Insurance submission was on Tues. Got denied immediately Wed. due to I'd gained almost 10lbs. over the winter instead of losing..apparently they want to see at least 5% total body fat loss prior to surgery. So am working on this but here's the thing..I gained due to having ddd in my back and since last summer haven't been able to really exercise like I was due to the extreme pain in my back and shooting down my right leg..the back pain and getting some of the weight off was one of my reasons for getting surgery..to aleviate the pain some as there's no cure or surgery according to the neurosurgeon..I haven't been the same at all since last summer when I really messed my back up and had to quit the gym and everything, even yard work was trying for me and I LOVE being out in the yard doing stuff..does anyone have any suggestions on how to lose the weight without extreme exercise? I mean, I am eating low carb and cutting my portions but as soon as I can show 5% tbw loss I can be approved.

Can you do some light walking at least 30 minutes per day? I think you are doing great if you are eating low carb ,low fat and controlling your portions , I am pretty sure you will lose those 10 lbs in no time and you will get approve. Good luck!!

Does your surgeon's office offer a medically supervised weight loss plan through a diet doctor? If so, that doctor might have some help for you. Walking is definitely a good exercise and also if you can get to a gym with elliptical trainers, those burn a lot of calories fast without impact.

Sorry to hear you are going through this. Did the surgeon's office not know that the weight loss would need to be documented for approval? I also had to lose 5% and the surgeon's team of doctors made sure that every "i" was dotted, every "t" crossed before submitting. Insurance can be so persnickety. Also, I wonder if the insurance could make an exception due to your back issues.

Oh no, sorry to hear about the denial. I know you and I were waiting for the insurance process around the same time. I was wondering the same thing that Amanda 3.0 said. Maybe insurance can make an exception. Can you get documentation from your doctor or neurosurgeon? Definately, the low-carb diet should get those 10 lbs off. Maybe try doing a 1000 calorie low-carb diet and make sure to get all of your water in. You can track your calories on sparkpeople.com. I started this on Wednesday as my preop diet and I already lost a few pounds. Good luck!! Keep us posted

In January, the third month of my pre-approval WL waiting period, I horribly re-injured my lower back. Was unable to walk for about a month and even now I cannot walk any distance or do any exercise without my hip seizing up. I was terribly afraid that this would derail my program, but I started a 1200 calorie, low carb hi Protein eating plan and logged EVERY SINGLE BITE onto myfitnesspal. Even without being able to exercise, I've lost 16 lbs since then. I concur with trying the low carb diet - it is working for me! My 2 week pre-surgery diet starts Monday and I don't think I'll have much trouble since I've already been practicing.

Hang in there!

does anyone have any suggestions on how to lose the weight without extreme exercise? I mean, I am eating low carb and cutting my portions but as soon as I can show 5% tbw loss I can be approved.

How many pounds would 5% TBW be for you?

I would never recommend it as a long term solution, but if you need a quick scale drop it's hard to beat an induction style diet. I noticed you mentioned you're already doing low carb, but are you kind of cutting carbs out, or are you REALLY low carbing it? By really low carbing, I mean Atkins induction phase or stricter. No more than 20g carbs per day, they can only come from certain sources, and only so many carbs can come from any one source.

Atkins induction food list

I think I lost about 14 lbs my first week, and 8 lbs my second.

For a quick drop I would not look to exercise, actually.

Thanks to all for the understanding and the 5% would be 12lbs but want to lose at least 20lbs within the next few months and have everything logged and documented..yeah my dr. did log everything that's why they seen the gain...I can't walk long distances w/out paint BUT I do walk through the pain as much as I can..trying to do a few days a week and plus I work around the house and in the yard. I am low card to where I'm cutting carbs to almost none as well as taking my saffslim, drinking my protien and water as well..plus I am a big fruit and veggie person so am only doing lean meats, with veggies but since I don't eat breakfast I drink Silk fruit & protien for my first meal. I will try to look into the calorie counting too..think that will help tremendously!

_{As a short term solution you can try Medifast. I have done it several times over the years and dropped #30 easily each time. It would also get you in the right mind frame for your pre-op diet. I would get soooo sick of it after 2 or 3 months and the weight would come back on. As a short term solution to get your approval it would do the trick!}

I am going to do medifast starting Monday so when I meet with my nut next week I show a lost medifast works quickly

Insurance submission was on Tues. Got denied immediately Wed. due to I'd gained almost 10lbs. over the winter instead of losing..apparently they want to see at least 5% total body fat loss prior to surgery. So am working on this but here's the thing..I gained due to having ddd in my back and since last summer haven't been able to really exercise like I was due to the extreme pain in my back and shooting down my right leg..the back pain and getting some of the weight off was one of my reasons for getting surgery..to aleviate the pain some as there's no cure or surgery according to the neurosurgeon..I haven't been the same at all since last summer when I really messed my back up and had to quit the gym and everything' date=' even yard work was trying for me and I LOVE being out in the yard doing stuff..does anyone have any suggestions on how to lose the weight without extreme exercise? I mean, I am eating low carb and cutting my portions but as soon as I can show 5% tbw loss I can be approved.[/quote']

Can u please tell me what insurance company denied you? I to just completed the 6 month pre op diet requested by United Health Care, but did not lose very much weight! So scared I will be denied as well!

Start walking in a swimming pool in the shallow end. Back fourth

I was going to suggest 2 protein shakes a day and a high protein dinner low carbs and veggies or small portion of fruit for snacks.

It was United Health Care who denied me, they want to see 5% total body fat loss in a six month period. And I am doing the protein shakes and doing silk's protein and fruit once a day and low carbing it. What is better whey or soy protein?

Agree with twoboysandagirl. My surgeon wanted me to lose some weight before my surgery. I did a Unjury protein shake with skim milk for breakfast and lunch and a high protein NO carb for dinner and lost 12lbs in 13 days.

Thanks to all for the understanding and the 5% would be 12lbs but want to lose at least 20lbs within the next few months and have everything logged and documented..yeah my dr. did log everything that's why they seen the gain...I can't walk long distances w/out paint BUT I do walk through the pain as much as I can..trying to do a few days a week and plus I work around the house and in the yard. I am low card to where I'm cutting carbs to almost none as well as taking my saffslim, drinking my protien and water as well..plus I am a big fruit and veggie person so am only doing lean meats, with veggies but since I don't eat breakfast I drink Silk fruit & protien for my first meal. I will try to look into the calorie counting too..think that will help tremendously!

I want to tell you to look into doing chair arobics and chair yoga. This help to take weight off your back and joints. Also working and exercising in a pool helps too. The other thing I do is follow my pre-op diet which is a 8 oz. protein shake made with skin plus milk twice a day and one big health meal and two snack one of them being a protien shake for bedtime. I change up the meal between breakfast and dinner. What I mean is that for the seven days a week i chose health meals to eat for example sunday is breakfast, mon day is lunch, tues is dinner etc. etc. I also play around with the clear diet and the diet for the 6 week post-op. I also for got I work out in my bed too so that my back won't hurt as much and I have a fiber one brownie for a snack between my meals every other day.Good Luck

Just a thought . . . The Silk &Protein is rather high in sugar and carbs and only has 5 grams of Protein. You might have better luck doing a low sugar high Protein shake. I love the Silk F&P but gave it to my high metabolism husband because of the nutritional value.

Sent from my iPad using VST