I got a message from my clinic... my insurance requires 3 more months of meeting with a nutritionist/weigh-ins per month. They had me ready to anticipate a surgery date in May, but looks more like July? August? Idk... I've gone off track. I'm finally posting for support on this... I've gone off my diet and eaten more carbs and sweets than usual, but not totally off the rails. I feel it's semi-controlled. Meaning I'm not eating everything, but instead of eating better choices I'm being lazy. I'm going to do better, but had to be honest with my journey.

Since you are at the beginning of this process, I would recommend three things.

1. Take a good before photograph of yourself, so that you have something to compare to after surgery. Many times we are blind to our obesity. We do not see ourselves. Therefore when the weight begins to drop off rather dramatically, we question if this is really happening. Photographs are a good visualization of our success. Many people carry a before and after photo with them, just to remind themselves of their success.
2. Walk 30 minutes each day, every day until surgery (or equivalent exercise). Walking helps the recovery process go smoothly and minimized the pain levels from surgery.
3. Wean yourself from caffeine and carbonated beverages now. After I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit, I suffered from a week of severe withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. I was miserable. You don't want to combine the effects of caffeine withdrawal with the effects of surgery.

I got a message from my clinic... my insurance requires 3 more months of meeting with a nutritionist/weigh-ins per month. They had me ready to anticipate a surgery date in May, but looks more like July? August? Idk... I've gone off track. I'm finally posting for support on this... I've gone off my diet and eaten more carbs and sweets than usual, but not totally off the rails. I feel it's semi-controlled. Meaning I'm not eating everything, but instead of eating better choices I'm being lazy. I'm going to do better, but had to be honest with my journey.

If you've gained or not lost anything that's probably why you have to do three more visits. Get you're head back in the game, you can do this.

Since you are at the beginning of this process, I would recommend three things.

1. Take a good before photograph of yourself, so that you have something to compare to after surgery. Many times we are blind to our obesity. We do not see ourselves. Therefore when the weight begins to drop off rather dramatically, we question if this is really happening. Photographs are a good visualization of our success. Many people carry a before and after photo with them, just to remind themselves of their success.
2. Walk 30 minutes each day, every day until surgery (or equivalent exercise). Walking helps the recovery process go smoothly and minimized the pain levels from surgery.
3. Wean yourself from caffeine and carbonated beverages now. After I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit, I suffered from a week of severe withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. I was miserable. You don't want to combine the effects of caffeine withdrawal with the effects of surgery.

Thanks, I've done the photograph, I've cut out carbonated drinks, alcohol and caffeine. I have been upping my exercise per the program... but I have been meaning to add in 30 minutes per day rather than just 3x per week.

If you've gained or not lost anything that's probably why you have to do three more visits. Get you're head back in the game, you can do this.

I've lost. Consistently. They said my insurance changed from 2016 to 2017. I was more upset since I called back in January and was told what the requirements were and apparently it changed since then. They said they would accept my initial visit with my primary who referred me to the program as my first doctor weight monitored visit or whatever... but they said that won't qualify and they require a dietitian... so insurance and the program were under this assumption that I was good to go, but when they submitted it... they said they won't accept the documentation at this point and I need another 3 months. Which is fine, but I had my head prepared for 6 months, only to have my surgeon say they were ready in April to submit and when I questioned stating I thought I had 3 more months to go I got my hopes up and believed they knew what they were doing. So that's the set back I'm experiencing. I just wish I had followed my understanding and pushed harder when they claimed to know it was time to submit. Since I didn't schedule anything for April with the dietitian I didn't get an appointment for April and the soonest was May... so I'm pushed back yet another month... this could have been avoided since I scheduled all of my appointments with the nutritionalist back in January to avoid this very thing... I'm just disappointed and I feel it could have been prevented and I could have kept up with the plan rather than be disappointed and had gotten my hopes up... now it's pushed back 4 months... after it should only have been 3 months... but since I didn't get in during April it's pushed out another month. That's all.

The same thing happened to my wife.
She was supposed to get surgery next month.
She was working with a dietician and naturopathic doctor for 3 months before she went to see the WLS team.
These visits with the naturopathic were supposed to count towards the six months.
However, one month she didn't weigh in, so it messed up the time frame.
So now she has to see WLS two more times before surgery.
She was heart broken.
She cried and cried.
I have tried to encourage her, but she was very upset.
Don't get discouraged.
Just stay focused and keep working towards your goal.
This is just a minor set back.

Sent from my SM-G900V using BariatricPal mobile app

I've lost. Consistently. They said my insurance changed from 2016 to 2017. I was more upset since I called back in January and was told what the requirements were and apparently it changed since then. They said they would accept my initial visit with my primary who referred me to the program as my first doctor weight monitored visit or whatever... but they said that won't qualify and they require a dietitian... so insurance and the program were under this assumption that I was good to go, but when they submitted it... they said they won't accept the documentation at this point and I need another 3 months. Which is fine, but I had my head prepared for 6 months, only to have my surgeon say they were ready in April to submit and when I questioned stating I thought I had 3 more months to go I got my hopes up and believed they knew what they were doing. So that's the set back I'm experiencing. I just wish I had followed my understanding and pushed harder when they claimed to know it was time to submit. Since I didn't schedule anything for April with the dietitian I didn't get an appointment for April and the soonest was May... so I'm pushed back yet another month... this could have been avoided since I scheduled all of my appointments with the nutritionalist back in January to avoid this very thing... I'm just disappointed and I feel it could have been prevented and I could have kept up with the plan rather than be disappointed and had gotten my hopes up... now it's pushed back 4 months... after it should only have been 3 months... but since I didn't get in during April it's pushed out another month. That's all.

Gotcha! I'm sorry this happened. Don't get discouraged and keep pushing forward. It's so worth it at the end.

I was approved back in March but kept going to meetings and weighing in just to keep myself accountable. Just think of it as a lifestyle change for the long haul, you can get back on track and keep going until you've had the surgery.