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How many calories should we be eating a day.



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I am 6 weeks out and I am on to my lifetime eating and I am just curious how many calories should we maintain a day for a healthy weight loss.

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I'm interested in finding this out too - I've not really counted calories, but perhaps this is where I've been failing - I seem to have been on a stall for a year :(

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My plan has me on 800-1200 forever calories, but I find that on strength training days I need more.

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Your bariatric team/NUT should give you that information when you have your follow-up visits.

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Your bariatric team/NUT should give you that information when you have your follow-up visits.

My nutritionist refuses to set a calorie target for me. She just insists I meet my Protein and Water targets every day. But I started out getting maybe 500-600 calories a day tops until I was on solid foods. From there I tried to work my way up over 800 in order to begin regularly exercising. Now that I am running and working out intensely, I aim for over 1000... usually 1000-1200 a day?

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Here's a general rule:

1-4 Weeks: 400+ calories

5-6 Weeks: 500-600 calories

6-8 Weeks: 600-800 calories

8 Weeks and beyond: 800-1000 calories

Just an example, others mileage may vary (as Ann says)

At six months, I started ramping up my exercise so brought my calories up from 800 to 1000. Now in my 9th month, I'm up to about 1,100, and losing okay at this point. I also run up to 2 miles a day and weight train.

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It took me 7 to 8 months just to reach 600 my first 3 to 4 mon I did good to meet 500..I'm 10 mon now I still under 1000

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It took me 7 to 8 months just to reach 600 my first 3 to 4 mon I did good to meet 500..I'm 10 mon now I still under 1000

Wow? Really? You must have a tiny sleeve!

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What @@Babbs said. I maintain on around 1400 calories a day now. But to lose, I have to stay under 1000.

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I have the same issue. I exercise a lot and have a very physical job. I wear an armband that measures my calories burned and I am always over 3000. My NUT has me at 800 calories right now, but I think that's whats stalling my weight loss. I go see the nurse practitioner Monday, so hopefully she can give me more information. I think they often give a one size fits all calorie goal.

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Use my fitness pal. Enter the food and measure measure measure

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I never measured, counted or tracked anything except Protein and Water. I don't plan meals, I simply eat a healthy, balanced diet of Protein, veggies, fruit and whole grains....with a few indulgences of candy, desert, alcohol, pastries, etc thrown in a few times/month. Pretty much like any "normal" fit, healthy person.

But since most people on BP like to measure their progress with numbers, I did a few spot checks along the way so I could "communicate" with the number crunchers....

1-4 months out 500-800 calories....I had non-surgical health issues that impeded my ability to eat/drink, that's why this number is so low.

6-8 months 1000-1200 calories....passed surgeon's goal at 6 months and passed personal goal at 7 1/2 months

9-17 months maintaining 10 pounds below goal (BMI 23) at 1400-1600 calories.

I ascribe to the theory that if you limit your caloric intake for an extended time, your body will adapt to the limitations and it will be harder to maintain and easier to gain as you get farther out when you try and increase your calories.

I dont exercise, I simply have a physical job that involves a lot of lifting, bending, squatting, walking, standing, etc. and an active lifestyle (horseback riding, chores, kayaking, hiking, skiing). I usually hit 12,000-20,000 steps on my fitbit just in my everyday activities. I allow myself a 4 pound bounce range and when I go over, I cut back to strict protein and veggies and when I drop below, I add more carbs.

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I am so grateful for this site, such great information.

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I'm 2 pounds below goal (and still losing about a pound a week), but eating close to 1,400 calories most days.

My nutritionist, my exercise consultant and I have all estimated (independently) that at my current metabolic rate and exercise level my maintenance calorie budget should be 1,600 - 1,700 calories a day.

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My nut said around 1200. I don't meet that often. I'm normally around 900 to 1000.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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