Living a normal life

I had my VSG on 1/18/12. I feel wonderful and I feel like everything is going on as planned.  The problem? I have been reading all the posts on this forum and it seems as though most everyone is taking in about 600-800 calories a day, which is about what I have been taking in as well.  I am wondering if this is what we are going to eat ....for life?  My goal, when getting this surgery, was to live life like a "normal" person. Eat when I am hungary, stop when I am full.  Is 600-800 calories enough for a normal adult to take in?  I thought the body needed more than that, especially when on an exercise program.  I feel like if I only eat this limited amount of calories for say, 6months to a year....the minute I eat more I will gain weight back. I thought it would be more realistic to eat 1,000-1,200 calories a day (making healthy choices, of course)
I know that protien is the most important part of our diet as well, but what about healthy carbs, fresh fruit etc...I have an appointment with the nutritionist on 3/1/12 and I have been writing down all my questions, just wanted some thoughts and input. Don't get me wrong, I am willing to do whatever it takes to make my sleeve work. I do not regret this decision. I know my sleeve is still relatively new and I am excited for a new life.

 Everyone's program is different.  mine reccomends 1200 calories a day and does not restrict carbs, probably would have lost weight faster on the no carb less than 800 calorie per day, but my body does not agree with doing low carb so this program works better for me.

I just try to get protein first and keep the empty carbs at bay.

I stayed on 600-800 per day while trying to lose.  I have been in maintenance for approx 1.5 months and I eat 1,000-1,200 now.  I continued to lose when I upped it to a 1,000 per day, but I think I'll be able to maintain at 1,200-1,400, depending on my level of activity.  If you are very active, you probably can consume more.  I am very careful of the carb factor.  The empty ones are a slippery slope.  They make me hungry sooner and also make me crave more of them, so I try to be VERY careful about that.  Damn those Girl Scout cookies!!!  LOL!  It's good to think about this now, even though you are very early in the process.  Your body will let you know what is right for you.  Just listen to it and trust it.

Deb

as i understand it the farther out you are, the more you can eat. i know some people out here that are 2 -3 years out and keep to 1200=1700 calorie and while they say they can eat more, they choose not to .. to maintain their weight.

you are so fresh out, your stomach will fully heal soon and your capacity will probably increase.

My program was not as strict as others here.  I was never told to count calories or carbs.  I was told to get 60-80 grams of protein a day, 64 oz of fluid, 3 small meals and to drink milk between meals.  I didn't always stick to that but I lost my weight just fine.

I am now almost a year and half out and I feel like I am a normal person in everyway.  I eat what I want just in smaller quatities.  At this point I can eat about a cup of non dense protein food and I am very satisfied with that.  I still don't count calories but I know I can eat a lot if I wanted to.  One day last week I know I ate a little of 2500 calories.

There are some programs out there that use the 600-800 calorie low carb approach, but they tend to be cookie cutter programs that work for some, and don't work well for others. My doc doesn't specify a calorie limit or specify carbs, leaving that to be worked out with the individual patient based on their needs, though 60-80g protein and minimizing simple carbs/sugars is a universal feature. I ran 900-1100 calories per day from the second week on without particular regard to carbs, though I did start specifically adding more complex carbs after 3-4 months to support my workout program. That was a consumption level that was comfortable for me early on, and throughout the weight loss period, but could have been tweaked had my loss rate been too slow or too fast.

All the plans have minimum protein requirements, 60-80g per day is typical, and many people struggle to get that much in; once the protein is in, then other things can be added to balance things out, typically starting with lower cal veg in preference to higher cal fruits and grains. We can live without a lot of these things for a while to meet our weight loss goals, but it's a balancing act - if we are losing at a satisfactory rate, we can operate at a higher than minimal caloric level (and that 6-800 figure is pretty much the least that I have seen used,)

As others have noted, perhaps if I had done the 6-800 calorie low carb plan I would have reached goal a month earlier, but so what? There's nothing healthy about a state of rapid weight loss - it's something that we put up with to get the weight off and is preferable to being fat the rest of our lives; I would rather lose the weight over 18-24 months than 6-8, but it is what it is. Some people will take a year or two to lose all the weight that they need to lose (or what they are going to lose) on the ultra low cal/low carb plan, but that's where tailoring the plan to the need comes in. Do what you need to do to meet your long term goals comfortably and sustainably.

Now that I am at goal, I'm consuming 15-1800 calories per day and working on settling reaching a stability point. One of my long term stretch goals is to eliminate supplements to the extent possible and get all that I need from a healthy balanced diet (I will probably never eliminate them entirely as there are always individual quirks that require something, but that's where the "stretch" comes in).  Currently I only need one dose of calcium to meet a 2000mg requirement, and am getting in about 70% of the potassium RDA, hitting 85% on some days (was typcially at 100% pre-op)

 I just asked this questiion to my NUT this morning.  Here was her reply- I am 6 weeks out:

1.  600 calories for now, 90-110 grams of protein range.
2.  Further out, but still during the losing phase it will be more like 1100-1200.  I asked her if she thoght that I would still lose at that level and she said yes.  I don't believe her :(
3.  She also said to take the calories, for example 640, for a day.  Divide that in half- 320 should be to protein.  Take the other 320 and divide by 4 to determine your carb intake for the day- in this example arbe would be 80.  I am still shooting for 40 and under daily.  

Just one NUT's opinion...

My program itself didn't specify calories or carbs.  It basically calls for 3 small meals a day focused on protein and fibrous veggies with no more than 1 serving a day of what we'd think of as complex carbs (rice, oatmeal, etc) after going to solids.  There were no nuts or starches allowed for the frist 6 months, at all, and the plan calls for dairy snacks. 

I track my food, and I generally stayed in the 600-800 calorie range per day while actively trying to lose weight.   I have great restriction. After eating my 70-80g of protein per day, I had very little room for much else. Tended to stay under 40g of carbs.  I got very turned off to 'milk' itself after a bit, so I had to adapt my plan (with my surgeon/nut) to get more calcium from thigns like swiss cheese.  By 6 months, my nut said most people re eating about 1000 calories a day. 

I'm currently transitioning to maintenance, and the 'rules' are still largely the same: 3 meals consisting 3-4oz of protein followed by 2oz of fibrous veggies plus milk/yogurt type snakes with fruit.   It's a challenge because my capacity is about 1/2 of  what my 'plan'  allows at a meal.  I am working to get 1000-1200 calories a day without adding empty calories, and I'm still losing weight. I exercise 5-7 days a week.  Based on metabolic testing I have had, I suspect my 'maintenance' level while working out will be around 1800 calories a day after they get my T3 issue sorted out. 

Just had to post to say I'm looking forward to being able to eat a bit more.  I thought I had this down for a while...I was getting around 700 calories and 70 grams of protein...but the last few days I just can't do it.  I've been hitting more like 500 calories and 50 grams of protein.

I know I can't be the only one that ever wanted their sleeve to stretch out a little bit...getting in 1200 to 1400 healthy calories a day sounds impossible right now.

I shoot for 700 to 800 calories a day at 5 months out.  I'm pretty sure I won't be able to live the rest of m life on 800 calories per day, but for now I'm nicely satisfied.  I expect I'll end up at 1200 - 1400 calores a day.