Maintenance Goals for Calories, Carbs, etc

First I want to point out that I have failed one aspect of this weight loss journey and that is in the exercise department.  I do a fair amount of walking on the job as a teacher (always moving around the classroom) and not much else.  I am working on changing this disturbing pattern.  But it will take time.

On the succeeding part of this I likely have lost a little too much.  Although I am still in what is considered normal range for BMI I have some people commenting that I am starting to look unhealthy.  I am starting to agree but don't know if it's because I am hearing it or I actually am a little low.

I realize that if I were more active or regularly exercising as I should be then I would need to increase calories and carbs but given that I currently am not I am looking for some best guesses as to what I should be looking for in maintenance numbers.

It seems to be the standard that during weight loss you shoot for that 600-800 calories and a max of 40 carbs.  What are the numbers that seems to work for the maintenance phase keeping in mind the above info?

Maintenance is much trickier to figure out and is very individual.  I would start by adding 200 calories at a time, wait a bit to see what happens and then add some more as needed until you find your maintenance range.  For me, I need about 1200-1800 calories a day to maintain and most days I stay closer to 1500, but it can really vary from one person to another.  You are your own experiment on this issue. 

That was what I was thinking as well ... adding 200 calories at a time to see what happens.  Any ideas how many carbs you add as you add these 200 calories.  Is it something like 10 carbs at a time or perhaps 20?  

Thanks for the reply.  

Once again, your sensitivity will be key here.  I try to keep my carbs under 80 most days with some extra carbs on special occasions and that seems to be just fine.  Other people are more sensitive and need to stay under 60 carbs in maintenance, while still others are OK eating 100 grams with no ill effect.  Just remember to continue to focus on keeping protein as the main backbone of each of your meals, followed by veggies and then carbs.  We need to do this not just for maintenance, but for basic health reasons.  We just don't have enough room to eat more carbs and still get all the protein and veggies we need.  I would write everything down and really approach this as an experiment to see where you are going to feel most comfortable, while still maintaining weight and maximizing health.  Maintenance is harder to do and do well long term than weight loss.  Feel free to check in with some of the VETS that are further out if you run into any difficulties.  You might also want to join the VSG maintenance group here if you haven't done so already.  We're a bunch of know it alls, but we are pretty helpful to each other.  :)

Once again I thank you for your input.  I have been extremely impressed with your journey through this as well as all of the advice that you have given.  Your advice always seems to be spot on and extremely helpful.  It is greatly appreciated.

Elina is correct in that everyone is different. I'm figuring out my maintenance too. Here's what I've learned from my NUT:

1) calories depend on your activity level , try adding a little at a time. 

2) protein grams also depend on weight and activity level, there is a calculation they can't remember it, but is based on your weight in kilograms. For me I need about 80 grams of protein.

3) same as protein and there's a calculation too. Carbs should be complex carbs and should be 40-60% of your calories. Also as Elina said based on how sensitive you are to them. For me I'm at 40%. A carb is roughly 25 calories. If I were to eat 1000 calories a day, I should be eating 100 grams of carbs at 40%. Carbs are necessary to optimize fueling your body. If you don't get enough, your body will store more calories, burn more muscle when exercising and you'll have less energy. I am very active and burn from 300-1000 calories a day through swimming and estate gardening. But, I am sensitive to carbs and keep them to 40% or less.

My surgeon's support group had a great meeting on the topic of fueling our body for max performance last month. Hope this helps.