Calories? 10 months post-op. What do you recommend?

My NUT is dead set against giving me a range of calories. I CAN'T DO THAT. I need a guideline. Please help.

Mine is set at 1,000 calories a day.  Protein requirement is 60 g.  She gave me no other information with respect to carbohydrates or fat. 

I am usually around 900-1000 and find myself comfortable in that range.  I've not been hungry at all. 

My typical day consists of:

B - South Beach Diet High Protein Cereal Bar 10 g protein 140 calories
Post workout snack - 2 oz ham or turkey and 1 piece of provolone or other cheese
    14 g protein 140 calories
L - salad w/grilled chicken, south beach diet frozen dinner, grilled chicken sandwich (fast food minus the bun)   typically 25 g protein and ~ 280 calories
S- Unjury protein 1/2 scoop & 1/2 c skim milk   14 g protein and about 100 cal  or a piece of fruit like a plum, apple, or nsa diced peaches, applesauce
D - Some type of grilled meat or stir fried with fresh veggies. 
       25-30 g protein and 280 calories
S - SF Fudgesicle 2g protein and 40 cal

I don't always have the protein powder.  There are times when I just need something to chew on, and I have jerky and pistachios in my drawer.  The sodium in the jerky was causing some swelling issues so I haven't been eating that for the past two weeks.

Hope this help.  My surgery date was 11/7/07 and I started at a high BMI of 58.1 and I've lost 120 pounds so far.

I'm NO expert, but you can (roughly) multiply the weight you're aiming for by 10.  So if you wanna be 150 lbs >>> 150 x 10 = 1500 calories per day is a good goal.  Also, you should never go below about 1100 calories a day without medical supervision.  That's not wise for anyone, but also remember that our bodies aren't absorbing every calorie we eat.  (Not something to take advantage of and eat an entire cake!  LOL!)  Just remember that if you're taking in 1000 calories, your body isn't keeping 1000 calories anymore, so you're likely starting to starve it.  However, your nutritionist is right if she's very familiar with WLS.  You should not be counting calories or really thinking about it too much.  More protein than carbs on your plate, don't count the numbers.  :)

Best wishes to ya!
Dawn

P.S.  I got my calorie counting info from Self magazine -- they seem to be pretty level-headed about health advice.

My Nut won't give me a number either.  However, at the 3-month mark she boosted me up to 800-1000 for calories.  Around 6 months I boosted myself up to 1000-1200.  Now that I'm at 9 months out I am still in the 1000-1200 range.  I feel comfortable at this number -- getting enough food to satisfy my hunger/cravings but still losing steadily.  I try to keep my calorie ratio to 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat.

EDITED TO ADD:  A typical day's eating for me:

7am commute to work:  protein shake or protein ice cream
10am breakfast -- carb master yogurt and fruit or granola
1pm lunch -- a serving of an Eggface casserole and salad or McDonalds salad w/ grilled chicken
4:30 snack -- cheesestick and fruit or protein bar
8:00 dinner -- tortilla pizza or meat and veggies or more Eggface casserole

Daily goals
Calories: 1000-1200
Protein: 100g
Carb: 80-125g
Fiber 25-35g

Good luck
Pam

This is exactly some info I was searching today. I had the VSG 6 months ago. I have been on a long stall. I lost only 3 pounds in the last month. Very discouraging.
I know I am eating more calories than I should and my carbs average 100 g a day and keep protein 70+. My calories average 1300 a day. I feel this is high as a VSG patient but VSG or not I think that is pretty good.
I agree with Dawn. weight x 10 = calories to mantain
Saying that, 1300 calories a day should maintain a 130 lb person right? I weight 215 lbs so I should definitely be losing weight???????
I do exercise 3-5 days a week. at least 30 minutes on the eliptical and strength training.

I calculated my calories needed for weight loss, my target right now is 175 lbs. It came to1988 calories a day to lose weight which means Im in a deficit of around 600 cal. a day plus any exercise I do. From those numbers I should be losing at least 2 lbs a week.
 
Why do you think I am not losing?

The body is such a mysterious thing. I wish I could be of some help. I have no clue why we dont drop keep dropping the weight like b4. I guess our bodies get used to it and thats the reason it slows down. I wish i knew!

I'm 8 months out and eating about 800 calories per day. After reading these posts, I think I need to up the calorie intake more b/c I'm feeling ran down and I'm getting "too thin." Can anyone tell me the SIZE of meal you are eating around 8-12 months out? I'm doing 1 cup per meal... Is this too much for my pouch?

my nut and surgeon said for me to eat around a cup to 1.5 cups a meal. your doing fine