Curious about why calorie restrictions so low?

I've noticed a lot of people that have had RNY say that they are supposed to get 600 calories a day, or 800, etc.  I'm 2 months out and nobody has told me how many calories I'm supposed to be eating a day, but I'm wondering why calories would be so low. I have done other programs before, and for my weight, to lose weight I was supposed to be on 1200 calories.  So I'm just curious why that would be different just because I had RNY.   I thought that the RNY was a tool for us to lose weight, but to me, eating 600 calories a day sounds like starving myself.  I know we're not necessarily hungry and therefore don't eat a full 1200 calories....but does that mean we are starving ourselves? Thanks, -Rachel (my ticker disappeared, but I started at 250lbs and have lost 38lbs since my surgery on 12/19/07)

I'm not an RD/NUT, but I've definately made nutrition my hobby since my WLS - so I'll tell you what I think.  (Why didn't your surgeon explain this to you?) Most of us have been overweight/obese for YEARS.  This surgery does not CURE your weight problem.  It gives you a TOOL to HELP you learn to eat/live better.  It helps YOU retrain your own body on how to eat a healthy volume/quality of food.  The pouch starts out (in most people) about the size of an egg or golfball.  Actually due to swelling, it is a little smaller than that at first.  One should only consume approximately 2 tablespoons per meal during the first couple of weeks, then progress to 2 - 4 tablespoons per meal, then 4 - 6 tablespoons per meal and finally top off at about 6 tablespoons per meal.  (This doesn't sound like a lot, but that is 18 teaspoons/bites which is plenty.)   Most people cannot get in but around 500 - 600 calories in the first 3 months.  So some surgeons don't even worry about a minimum or maximum calorie requirement that early out.  Eating 600 calories a day will NOT starve you.  What you have to realize is that, as an obese person, you have 1000s of STORED calories that need to be burned.  So when you consume 600 calories, you are really "running off of" more than 600 calories because your body is burning the rest of what it needs off your fat.  RNY enables us to eat very low calorie diets which is WHY we lose weight so quickly.  (Our bodies can burn off more calories because our lack of hunger and tiny pouch allow us to get satisfied on so much less than a normal person.)   My surgeon upped my calorie limit/goal to 700 at my 3 month post-op visit so that I could start incorporating fruits/vegetables in my diet.  He has a VERY high success rate, so I pretty much listen to everything he has to say.   If you push yourself to ingest 1200 calories now, what will you be consuming when you CAN eat more 1 or 2 or 5 years from now? 

This is a pretty individualized thing I think, and really will vary by the guidance given by your surgeon or NUT/RD. I started back on solids at about 5 weeks post-op. The guidance at that point from my NUT was basically that I had to get in a minimum of 60 g of protein per day, and 64 oz. minimum of fluids. As I got a little further out, was getting most if not all of my protein from foods and not protein shakes anymore by about 2 months out, my calorie intake was roughly between 700 and 800 calories per day, divided by 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks per day, as per my NUT. Basically, I am eating something about every 3 hours. Essentially, what my NUT told me was that in our program, their guidance says we have "up to" 1200 calories per day, more if exercising regularly, and that roughly our breakdown of calories should be 40% from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat. But that it was more important to be getting our calories with the following servings of all the food groups in mind: Protein (60 g minimum per day) Dairy (1 to 2 servings per day) Veggies (3 to 4 servings per day) Fruit (1 to 2 servings per day) Water (minimum 64 oz.) If we were doing the above, then we were following good nutrition guidelines. Also, our minimum fat intake per day is 25 g...my target is 25 to 40 g per day. Now, at 7.5 months out, I eat roughly 1000 to 1100 calories per day...and it still may not be enough for the days I'm working out, and I'm still losing. Check in with your surgeon or your NUT/RD. If you don't have one, get a referral for one. They really are the best person to help you figure out what you need.