How am I supposed to document all of my previous weight loss attempts?

[keddykat75 57]

I have the world's worst memory when it comes to details. I can't remember milestones in my children's early childhood etc... And now I am supposed to detail what diets I have tried, which year, how long, how much did it cost, how much weight did I lose, how much did I regain? Umm I know I have tried a lot. Lean & Free 2000+, Susan powder, Dr Phil, Biggest Loser, Simple Swaps, low fat, low carb, My Fitness Pal, Medifast, etc.. And I know I am still fat, but that's about it. How do you turn that into the documentation the insurance wants?

[Maggietcu2 55]

Wow that's a lot of extra information. How about your medical records from your previous primary doctor (s)? I mostly guesstimated the dates and amounts. No way to conclusively prove anything.

[Miss Mac 6,261]

That's called "creative writing". I only needed two years of documentation, but I had been seeing my primary doctor every three months, so I got a copy of my records for two years and highlighted my weight at every visit, and my doctor's comments and instructions for diet and exercise.

I had also written a letter with other diet attempts as a adult and also mentioned family medical history regarding obesity and premature death relating to obesity caused conditions. I closed out with how my own obesity related conditions were detrimental to my health and were diminishing my quality of life.

[Elode 8,093]

Wing it do the best you can to be accurate but there's no way they can actually go and check. They just want to see that you have tried other avenues and what results you achieved. Obviously they didn't work for the long term but they want to know you aren't just opting for surgery before anything else. Good luck!

[keddykat75 57]

Wow that's a lot of extra information. How about your medical records from your previous primary doctor (s)? I mostly guesstimated the dates and amounts. No way to conclusively prove anything.

Unfortunately other than weighing me my primary care provider never even mentioned my weight to me. Even when I developed high blood pressure.

[Maggietcu2 55]

Well I wasn't always followed by a doc when I tried weight watchers or the year I decided to run, but I listed those and others. Do you think you might be over thinking this? I know it's so important. Hang in there!

[keddykat75 57]

Possibly, I will see what they say on Tuesday, but I just can't remember the things on the forms I am supposed to fill out.

[caligul 102]

I have the worst memory as well....I just had to put down my best guess...

[naturegirl 320]

I just listed the multiple times (years) that I attempted WW, and the weight lost. Same with Ketosis, Calorie Counting, MFP, etc. We then went over them some more at our first meeting, and then again with the Psychologist. They just wanted to hear what I have tried and why is was or wasn't successful. The paperwork only required the last two years, but when we met we discussed the last 15 years to highlight the yo-yoing that I've gone through.

[The Candidate 3,215]

This was my biggest worry regarding satisfying insurance requirements going in. Luckily once I started the process I found out that my insurance had recently relaxed their stance in this regard. They were no longer insisting on "documented" proof of prior weight loss attempts, such as credit card receipts and weigh in logs from companies like Weight Watchers or Nutrisystem, etc, or even weigh in charts from previous and consecutive doctor visits.

Now they (my insurance) only requires that we list them out with approximate time frames, and weight lost. Nothing I wrote down was ever challenged or verified. So I was even able to include things like doing exercise tapes, hypnosis tapes, and other fly by night weight loss remedies that are perpetually being touted in the press. That took off a lot of the anxiety and pressure I initially had, so you might want to verify exactly what kind of "proof" they actually require.

Honestly, I think insurance companies are starting to come around, and are focusing more and more on the 3 to 6 month (on average) supervised programs they make you complete once you've started the process, rather than past failed attempts. That's the hope anyway. Plus most require a psych evaluation as well, before approval is given, where they'll ask you one on one about your diet history. Mine is coming up tomorrow!

The bottom line is they just want to make sure you're serious about this major step, and have a better than average chance of sticking with the program and making permanent lifestyle changes after surgery.

Good luck!