How much? How many?

Yes,  I definitely have days where I feel out of control.  But it is days, not weeks leading into months.  At 53, I finally gave myself permission to not be perfect, which was hard.  There are days the cookies do call my name, but for some reason, I do stop with just a few.  Even if I didn't have some mild dumping symptoms, there is an over-riding need to never go back to my obesity.  I love being where I am.  I love the physical freedom my body now has to move.  I would track my food if I needed to, but I feel I have a good sense of where I am nutritionally most days. I used to be able to turn off the little voice in my head that said "don't eat that, it won't solve the problem, it'll make it worse".  It was literally like flipping a switch.  The voice came back after all the food was gone.  Now I don't turn the switch.  I listen to the voice of reason, even if I don't want to hear it.  Now a little is as good as the whole thing.  Wish I could explain why.  If I eat some potato chips, I eat some, really enjoy the taste, but don't eat the entire bag.  It's being able to be in the moment.  Don't know if this helps you, but I hope so. Deb

Each of us is different. Some will look skinny at 165 and some won't look that gaunt until they're 115.

I kept losing weight at 1200 calories so I had to up the calories. I am currently at about 1800 calories a day, today I was low at 1500 but generally it's between 1800 and 2300 a day for me...And I'm maintaining. Many keep to less than 1000 a day and maintain that way.

I look at protein mostly and concentrate on getting over 100 grams of that a day and try to stay in range for calories..I find that if I eat carbs, I want more carbs so I try and stay clear of the bad ones.

You can look at any of the accountability threads and see what I eat and how the totals look. But as I said, each of us is different in our calories, energy, exercise...all that stuff.

Hi Stacey, Congratulations on your success!! I currently shoot for 1100 calories a day.  I'm below goal and have been told to gain so I've slowly, over the last 3 months, brought my calorie intake up to the 1100.  I bounce between 118 - 123 but should be at 130 according to my surgeon.  I track on thedailyplate.com compulsively.  But it's what gets me through the day knowing I'm doing it correctly.  I count calories and protein.  I started to go nuts about carbs but found I ate way too little when I was doing that.  I eat protein first, then more protein and then maybe a veggie.  I try not to do grains or starchy veggies.  My fave veg is turnip but only 1/3 of a cup at a time with 1/3 cup of protein first.  I allow myself a night snack of either frozen greek yogurt w/ peanut butter & sf syrup or a no sugar added light ice cream both w/ light whip topping.  I need the treat feeling so I don't graze.  If I know I'm having something good at night it keeps me under control during the day.  I dump on most fruit so I limit that greatly.  I get stuck on red meat, pasta, rice & bread so it makes it easy to keep away from the "white carbs".   Best of luck...always willing to talk if you need an ear.

I suggest you get a metabolism test to find out what *your* body needs. My surgeon/NUTs plan is 1000-1200 calories for life... my NUT said max calories would be 1400 tops, maybe 1500. I had a metabolism test done and I need 1400-1800 to *maintain* my current weight... when I stuck to the 1000-1200 I just knew I was undereating and the test proved it. My NUT said once patients are further out its more of a 'guessing game' and they pretty much tell you whats worked for the *majority* of patients or what the patient average is - obviously cookie cutter plans just dont work since we all are not the same (exercise plans a *huge* part in how much nutrition you need!!) As for carbs etc - to maintain weight it should be 30% protein, 40% carbs, 30% fat... the carbs should mainly be fruits, veggies, dairy and lastly starch/bread carb - I eat approx 3-4 starch/carbs servings a day... each meal is balanced with protein, veggie, fruit and starch/carb last (if I am having one at that meal).