Calories?

I am almost three months out from RNY (8/23/16) and just had my 3 month check in with the nutritionist this past Friday.  I know that protein and fluid intake is my main area of concentration, but I'd also like to know what my calorie goal should be.  When I asked the nutritionist at my appt, she was very vague.

I can tell you that for my first 10 weeks or so, I had a very difficult time eating and drinking in general.  I felt like my capacity to eat was very small, drinking was somewhat painful, and I struggled with any kind of protein drink.  With that my average caloric intake was around 350 calories per day (I track everything in myfitnesspal) and I was not regularly meeting my protein and fluid goals.  I also had relatively low weight loss. 

Over the past couple of weeks, I suddenly feel so much better.  Taking in fluids is so much easier, I am able to tolerate some different kinds of protein drinks and have upped my calorie intake to an average of 615 calories per day.  I've also seen increased weight loss over these 2 weeks.  Not sure if there is a correlation between the upped calories or if maybe the increased protein and fluids have helped or maybe all combined?

With all of this, the increased calories scare me a little because I don't know where I "should" be.  I am looking for some thoughts on calorie goals??

Thanks!

I was consuming about the same number of calories as you at the 3 month mark and stuck to under 900 until about the year mark. I reached goal at 14 months out.

Thank you!  Congrats on reaching your goal!

I set MFP for 800 calories and worked to try to hit that after the first 3 months.  Most days I fell short but it was a good bar for me. If I was under 600/day I would stop losing and feel crap. Recently I am inching that bar up to 1000/day to try to shift to maintenance. So far I am still losing but very slowly. Keep in mind though every person is different.  Try different things, stick with what works and toss out what doesn't.  For me the most important thing is weighing daily so I know what the outcome of any particular day's eating does to my body. I'm all about collecting the data and using what works.

All the best to you!

~E

Thanks for the feedback and detailed answer.  I do weigh in every day - I agree that the daily weigh-ins help me to know what is working and what isn't.  As part of my profession, I track data and outcomes, so, yes, I have data and more data related to this journey!  I also like to know expectations (ie:daily caloric intake), so vague answers from my nutritionist was very difficult for me.

Thanks again!

Hi there , I'm 5 1 /2 months post op . What's working for me is calories between 550 to 650 , protein around 85 grams and I try to drink around 120 oz of fluids . Keep up your good work . 

Thanks for the information.  I'm not yet at your protein and fluid intake yet, but working on it!

I agree that everyone is different.

But Protein and fluids first is main focus, and if that comes easy, then watch the calories to insure you are in the rang you should be.

Some people handle fats very well, and that adds a lot of calories, as well as watching simple carbs and sugar later on to get the best nutrition for the calorie eaten.

I am one that from almost day 1 has really had no limit on what I eat, and it came too easy, so setting calorie and macro goals is very important to me.

Seems about right- I'm almost a year and try very hard to stay under 780 per day. I am still losing though under my 'goal'. Will continue to lose until I've decided it is enough. But I still have about 13 pounds to play with until I'm considered underweight by BMI calculator.