I am doing lots of reading and haven't come up with a concrete portion or caloric intake. Every one seems to have a different plan. I just want to know how much most people comfortably eat at a sitting. Is it bad to get in more than 50 g of protein a day? Should I be on a 700 cal diet, a 1000 cal, or What!? What counts as a serving, as how much? And what number carbs should I be shooting to stay under?

1200 calories is the best I think. All this crap about my surgeon told me to eat only a half a cup is bull crap to say the least and those types of surgeons shouldnt be practising medicine. You can not get proper nurishment off of a half of a cup of food. Normal portions are 3 to 4 0unces of meat 1/2 cup of vegetables and 1/2 cup of fruit. Yes it seems like a lot but that is normal portions that a good doctor would go by. Some will argue I cant eat that much well yes you can because your band has a hole in it and the food only stays in the pouch for a minute or less then starts going to the lower portion of the stomach. I have good restriction and I can eat at least a cup and a half of food. A year post op you should be able to eat a small lean cuisine with no problem at all. I wish whomever started the 1/2 of cup nonsense would stop. Any doctor that told me to eat a half cup of food I would tell him heck no because Im not going to be vitamin deficient or live in starvation mode therefore being a failure cause I wouldnt lose weight. 700 calories is not enough try double that but make good food choices thats all.

It all depends on you; your weight, your height, your age, your exercise levels, etc. I generally eat a cup of food or so a meal with 3 small Snacks. 1300 calories (1400 next week), under 80 carbs, and at least 115g Protein. I workout for almost 2 hours a day.

Try this calculator, it may give you a range to shoot for: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598

I just commented on another thread about this, but ask your Dr if you can get an REE or RMR test done using a calorimeter. It will give you YOUR metabolic rate and what YOU personally need to eat to be able to lose. For me, it was less than 1400/day. I tend to eat somewhere in the 1000-1400 range, and my average weightloss when I stay in that range is about 1.5 pounds per week. On days where my workout is heavy cardio, I eat closer to 1400, when it's strength training or flexibility training, it's closer to 1000. I also toss in a high calorie day around 2000-ish once every few weeks to kind of reset things.

I try to get in over 70g of Protein because it satisfies me for longer periods, and helps me to not lose lean muscle mass. But I do eat carbs too, just not much in the way of starches and the like.

I recently got unfilled back to what I was immediately post-op (had ALL my fills taken out), so I can eat pretty much whatever I want now. I was getting stuck on all meat/eggs/tofu/fish and having a very rough time getting enough protein. So my band does not restrict my portions now, but it does help me stay not-hungry for longer. My Dr. and I looked at my progress and discovered that this level was where I lost the best post-banding, so obviously the very tight band thing is not good for me. It works for others, though. I agree that the whole 1/2 cup of food thing is sort of nutty, and really hated (and I mean HATED) being at that level... I kept finding ways to sabotage the band and myself until I realized that we each use this tool in different ways. You can find the way that works best for you.

Its entirely unique to you. You'll find people on here who think you should eat 150 grams of Protein a day, and others like me who dont think that so much. You'll find people who think an 800 calorie diet is the bees knees and others like me who think that's not even remotely necessary. You'll find people who exercise a lot - you'll find people like me who love their cardio and do strength training only as much as necessary and others that'll tell you that cardio wastes your muscles and your time. You'll find people who actually think half a cup of food is a meal and others like me who would be thinking "now, where's the main course".

Like curvycat above, i've actually found an unfilled seems to still control hunger but not portions - and I eat waaaaaay better because I make up those larger meals with vegies and fruit and wholegrains, not with crap food. I've actually lost significant weight unfilled and I was already down to a BMI of 21 when I was unfilled (for a surgery). So you need to find the restriction level best for you too.

Truly, you have to work this one out for yourself. Even your doctor/nutritionist cant really tell you what to do, they have seen what works for most by and large, but everyone has a unique mix of calorie and nutritional needs and output.