Hi, Everyone - I've seen a few posts about how many calories people have been eating to maintain their goal weight but none about how much they have to eat to lose weight and was curious, as my surgeon never gave me a target caloric intake (I had my procedure in 2014). He just told me to eat 80-100 grams of protein a day and to focus on avoiding refined carbs. I was also wondering if the target caloric intake people are talking about is total consumption or absorbed amount. (For example, they eat/consume 2000 calories a day but only absorb 1200 of those consumed calories so their target is 1200 absorbed calories?) Thanks in advance for the insight!!!

While there are similarities there are also differences as we have different needs. I was barely eating 900 calories at goal at 6 months but some are eating 1200 within a couple of months. I was never given caloric goals. Just protein, water, & portion size recommendations.

It’s best to discuss this with your dietician. They should consider things like, your age, height, build, gender, activity level, etc.

I want to preface this by saying I am a really small person (4'10") with a small frame, but I eat between 800 and 1000 calories to lose; my maintenance calories will be between 1200 and 1500.

15 hours ago, stardust82 said:

Hi, Everyone - I've seen a few posts about how many calories people have been eating to maintain their goal weight but none about how much they have to eat to lose weight and was curious, as my surgeon never gave me a target caloric intake (I had my procedure in 2014). He just told me to eat 80-100 grams of Protein a day and to focus on avoiding refined carbs. I was also wondering if the target caloric intake people are talking about is total consumption or absorbed amount. (For example, they eat/consume 2000 calories a day but only absorb 1200 of those consumed calories so their target is 1200 absorbed calories?) Thanks in advance for the insight!!!

Regarding consumed vs absorbed, i would hazard a guess that consumed calories is the measurement. Wouldn’t absorbed calories de difficult to determine? Everyone will have different absorption rates. Maybe better to over estimate than under. Your scale and labs will tell u if u need to eat more or less.

Regarding weight loss calories, again it depends on the person and their current weight as well as their current activity level. For me, i could lose weight eating 1800 calories when i was very active, but today that same amount is my maintenance level.

My NUT was more concerned about the macro makeup of my meals vs a caloric goal. But she did say, if I remember correctly that i should aim to be at 1200 cals by 3 months and more or less the same forever.

Well.

I was like at 400 cals at 3 months, and sub-800 by the time i got to goal. And now at 1800. So yeah, her caloric goal did not/does not fit my experience.

Best to do some trial and error to find what combination of calories/food types/activity works for YOU. And keep adjusting as necessary.

Good Luck! ❤️

P.S. Im 5’2” 119 lbs this morning, and 4 years post op sleeve.

Thanks so much for all the feedback everyone! It's super helpful. I know that I have not been making high enough caloric deficits so I am going to heed your advice and try to play this by ear/do some trial and error. I know now that my numbers were way off (too high!!) though. I think I will try to focus on 1000 calories max each day comprised of protein shakes, eggs, milk, salads with chicken, and lots of fruit this week and will see how it goes!

22 hours ago, stardust82 said:

Hi, Everyone - I've seen a few posts about how many calories people have been eating to maintain their goal weight but none about how much they have to eat to lose weight and was curious, as my surgeon never gave me a target caloric intake (I had my procedure in 2014). He just told me to eat 80-100 grams of Protein a day and to focus on avoiding refined carbs. I was also wondering if the target caloric intake people are talking about is total consumption or absorbed amount. (For example, they eat/consume 2000 calories a day but only absorb 1200 of those consumed calories so their target is 1200 absorbed calories?) Thanks in advance for the insight!!!

How many calories each person needs is going to be different. There is no amount that fits everyone. If only it were that easy!

It's going to depend on how much exercise you're getting, what medications you're on and what illnesses you may have. It also depends on your height and weight. For instance, a heavier person will burn more calories just sitting still than a lighter person. And someone with more muscle mass will burn more calories just sitting still than someone with less.

Also, certain foods make me gain weight. If I eat two low-carb tortillas, I will gain two pounds that day. It never fails. I reckon certain foods cause me to retain water and LC tortillas are one of them. LOL! But everyone else I know can eat them and still lose weight.

