Question about 6 month diet before surgery

Hi OH Family,
I have  a quick question that I am not for sure what the answer should be...my insurance require me to complete a six month diet with my doctor and I am wondering how much weight are they looking for me to loose. Are they looking to see if I loose weight, make an effort or what exactly?

Please help if you have any idea. Thanks so much!

Shirley Ann

I think you are gonna have to talk to your insurance company and/or your doctor. Every insurance company is different. Some require you to do the 6 month diet and just for example tell you that you have to lose 10% of your weight..some say just to do a 6 month diet and try...Mine was to do a 6 month diet and to "try" and lose some weight they didn't have a set number they wanted me to lose. But you really need to ask because some insurance companies are pretty anal about there policys and if you dont do then they can deny you.

Thanks so much. I haven't had the chance to talk to mbut I talked to my doctor as of yet but I asked someone who works with the insurance at the office. She said there is no set amount to loose. But I am sure they want you to loose some so I am going to give it my best shot! Thanks so much!

Shirley ANN

I'm about to complete my last visit next week and as far as I know they want to see some kind of effort and my insurance would like to see some loss during the 6 months. I lost 15 and gained back 16 and now I'm down 4 so I would try to lose something because it helps with the approval process.

Thanks so much! I am going to try and loose some weight by the time my six months is up. I know it will be a HUGE challenge. I wouldn't need the surgey if I could loose all the weight I need.  So, I do not get why they even make you do it. Thanks so much and keep me posted on your surgery! :)

My insurance co required a 6 month weight mgt program. I don't know if they had a specific amount for me to lose or not. My doctor and NUT told me how much exercise to do each day/week and how many calories ( and how much protein, veggies, frui****er, calories to target) My dr did tell me that the insurance co went by the weight and BMI from your first visit. Dr still tells you how much to target before the next monthly visit. Also, I was told that if I missed a month, I had to start my 6 month weight mgt program from the beginning. Good Luck. My 6 months passed VERY fast.

Thanks for the information. I was told also that if I miss one appointment, I would have to start over as well. I was told that there is no set amount they expect you to loose. So, I'm thinking that they are looking for the effort. I was given a plan by my doctor and also given a target weight to be at by my next appointment. I want to try and lose 40 lbs by the time the six months is up but hey I know that will be a HUGE challenge for me! Thanks! :)

Shirley Ann

I just lost about 10 maybe, then in the pre-op week (already approved) I  lost 18 more.  I think a lot has to do with your surgeon too and how they submit, etc.  Mine said as long as there was not a gain there was no problem.  If we were good at weight loss we would not be surgery candidates!

Talk toy our surgeon and your insurance company.  Any pound you lose will make it better for you come surgery time.

Thanks so much! I plan to loose as much as I possibly can before the six months end! :)

Please don't miss this opportunity! I had the choice of seeing a NUT and in my six month pre-op I lost 85 pounds. I had become convinced that I COULD NOT lose weight. I was given the skills to set me up have sucess. Luckily I had 225 pounds to lose so I still qualified for surgery ;-)
I am now 35 pound from goal and KNOW I can do this the rest of my life.