Hiring an independent bariatric dietician

[SecretAgentDD 51]

Hi all. Im 7 weeks post op as of today. I’m curious if anyone has hired an independent bariatric dietician… in other words, someone outside of your surgeon’s office to support you? I am not really satisfied with the level of support that I am getting from my surgeon’s office. I’d like at least a weekly or bi-weekly check in with someone and to discuss goals and things I can work towards.
When I asked my surgeon’s office at my last follow up appointment if I was where I should be weight loss wise, I didn’t really get much of an answer. I asked where I should be at my three month follow-up and she couldn’t find her chart. So I never got an answer.

I live in an area where I haven’t been able to find any support groups locally. I’ve located someone online with a wealth of experience in working with bariatric patients and is a certified dietitian. She works primarily online with patients. I am hesitant to move forward based on the price.
Just curious if anyone has had luck with this or has any thoughts about it? I haven’t decided against it, just hesitant due to cost.

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

1 hour ago, SecretAgentDD said:

Hi all. Im 7 weeks post op as of today. I’m curious if anyone has hired an independent bariatric dietician… in other words, someone outside of your surgeon’s office to support you? I am not really satisfied with the level of support that I am getting from my surgeon’s office. I’d like at least a weekly or bi-weekly check in with someone and to discuss goals and things I can work towards.
When I asked my surgeon’s office at my last follow up appointment if I was where I should be weight loss wise, I didn’t really get much of an answer. I asked where I should be at my three month follow-up and she couldn’t find her chart. So I never got an answer.

I live in an area where I haven’t been able to find any support groups locally. I’ve located someone online with a wealth of experience in working with bariatric patients and is a certified dietitian. She works primarily online with patients. I am hesitant to move forward based on the price.
Just curious if anyone has had luck with this or has any thoughts about it? I haven’t decided against it, just hesitant due to cost.

Look into Dr Weiners Program. I think it’s pound of cure.com. His book “pound of cure” is pretty good too but he is a bariatric surgeon who has a podcast and his team offers nutritionist appointments online and he is always coming up with more stuff to help the bariatric community. He was the first one I heard mention GLP-1 long before it became widely known. He had lots of videos on YouTube about pre and post surgery as well. It may be cheaper or more in depth. Not certian but I know he is extremely knowledgeable and his nutritionist is on the podcasts with him and she really seems to know her stuff too.

correction it’s poundofcureweightloss.com

Also, if you don’t already you may want to start using a tracking app. That way you can share the info about your macros for a period of time. I really like Baritastic. You can get reports sent to you email if your macros and your food which you can forward to your nutritionist so they can see exactly what your eating

Edited September 12, 2024 by ShoppGirl

[SecretAgentDD 51]

Awesome. Thanks! I will check that out.

I’ve used the Lose it! app for years. It works fine for me. I’ve got it customized with all my recipes and such.

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

48 minutes ago, SecretAgentDD said:

Awesome. Thanks! I will check that out.

I’ve used the Lose it! app for years. It works fine for me. I’ve got it customized with all my recipes and such.

Definitely check it out. I just looked and it’s $49 a month for unlimited support. They have 25 plus different support groups every week and they also have individual ones but it’s not clear if they are included (you should be able to get most of your questions answers in a group one if not). I am actually thinking about doing it once I looked at the calendar which is jam packed with differnt groups and topics. They have some one demand stuff too. When you look you don’t have to do that quiz thing. Scroll down and you will see the info about the nutrition program and see where it says click to see the calendar.

[NickelChip 1,358]

I attend some of their monthly support groups and you can almost always get your questions answered by Zoe or Dr. Weiner in the groups without needing a one-on-one unless you have something very specific where you would need to share a lot of personal details or test results that are beyond the scope. The calendar shows how many people are registered for a session, so you can choose one with a small attendance to better your chances. I find it worthwhile even if I only make it to a few groups per month.

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

8 hours ago, NickelChip said:

I attend some of their monthly support groups and you can almost always get your questions answered by Zoe or Dr. Weiner in the groups without needing a one-on-one unless you have something very specific where you would need to share a lot of personal details or test results that are beyond the scope. The calendar shows how many people are registered for a session, so you can choose one with a small attendance to better your chances. I find it worthwhile even if I only make it to a few groups per month.

Do you know what they charge for the individual sessions? I assume it’s on top of the 49 per month right?

Edited September 12, 2024 by ShoppGirl

[NickelChip 1,358]

@ShoppGirl I don't, actually. They've changed their offerings a few times, so I'm actually still paying for the group access under a membership level that doesn't exist anymore. I do know they offer a platinum program for $999 that includes 3 personal visits with Dr. Weiner, 3 personal visits with Zoe, plus 3 months of membership for the group meetings (and a bunch of other things like help accessing prescription meds, etc.) but not sure what the cost is to book a single appointment. Although, if you need/want all 6 appointments and planned to do 3 months of groups anyway, it works out to about $140 each with the platinum package, which isn't bad.

[SpartanMaker 1,340]

I wanted to point out that many insurance plans will cover dietitian visits if you have certain health conditions, so it's possible that you can find someone to help without having to pay everything out of pocket. I'd start with your insurance company to see what's covered.