how many calories/day at 6 months post op?

I had VSG on 8/31 and have lost 55 pounds. My surgeon is not pleased -- most of his patients have lost more at this point. I get that. I've been a slow loser since the beginning. I've always struggled to keep my calories low....I was doing keto, which keeps my hunger in check if I eat enough fat, but that makes my calories creep up. I think, at age 52, my metabolism is so screwed up that I require very low calories to actually lose weight. I'm walking/running 3 times per week. My surgeon and nutritionist want me to quit keto and concentrate on intuitive eating while keeping carbs low, just not "keto low" and lowering my fat somewhat to keep my calories lower. (I easily average 1400-ish on full keto).

I admit, I'm feeling pretty defeated right now. Not sure what to do, what research to believe, and what to do next. What I want to do is eat a Reese's and a diet coke and say eff it. :(

Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice?

Many folks around here maintain at 1100 - 1200 calories, so low-cal is absolutely a must. The standard advice from folks' surgeons is to go for 600 - 800 calories, 60+g protein, under 25g carbs.

A protein-forward diet (mostly meat with the occasional veg) isn't 100% keto, but it seems to be close enough to help many people here be pretty successful.

Could you post an example menu for a day or two? We can help troubleshoot :)

I'm 100% certain it's the higher fat that is increasing my calories. I'm talking 300 calorie bulletproof coffee, bacon, avocado, eggs, nuts...

im makes no changes today. Cutting the full on keto and tracking calories.

That should say "I'm making changes"....? hate typing on my phone!!

I think this is a good plan for you. When I was 6 months out I had just started increasing my calories from 600 - 800 per day to 800 - 1000. I know if I was generally around 1400, I would have been losing, but very very slowly! And based on your list of foods you include, you may find it more than 1400.

A couple of things I will mention (and feel free to disregard if you aren't looking for this kind of advice). First, focus on getting comfortable with being hungry. Most of us learn to treat hunger like an emergency -- if you feel hunger, you must eat IMMEDIATELY! But it is okay to be hungry. Acknowledge that you feel hungry and move on. I find it helps me to have my day of meals and snacks planned in advance, so I can tell myself "you can hold on until 4:30, you get an apple then" or whatever it is.

The exercising is great, but since you are going to start tracking calories -- do not give yourself "credit" calories for exercise. Or, if you do, take whatever the tracker or MyFitnessPal says you get and cut it down to a third of those calories (i.e., MFP says you deserve 300 calories for a walk, give yourself 100 calories -- in MFP you can adjust this manually). Those tracking programs are lying liars who lie about how many calories you actually burned.

Definitely cut out the most obvious caloric culprits, like drinking calories (bulletproof coffee) and processed meats (no one needs bacon -- have some steak instead!). Good luck to you!

PS -- I am about the same age as you and believe me, I understand how metabolisms get messed up over time and getting into middle age does NOT help :(

Hunger scares me. It makes me anxious. It's part of my disordered eating that I've struggled with forever. But...I will make it work. Thank you for your thoughtful reply!

Honestly, from everything I've read and experienced, calories matter. Fat does not.

Your foods should ideally have 10g protein per 100 calories. Bacon and eggs are great post-op foods. Butter and nuts, not so much.

Try that strategy for a bit and see how you do!

Thank you Julie! Will do!

The bacon and eggs are fine, so are the avocado and nuts in moderation. Possibly just cutting out the bullet coffee and instantly dropping the 300 calories might do the trick. What helps me the most is hydration, my daily goal is 96oz with a minimum of 64oz of fluids. I stop loosing when I stop pushing my fluid intake.

I personally think 55 pounds lost is great, congratulations!

Thank you Kristi...definitely giving up the BPC and working on decreasing my calories!