So, my insurance requires we lose like 3% of your total body weight before they'll send out your paperwork for approval.

For me that's 7 pounds. Not a whole lot but more than I've ever lost & kept off for any real time.

In the 6 month wait I have nut visits and have to bring food/ Fluid & activity records.

I guess I'm planning on waiting until the end & then doing an unofficial pre op liquid diet to ditch the 7 pounds because I'm terrified of losing it now & then re gaining.

I really want to go for balls to the wall and try to lose as much as possible on my own before surgery but I'm scared that either I'll be too small to be approved or they'll say I don't need surgery bc I lost xx amount of pounds w/o it. Or maybe the surgeon will tell me I'm too small.

Ugh. Yes. The Nut said i'm in the program & won't be penalized for losing on the 6 months of nut visits, but, I guess I don't believe her. I've had people tell me the wrong thing before.

Thoughts, advice?

allons-y

I would say it depends on your bmi and your insurance requirements. If you go under say 40 bmi you wouldn't qualify, or 35 bmi with comorbitities. So I guess you could lose too much and not qualify so I would check with your insurance co. Good luck to you-you can totally lose those 7 lbs

I had the same concern... I'm good at dropping, awful at keeping off. When I mentioned it to my nurse, she said "We'd appeal. You wouldn't be here if you could keep it off without surgery." Ask your BN what their policy is.

So, my insurance requires we lose like 3% of your total body weight before they'll send out your paperwork for approval.

For me that's 7 pounds. Not a whole lot but more than I've ever lost & kept off for any real time.

In the 6 month wait I have nut visits and have to bring food/ Fluid & activity records.

I guess I'm planning on waiting until the end & then doing an unofficial pre op liquid diet to ditch the 7 pounds because I'm terrified of losing it now & then re gaining.

I really want to go for balls to the wall and try to lose as much as possible on my own before surgery but I'm scared that either I'll be too small to be approved or they'll say I don't need surgery bc I lost xx amount of pounds w/o it. Or maybe the surgeon will tell me I'm too small.

Ugh. Yes. The Nut said i'm in the program & won't be penalized for losing on the 6 months of nut visits, but, I guess I don't believe her. I've had people tell me the wrong thing before.

Thoughts, advice?

allons-y

I asked my insurance specialist at my surgeons the exact question yesterday. She told me that as long as I met their requirements they could not impose a special restriction like you lost too much or are losing satisfactorily without surgery. This is your choice. If you meet their requirments (or exceed them by losing more yet staying within BMI ranges) they cannot deny you. She told me that this happened one time and the insurance company denied them she applied on the grounds stated above (meeting all requirments) and has never been turned down due to losing too much weight. But insurance has denied if you dont lose the required weight. Just do what the insurance requires.

I guess I want to try & jumpstart my loss by starting now. Our Nut had us calculate 50-60% excess weight loss and that amount for me was 55-65# leaving me at 175...

I remember being 175 in high school & still feeling really fat. Not as fat as I am now, but fat just the same.

I really want my personal goal to be 115# which is a realistic healthy weight for my height. I just worry that when I get sleeved I'll only be able to lose x amount of weight in x amount of time before the effects of surgery wear off & I don't want to go through all this just to set myself up for disappointment.

Thats why I wanted to get a jump on it.

allons-y

My coordinator and insurance company told me the same. My official "start weight" was what I was when I first met with surgeon and nutritionist.

When I first committed to surgery, my insurance required a 6 month supervised diet. a month or so into it, they dropped that requirement and it allowed me to have the surgery a little earlier. I had prepared myself for the 6 month wait and wanted to do everything I could to get my mind in a good place before the surgery. I lost almost 60 pounds before surgery, but gained a great mindset and had started my new relationship with food before having to do the pre-op. I didn't have food funerals or have to come off carbs/sugar/caffiene. I was there already and made the transition easier for me. Dieting cold turkey has never been successful long-term for me, I knew that for this to be a successful life change, I had to start when I made my decision. This worked for me, so that's all I can really speak to.

Good luck!! and congratulations on your decision to start this journey.