You need to experiment and see where your specific body is successful. Write down everything you eat or drink. Weigh yourself regularly. If you see that the scale is going up, review what you've been eating since you last weighed in and make the appropriate changes.

26 minutes ago, Jeanniebug said:

How many calories each person needs is going to be different. There is no amount that fits everyone. If only it were that easy!

It's going to depend on how much exercise you're getting, what medications you're on and what illnesses you may have. It also depends on your height and weight. For instance, a heavier person will burn more calories just sitting still than a lighter person. And someone with more muscle mass will burn more calories just sitting still than someone with less.

Also, certain foods make me gain weight. If I eat two low-carb tortillas, I will gain two pounds that day. It never fails. I reckon certain foods cause me to retain Water and LC tortillas are one of them. LOL! But everyone else I know can eat them and still lose weight.

You need to experiment and see where your specific body is successful. Write down everything you eat or drink. Weigh yourself regularly. If you see that the scale is going up, review what you've been eating since you last weighed in and make the appropriate changes.

Thanks! I definitely took the weight loss coming so easily in the first year for granted and did not do anything further when I stalled. I now see that others constantly worked at it and adjusted to succeed and that I need to show that same level of persistence/tenacity to get to where I want to be!

25 minutes ago, stardust82 said:

Thanks! I definitely took the weight loss coming so easily in the first year for granted and did not do anything further when I stalled. I now see that others constantly worked at it and adjusted to succeed and that I need to show that same level of persistence/tenacity to get to where I want to be!

You can do it.

I'm not tall nor super active. I stayed around 800 to 900 calories to goal (about 6 to 7 months), been adding 100 calories every month or two till I get to maintenance. I lost 3 lbs. last month so I upped it another 100 at the beginning of this month. I calorie count (monthly average) and my diet consists of the required protein (mainly from seafood, legumes, soy, dairy) and then 6-7 servings of fruits/veg a day.

2 hours ago, Tomo said:

I'm not tall nor super active. I stayed around 800 to 900 calories to goal (about 6 to 7 months), been adding 100 calories every month or two till I get to maintenance. I lost 3 lbs. last month so I upped it another 100 at the beginning of this month. I calorie count (monthly average) and my diet consists of the required Protein (mainly from seafood, legumes, soy, dairy) and then 6-7 servings of fruits/veg a day.

Wow! Your weight loss has been incredible! I am 1/2 an inch shorter than you and started at about the same place (328 lbs) but have stayed at 215 lbs for years now. I haven't been happy with that weight but am only now REALLY motivated to do something about it since I really want to have kids. I think I need to adjust my thinking about all of this though. I've been eating way more calories (2000 or so!) and maintaining where I am at. I never adjusted down further. I also started at about 1500 or so after the initial liquids stages. I now realize that I really need to be more restrictive if I want to drop more weight -- the malabsorption can only do so much!

My doctor never gave me goals or macros, beyond "eat protein first, stop when you aren't hungry anymore, don't eat on a schedule, eat only when hungry". That's been working well for me. I've lost 170lbs total, 120 of which is post surgery, and I'm still slowly losing.

Most days I get 700-900 calories a day, though I don't track unless I hit a 3+ week stall.

I'm not sure what to do when I get to maintenance but then again I'm not sure when I should stop losing anyway. I'm 5'7" at at 161lbs (large frame) and while I look fine in clothes, when I see myself naked with all the extra skin, I can't decide if I am still overweight, too skinny or what since I'm bony all over but also comically saggy and wrinkled.

I don't like stressing out about it though so I'll just keep doing this until either my surgeon tells me to eat more or I get hungry enough to naturally go into maintenance I guess?

19 hours ago, ClareLynn said:

I'm not sure what to do when I get to maintenance but then again I'm not sure when I should stop losing anyway. I'm 5'7" at at 161lbs (large frame) and while I look fine in clothes, when I see myself naked with all the extra skin, I can't decide if I am still overweight, too skinny or what since I'm bony all over but also comically saggy and wrinkled.

I don't like stressing out about it though so I'll just keep doing this until either my surgeon tells me to eat more or I get hungry enough to naturally go into maintenance I guess?

100%. All of this.

I still eat less than 600cal a day and that works well for me at 6 months PO