I just started the process and I ahve Aetna insurance which requires me to do 6 months of diet and exercise, I have to see my primary for 6 months and he is clueless as to what the requirements are but my question is do I need to log my food and excercise and turn it in to him?

I would suggest contacting your insurance provider to find out what information they require. Mine just needed one visit per month, and it could be any time during the month. For example, I just needed to have one visit in July and one in August, and it would have been okay if they were back-to-back 7/31 and 8/1. But I have absolutely no idea what details my surgeon's team submitted for the actual approval.

Are you working with a specific surgeon or a specific clinic or program? I ask because my primary was also completely clueless about the requirements but that was okay because she had very little role to play. I did everything through the nurses, coordinators, and nutritionists. I've only seen my primary care doc once and the surgeon once, but that's OK because getting me ready and approved was mostly the rest of the team's responsibility. IMO, they should be helping you with this.

Hope this helps. Best of luck getting ready!

Edited December 15, 201411 yr by anaxila

Frumoasa, I have Aetna and have just finished the process and had my surgery.

I saw my PCP once a month and was weighed in and then we discussed what I had eaten during the past month, what kind and how much exercise I was getting. We also talked about struggles I was having and how I handled them. I didn't log anything. Just weighed in and talked.

Aetna has a lot of requirements that I learned about on this forum. Do not gain any weight during the six months. Aetna doesn't require a certain amount of weight loss, just that you loose.

Don't gain between your last weigh-in and any appointments you have with the surgeon. Apparently, Aetna checks. Also, you will need to show that your obesity has lasted at least two years. I did this by getting my doc to pull copies of appointments I'd had in 2012 & 2013.

I had my approval from Aetna in less than 12 hours after they received my paperwork.

So, you have six months to get everything in order. Luckily, you only have to deal with one weigh-in at a time! ????

If there is anything I can do to help you along the way, please let me know.