Want to succeed

Hi! I'm new here and close to my surgery date. I was 355 at heaviest, 329 at consult and 318 1 month later. My goal weight is 170 because I got down to that (from 250) with diet and exercise about 5 years ago and felt very good (and it was a reasonable weight for me). My surgery team keeps saying I am only likely to lose 100-120 pounds and will have to stay at 800-1000 cal/day to maintain that. I am very motivated and want to get to 170. Also, it seems odd that we would only maintain on that low of calories. Is that true? Do you think I have a possibility of reaching my goal? 

Thank you for your responses!

First, absolutely YES I believe that you can reach your goal.  There are plenty of people on here who have lost more than you need to and have maintained it.  

Will you need to be at around 800 calories per day to lose quickly?  Yes.   Will you have to stay at that level the rest of your life to maintain?  Doubtful.   A lot depends on your gender, height, exercise level, etc.   I'm a 52-year old woman who is 5'3" and I'm currently maintaining and I eat anywhere from 1200-1600 calories a day, depending on my choices.  I also exercise moderately 4-5 times per week.  I took a poll of other women my age a couple weeks ago and they were eating anywhere from 1200-1800 calories per day.  

Everyone is different but I think it's crazy to tell you that you'll only be able to eat 1000 calories per day after you hit goal.  There's no way to predict that right now.  

Thank you! I'm 37 and 5'8". I love exercise. I lost 80 pounds 5 years ago by intense cardio and strength training. I now can only walk and light strength training. 

Thanks for your time

I've been wondering what maintenance looks like. Very helpful post.