I've been working with a bariatric clinic since mid 2020 and completed my 6 month supervised diet with them, however, I've decided to move to a more robust and supportive program somewhere else. I have my first visit with the new place on 1/28 and am hopeful that everything will transfer over and they will simply need to resubmit the authorization to my insurance. (I had already received my authorization letter for the initial clinic) The person I spoke with at the new program made the comment that it would "help a lot if I could lose some weight and weigh less than my last appointment with the old program". This is not a requirement of my insurance, so, I'm thinking this is more a requirement they have set.

Anyone have any pointers on how to lose several pounds over the next 10 days? I have an immensely hard time losing weight. I have been able to maintain the weight I had at my last appointment, but, my scale has not consistently gone down. I'm lucky to lose and keep off a pound a month and my scale has crazy fluctuations from day to day. I already do the following:

- carbs at or under 100g a day

- 128-152ozs of water a day

- only eat 3 meals a day with no snacking

Appreciate any advice or guidance.

Edited January 18, 20215 yr by ltaylor9597
spelling error

You seems to be doing all the right things. Perhaps don’t make any extreme changes until after your first appointment. They will usually give next steps and details at that point.

Also If the guidance was casual the person giving it (unless it was the surgeon or nutritionist) may not have exact details on your specific needs or insurance requirements.

I had to switch surgeons after completing my insurance companies requirements because the initial surgeon wasn't part of a "center of excellence." The second surgeon got all my records from the first and submitted them with no problem from the insurance company. Don't worry about losing weight, just make sure you have met the requirements set by your insurance company.

If I am reading this correctly and the first clinic had full authorization for surgery, then I would just talk with your insurance and the new clinic to get it transferred. My wife and I had surgery in November but used our 6 month programs from almost 2 years prior (our insurance allowed that).

I wouldn't vastly alter your diet unless they specifically give you a date. You can work on reducing your intake of food below what your body needs to maintain weight and you would still lose weight. So you shouldn't have to make any drastic changes. Increasing your water is definitely a good idea as well as it will help prepare you for after surgery and keeping hydrated.

Thanks for the input! The person who advised that it would help if I weighed less than my last supervised diet visit was a bariatric coordinator. She said it was because they have to document a downward trend...but...you all have a good point as she likely does not know that my insurance simply requires 6 months of visits. I did not have to lose a certain amount of weight and was already approved. I'm going to try to not stress about it and just see how the appointment goes. Hopefully once I meet with the surgeon it will work itself out.

I’d say the Bariatric coordinator fixes generic information and probably just doesn’t know all the details. While my insurance didn’t require 6 months of visits, I did switch in the midst of my journey. I wasn’t thrilled with the surgeon at my first place (which was recommended by a friend originally) so I switched to another place. They also were outpatient where the first place was inpatient for one-two nights. I really didn’t want to be away from my kids. (I haven’t ever left them overnight lol)

The transition went fine and I was so glad I switched!!! Anthem was able to switch my authorization in just a couple days. Hoping you get a date soon!!