How many calories 2 years out?

Thanks for saying posting this. I was a bit freaked out thinking I was eating way too much. I was thinking I could NEVER live on 800 calories not to mention I would think that few calories and I would lose weight, which I really do not need to do Thanks again Michele

Thank you Mariella! I am 2 1/2 years post op and have maintained within a couple of pounds for over a year. I eat at least 1,500-2,000 calories a day. I am active, but can't call myself an athlete. The only time I question something that seems to be working for me, when I read so many posts on here that talk about such low calorie consumption when people are so far out. I would feel like I was starving, and know I would be more obsessed with food. I find that allowing myself to get full and feel satisfied seems to go the furthest in preventing grazing between meals. I mostly have puzzled that my food consumption seems to be so much more than my peers here, yet I know when compared to other people in my life it is still way less than they eat. I eat carbs too, but that's a whole nother subject. I just try to have a balanced diet that keeps me satisfied, get monitored by the doc for labs, and weigh myself daily to make sure it's working for me. Patty

this might be the answer. Most people underestimate what they eat by 30 - 50 %. when my son took a nutrition class he told me about a study that showed just that, and when people were put in a controlled i envirinment and fed only what they *said* they ate - they lost weight. Unless the are measuring everysingle thing I would take it with a grain of salt . when I see some one had 3 protein shakes and a lettuce leaf all day I 1. feel sorry for them 2. wonder if they will get help with their eating disorder, 3. take it with a grain of salt - maybe they have been reading misinformation and are posting what they think is the OH PC "right " way of eatiing.

I agree 100%, 800-1200 the first year maybe. when you are actively losing. but long term - no way is that healthy. and I personally did this to be healthy. I must fuel my body to do the things I want to do, to feel well, and look good. I personally eat 1500-1700 calories a day and sometimes up to 2000. I am maintaining very well. I am physically active and work out a LOT, 4-5 days a week for an hour in most cases. I was doing more and had to cut back for various reasons. as a competitve athlete who is training constantly you will *need* a lot more calories than I do and I need more than a person who is sedentary. it is so individual depending on activity level, body type etc. some one who is very fit and muscular burns more than a person the same weight who does not work out and is not fit. when I started lifting more weight and really working out, my weight went up by 5-6 pounds. and every one kept asking me if I was losing again. my clothes fit great, and I look toned and muscular. I think the muscle I built is also helping me burn more calories. I hate seeing so much misinformation posted. It often is repeated and passed on ( like a bad chain letter in the email) til every one has heard it and it has been repeated til "everybody" knows it is true.

Mariella: I'm so glad I bumped into this discussion because my surgeon has TWICE told me that maintenance calories should be between 800-1200 cals and it freaks me out every time. I'm going to investigate this more when I see him for my one-year check-up in a few weeks time, but I've been trying to dialogue with people about why surgeons (some) use this figure. Do they have some statistical (or even anecdotal) evidence that suggests that our metabolisms are so screwy from obesity or the rapid post-op weightloss that they've determined we need to live forever on less calories than the most severe dieter? Or do they hand us this very restrictive number because they (patronizingly?) think we're gonna' cheat up to more calories anyway?? I have actually been eating far fewer calories than most of my weightloss cohort as I've lost my weight this past year, and so I'm not rallying against calorie restriction per se, but against what seems to me to be the *illogic* of this number. I am, however, the most compliant patient there is, so if someone gives me a reasonable explanation for this, I'll use the numbers given as a guide. This all came up for me again recently as I read some provocative/intriguing statements in the recent issue of WLS Lifestyles magazine. The author, a bariatric coordinator in a practice since 1999 (this means she has been leading the post-op support groups for years and presumably has plenty of anecdotal, at least, evidence) made two statements that got my attention: 1) "Although an individual may achieve a massive weight loss, that individual still suffers from the disease of morbid obesity and will have a lifelong struggle to maintain a healthy weight. In fact, Samuel Klein, M.D., in his lecture to the 22nd annual meeting of the ASBS, stated that the disease is so intractable that only rigorous exercise can keep formerly obese people at a maintenance weight." 2) "The moment of truth is when patients realize that they cannot maintain their weight on calorie restriction alone. As Dr. Klein reported, over a period of time, even if caloric intake is the same day after day, the person with the disease of morbid obesity will find his/her weight slowly creeping upwards. The only way to halt the weight gain is to incorporate regular exerise into one's life." Now, whatever happened to "calories in/calories out"? Yes, I know these statements promote the obvious benefits of exercise for us, but they also seem to be saying something radical about our basic metabolisms ("even if caloric intake is the same day after day, the person with the disease of morbid obesity will find his/her weight slowly creeping upwards"), or about the rate of food absorbtion as it increases the further out we are. I was going to schedule a meeting with the author of the article to learn more about these conclusions, and other results she's seen from the hundreds of post-ops in her practice, but sadly the author was Valerie Homan who just died this week in a plane crash with her bariatric surgeon husband. So I throw this discussion out here onto the boards to hear what you and others have to say. Thanks for reading, Susan

Maybe I am just one of the lucky ones...but I don't count calories at all. I focus on eating the things that are healthy with protein first. But, I refuse to count calories. Anne 263/150/128