Did anyone's insurance require a list of weight loss attempts? Mine is and I don't even know where to start. Does anyone have an example to can use? I am not good with words. PLEASE HELP!

As you can see from the following, all my attempts failed except for calorie counting. That was successful because I was in love and couldn't eat anyways!!!

Weight Wt Gained

Diet Started Stopped Lost Back

Low Carb 2002 2003 9 +

Carbo Addicts 2001 2002 12 +

Hypnotism 2001 2001 0

" 1993 1993 0

Wt Watchers 1975 1976 12 15

Wt Losers 1970 1972 8 20

Calorie Counting 1965 1967 23 *

* Kept it off for about 3 years and it's been uphill ever since

Hope this helps!

Sending the last reply screwed up the formatting. This is how the top line should read:

Diet- Started-Stopped-Weight lost-Weight gained back

This is a great idea for a thread, since almost everyone's insurance and/or surgeon requires some sort of history. Mine wasn't so much a list as an actual history. Here's the gist of it:

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Age 0 - 10: (1961 - 1971): Fat from the start; my family was always restricting my intake and talking about my weight. I’ve asked my brother for his memories and he concurs–most of our childhood was about my being told not to eat.

Age ??: When Dr. Atkins first published his diet, my mother tried it on me. I remember testing our urine with ketone strips.

Age 10: Diet camp. Lost about 30 lbs through strict diet and daily exercise. (150 lbs at end?)

Age 10-12: Weekly visits with pediatrician; continued lectures f rom my parents. At this time I weighed over 150.

Age 8-16: Weight Watchers, several times. Lost small amounts of weight occasionally, week to week; no major loss.

Age 16: Broke 200 lbs; was 212 first visit with my "adult" doctor. By this time I had almost reached my adult height of 5'10".

Age 20: Summer before senior year of college: Lost 30 lbs (hit 197 at my low point) as member of a WW-like group following a modified Atkins diet. Lived essentially on celery, diet 7-UP and turkey, and walked each way to work: at least 90 minutes every day.

Up until this point I’d have said I was “active” with regard to exercise. I lived in NYC and did a lot of walking, but also played volleyball in high school and throughout college. Every summer I worked at a camp and was a swimming instructor, and I never owned a car at college.

Age 21 - 28 After graduation I started working full-time at a desk job. Met (alcoholic) boyfriend and started drinking frequently. Broke 300. Sometime during this period I tried hypnosis. No effect. I also tried a hospital-based support group recommended by my nutritionist.

Age 28-30: 1990: Medical fast (Opti-Fast). 12 weeks without solid food. Lost 75 lbs (230 at end). At end of fast I participated in a clinical trial of an SSRI being tested for weight-loss maintenance, and so was under close medical supervision for many months afterwards. During 1991 the weight came back on, and by spring of 1992 I weighed 280 and continued to gain.

Age 35 (1995): 340 lbs. Went on an herbal concoction containing ephedra, lost 40 lbs.

Age 35 - 39 (1997 - 2001): 300 lbs., then got pregnant. Between two pregnancies I got back down to 310.

Age 40: A year after my second child was born, I’m now at 330. No longer worried about impairing my fertility and filled with new concerns about my health and future, I'm ready for serious intervention: surgery.

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I had started with just a list but that didn't convey the lifelong nature of my battle with obesity. I needed to explain why and how I'd come to make the decision that surgery was right for me, how it came to be my last resort. Not only for my doctor and insurer, but myself as well.

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very cool! Thank you! This is the kind of stuff that I need. I have a psych exam on monday the 6th. Any one know what that's like?

My psych exam consisted of about 30 minutes of the doc and I chatting about my weight loss/gain throughout the years and a series of questions about addictive behavior. The last protion was an exam (about 1.5 hours long). The questions are basically trying to make sure you don't have any deepseated mental problems. Answer them truthfully or else it could show that you have the ability to deceive people.

wonderful! Thank you! It just feels strange that I have to take a psych exam so I am a little nervous. I'm not nuts just tired of being fat!

Angelpantz, don't feel at all weird about the psych exam. It's important for everyone's sake that patients truly understand what they're about to undertake, and that they're not going to sabotage the band every chance they get. People with serious eating disorders or undiagnosed mental illness are bad candidates for the band, and the psych exam is primarily to screen out those people.

If you don't have a serious eating disorder or undiagnosed mental illness (of which you would surely have some symptoms), the psych exam is painless if a little tedious. Sit back and enjoy that time of pure self-reflection! It's very rare in our lives these days.

thank you for the wonderful advice. After hearing what you guys have said it sounds like it is really no big deal. I am getting so excited. Cant wait!

How are you doing Alexandra?

weight watchers

slimfast

nutra system

merida (persription apetite surperesent)

Hypnotist/adkins diet

exercise