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Why Only 1,000 Calories/Day?

It depends on what your surgeon recommends. I personally do not abide by that. I take into account what my surgeon and dietitian say, but they also go off guidelines that are guessing at a median. When I asked my dietitian when do I know Im in maintenance, her response was interesting. She said that when I track calories and I’m not losing or gaining, my body’s in maintenance in that caloric area. But if I became more active or sedentary, that would change. It also changes when I’m on my cycle. If I gain a little, my calories are too much and if I’m losing after I should stop, my calories are too little. I’ve stopped tracking calories, I actually stopped a couple months ago. I still track my protein because I don’t want to fall down on that. If I had to guess, I’d say my calories are between 1,000 and 1,300 depending on the day. When I’m really active or the day after, I’m really hungry, so I eat more. But what I’ve been doing, which I didn’t do before, was I waited for proper hunger signals. I don’t ever want to go back to eating just to have something to do. I’ve come too far for that mess! You have to do what’s best for you and your body. If 1000 calories isn’t sustainable, then it’s not successful. But for other people 1000 calories might be fine.
 
Definitely talk with your bariatric team to clarify their recommendations. I think it would be unusual for someone to be on a 1000 calorie diet as a maintenance level. In general, the progression through the first year and beyond is something like 0-3 months post op <800 kcal, 3-6 months <1100 kcal, 6-12 months <1500 cal, and generally somewhere between 1500-2000 for maintenance, but each phase could range +/- a couple hundred calories or so depending on the person.

There are many factors of course: age, sex, genetics, food choices, etc. There are going to be people who are all over the range, so there isn't one set point that can possibly apply to everyone.
 
I have no limitations. The point of the surgery was to give me a second chance with food and keep my eating disorders at bay.

You can still eat your way back to hellish obesity. Surgery is a tool, not a cure.

So maybe your doc made that restriction based on something s/he saw specifically in you.

I've never heard that from anyone in this group in the 2+ years I've been here.

So that means your question falls in our favorite category: ASK YOUR DOCTOR

Personally, I think it's bogus. If you're adult, a 1,000-calorie daily diet would cause you to keep losing weight for the rest of your short life, unless you're less than 5' tall and weigh about 80 pounds.

Here's some great advice. NEVER leave your doctor's office with unasked questions. If you do, call as soon as you get home and say, "I'm not sure I heard you correctly. Could you explain..."

You know the difference between a surgeon and God? God doesn't think he's a surgeon.
 
I also want to add that my dietitian didn’t have an issue with me not tracking anymore. I’m very truthful with my team, and they’ve known from the start that I find it tedious and not the best use of my time. I rarely have boxed or canned foods, so tracking for me would be creating a recipe for every single thing I make homemade, which is almost everything. Even when I do use prepare things like Kodiak cake waffles, I use the recipe with eggs and milk and I add unflavored protein powder on top of that, so I’m constantly altering prepacked foods. I know that some people are very good at tracking, I just don’t have the commitment it takes to be good at it, honestly jealous of those who do.
 
3momchaos said:
I also want to add that my dietitian didn’t have an issue with me not tracking anymore. I’m very truthful with my team, and they’ve known from the start that I find it tedious and not the best use of my time. I rarely have boxed or canned foods, so tracking for me would be creating a recipe for every single thing I make homemade, which is almost everything. Even when I do use prepare things like Kodiak cake waffles, I use the recipe with eggs and milk and I add unflavored protein powder on top of that, so I’m constantly altering prepacked foods. I know that some people are very good at tracking, I just don’t have the commitment it takes to be good at it, honestly jealous of those who do.
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I have been tracking less and less lately. I agree it is very hard when you make homemade stuff to really know. Plus, since I am trying Intuitive Eating, they want you to get away from tracking and measuring and be more in tune to listening to your body. Sometimes that works well for me and sometimes it doesn't. I don't seem to be able to let go of it entirely.
 
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