Question about 6 month REQUIRED diet...

[aunteeeeee]

Hello!

I am month one of my 6 month required diet. I am a 5ft1 40 year old female who weighs 233 lbs. I have sleep apnea (week 1 on cpap and I am so happy), high bp, high cholesterol and borderline diabetic. The cholesterol medicine and the bp meds both give me side effects that work against me but I need to be on them until I can get some weight off. My insurance is UMR and they require a 6 month monitored diet (it is just costing me money, learning nothing new). Have any of you gotten out of this 6 month diet (stall tactic)? It seems that making me wait is actually costing my insurance MORE money. I have been researching this for over a year and due to miscommunication from my insurance I thought I would be able to have surgery at the beginning of the year. Thanks for your prayers and input.

[Sunflower]

Stall tactic for sure, and at you weigh 233. At my height of 5'4", that would put my BMI below 40, and this disqualify me for bariatric surgery. I would ask questions and perhaps get your doctor to write a letter that this isn't necessary for you!

[Theresa]

many insurances require it. It's not necessarily a bad thing. It helped me to prepare mentally and physically for what was to come. I lost weight and broke alot of bad eating habits presurgery. I think it actually made the whole experience easier for me.

[momoftwoboys]

My surgeon was asked this question during a seminar and what he said was you can try it but it would end up taking just as much time if not more time to fight the 6 month diet than to just go ahead and do it. I was against it, as I am impatient, but I am 3 months into it and only 3 more to go. I am learning how to eat and cut out things before surgery and I am finding that to be a good thing.

[bbjackson6998]

I was sure there was nothing I could learn or do differently in that 6 months, but I was wrong. My doctor actually gave me little suggestions here and there that made a real difference. Month 1 he told me to stay away from white grains,bread, rice,etc.; month 2 he told me to start tracking my calories every day. That was probably the most useful tip of the whole 6 months. I started using myfitnesspal.com on my PC and on my phone and I was AMAZED at how many calories I was really consuming every day. I needed that amount of time to really break my carb and dessert cravings and learn some new eating habits. As a bonus, I also lost 24lbs.

[Skye]

I went to a free class last summer knowing I wanted a sleeve and ready to go under the knife that day. When they told us it was 6 months I was seriously bummed. My 6 months was in Feb. I was not ready... Sounds crazy I know.. There is so much work to do to get ready though, this is a total lifestyle change if you are going to do it right. You have to change the way you think, eat, sometimes work.... It's a lot to deal with, at least for me. I think I'm ready now and am going to speak with my dr to schedule a surgery date. By the time I actually have surgery it will be more like 9 months.and I'm fine with that. If you are in a good bariatric program they will keep you busy. Don't worry it goes fast in my opinion.