I think it's more about where the percentages of your caloric intake per day lie. If you're maintaining, I'd say you're doing fabulous! Hugs, Stephanie

Hi Rebeka, There is a neat formula for determining what your calorie intake should be. It's called the Harris Benedict Formula. If you will send me a personal email, I'll send you the Excel spread sheet with all of the formulas in tact. You just add your info and it will tell you how many calories you should eat to lose or maintain. [email protected] Anyone else who would like the spreadsheet can email me as well. If I do not exercise at all, I can eat 1437 calories a day and maintain my current weight. With my exercise level at moderate (3-5x a week) I can eat 2228 cals a day to maintain. To lose weight I would have to cut that amount by the desired amount of weight I want to lose per week. 1 lbs a week = 3500 cal so I would have to keep a moderate level of exercise and cut the 2228 cals/day down by 500 cals/day to lose one lb a week. It's a really cool formula. Of course some of our metabolisms are not the best but this is a pretty good estimate. Just to let you know - for light exercise (1-3x a week) the cal/day is 1976. Hugs, Robin

Hi Robin. Just wanted to pop in and say your new picture is great! You look marvelous! Hugs, Stephanie

Oh thank you Stephanie. It took me forever to figure out how to get it on there. Hugs, Robin