I feel obsessed over counting calories.....

"They" never do. "They" are also not successful WLS patients for nearly 10 years.

I'd like to add a couple of comments to this.

The current medical information and recommendations are truly based on what is "normal and current". Medical science is not so advanced to recognize the anomalies in those of us with "altered anatomy". We do not, do NOT, ingest and metabolize nutrients in the same manner as those with "normal" anatomy. Resulting from our altered "guts" is a series of unknowns, for the most part.

"Eat more calories". "Eat more carbs". These are things that I consistently hear over the several years that I've been a member here.

BULL****

We are NOT normal people of normal anatomies. We do NOT need more calories and more carbs.

We need to stay with the program. We need to not alter or amend it. What works, works - for us. We are not "normal", as per our franken-guts. For those who disbelieve - talk to me in 10 years.

Well said!! It's believing that we are "normal" or "cured" that leads us on the path to regain. Not gonna happen to me.

Wow. Upping your calories at 7 weeks out? Insane. You had better be measuring your portions and counting calories at this point. Your nerves cannot feel fullness yet and most of us do not know what a normal portion looks like. Early out you are learning healthy habits and measuring and counting helps.

I am 7 years out and consume around 2000 calories a day.  I do not usually track my food (unless I am up a few pounds) but it took a long time to be comfortable with how much I was eating before I stopped tracking.

I hurt myself trying to bite my tongue at my one month nutrition class at TWH. The amount of time spent talking about cereals and pasta and cookies had me so angry.

I would like to echo Karen's last post re the various centers saying to up calorie - carbs etc etc

If you read the forums with any regularity - RNY forum - DS Forum - VSG forum and the general forum as well as this one - the same theme runs thru all of them from the vets who have managed to take and keep their weight off.

Watch the type and amount of carbs - protein first - fruit in moderation . 

Get your weight off as fast as possible - all of it and if you can a bit more for good measure.   Dont screw around with this.

This requires focus and determination - you have this ONE chance to get it off with reasonable ease.  Food variety and 'treats" will be waiting for you when you are done.  I see people begin to wane after 9 months to a year and they begin to add too many carbs - sweets etc and wonder why their weight loss stops or slows considerably. 

Re Calories - whether you track them by watching your protein/carbs - or just calories - or a combo - they matter.  I list all my stats as its easy on MFP.  However the only ones I pay attention to is my protein and carb count AND the total calories.  Like Pat - I adjust if I look at the stats after entering in MFP and change things if I don't like the look of them. 

I cannot emphasize enough to work diligently on getting as much off as quickly as possible.  You WILL  likely get bored - sidetracked - smarty pants etc etc as the time goes so do this while you are highly motivated.

Agreed, Barb. Staying the course had me losing weight even into my third year post-op.

I see so many people do so well to get the weight off only to hit a perceived "goal weight" and start adding in too many carbs and treats, since they figure they are "maintaining". A year later they're posting about "bounce-back" of 10-20 pounds and trying to figure out why it happened. And a large faction of our population then advise them that the bounce-back is inevitable/unavoidable, to which I tend to disagree, but that's only from my own experience with this whole WLS thing.