I am one month into my six-month medically supervised diet and have already accomplished so much. All that is left is my psych eval, to complete my six months, and to submit my application for pre-approval. That is it! I should feel elated at getting my checklist near-done, yet I am finding that I do not have much to focus my attention on now that I am as done as I can be for now.

This deficit has left me feeling a little depressed and I worry a lot about being turned down by my insurance (HMA through PeaceHealth). I should be occupied with work and graduating this fall, yet that is not what is occupying my thoughts. What does everyone focus on during this time of waiting? How do you stay positive? I suppose I am used to instant gratification and should feel grateful to have this time to work on the problems that led to my weight gain to begin with. Where do you find your hope for a better tomorrow regardless of the uncertainty? How do you focus?

Thank you all in advance for your advice. I appreciate it.

I'm finally on month 6. My last visit is 5/13. I'm worried about the insurance approval too. But as far as making the time pass just try to stay busy and not obsess. Easier said than done I know but keeping busy is my best advice. [emoji4]

How do I stay focused, you asked ....

(BTW, I'm nearly 21 months post-op, have lost 100 pounds and am maintaining at 135 pounds.)

Here are some things I do to keep my eye on the prize:

1. I weigh every morning and record my weight on MFP.

2. I plan and track all my daily menus using www.myfitnesspal.com . And when my eating diverges from my plan, I change my MFP data to reflect those changes. This really does help me focus.

3. I review my MFP stats via the Reports function, from time to time, to see how far I've come and to become aware of patterns and changes in patterns.

4. I see a therapist once a month about eating / self-care issues. This helps me continue to become and stay a lot healthier than I was several years ago.

5. I am active on a couple of online WLS forums and constantly learn from others who are traveling this path from their posts and the information they "bring to the table" here. Posting online also serves as a form of positive self-talk for me.

6. When I was losing weight I threw away ALL my big clothes as soon as they were too big for me to wear. Had never done that before. It was my way of burning my ships to remove the option of retreating.

7. I'm now friends (mostly online) with people who are also WLS patients, and these relationships feel very supportive to me. They're all quite positive people, by the way, and most of them are funny as can be.

8. Finally, my husband has been a great source of support for my WLS and recovery from obesity. He's just about the best booster I could hope for. He doesn't coach, he just acknowledges my healthier lifestyle and WLS accomplishments.

EDIT: Whoops -- I just realized you were asking how to stay focused during the time of waiting for surgery to happen. So here are some things I did during that time:

1. Changed a lot of behaviors -- see #s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 above.

2. Changed a lot of other behaviors -- dialed way down on the coffee, sodas and carbonated drinks, stopped drinking entirely 2.5 months pre-op, started to walk / move more than I had been before making the WLS decision, started eating a lot slower and chewing my food much better, put myself on a 1,400 calorie/day diet for 2 months because I was so crazed waiting for the WLS train to start rolling.

3. I also journaled a lot and made long lists of how my daily life would change and what I would do differently in terms of self-care post-op. I just visualized and visualized and visualized! Even though my motivations were mostly all health-related, I made lists of new clothes I would buy for myself and be able to wear when I reached my weight goal.

Some things I did to stay focused and pass the long six month wait was:

1. I stopped all caffeine intake

2. One month before surgery I cut out all sugars and refined carbs

3. I tried to walk a little each day even though I was terribly out of shape.

4. I did a lot of day dreaming about how my life may change

5. Experimented with a ton of different protein shake brands, flavors, and recipes.. Turns out that was a waste of time because my taste buds changed

6. I brought a food scale, small plates, bowls, toddler spoons and forks.

7. Super organized my kitchen.

8. Made a "bucket" weight loss list of things I wanted to do. I now have completed everything on my list at almost two years post op

9. Still pulled out my hair because let's face it once we make up our mind for surgery six months is a heck of a long time

Good luck!!

Wow I'm really glad post-op people responded. Much more specific advice than my stay busy advice. I love these lists!!

During my 4 month medically supervised diet I spent a lot of time reading and researching. Anything and everything I could find about weight loss surgery I read. Although it was tough waiting, looking back I am grateful I had that time to learn so much to prepare me. I will be 6 months post op on May 16th.

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You have received some great advice from others. I have learned, whether pre- or post-op, that have short, medium, and long-term goals to work toward really help.

You mentioned work and school.

In addition to short-term goals like weaning yourself off of carbonation, etc., maybe see if you can come up with some short-term goals related to work and school, too.

Another thing that helps both pre- and post-op is to have a hobby that will keep your hands busy for the times when you want to mindlessly eat, but can't. Knitting, crocheting, coloring, painting, etc., are great for this. They are fairly easy to learn and practice, and to pick up and put down when needed.