MTBiker

My insurance doesn't require the 6 month supervised diet, but it has been 4 months since my first seminar, and 3 months since I began a supervised diet under the weight loss clinic supervision. I am still waiting for the surgeon to get approval from insurance, and then they have a 4 week backlog, so it will probably be 5 to 6 months total time for me anyway. My clinic requires the sleep test, nuclear heart tests, ultrasounds and more. Many thousands of dollars worth of tests that my insurance thankfully all covered. Anyway, the only point being you have to work within the system that is available to you, and the insurance coverage that you have. To me it is a great opportunity to have insurance cover this procedure, and it is well worth the effort to play by their rules to make it happen.

I have read out here in the forum that if your caloric intake is too low, you won't lose weight. The body is very efficient at protecting itself from starvation. Keep up the walking, but try to follow the prescribed diet too. I would also suggest a big activity day once in a while if you are up to it, like walking farther or a different type of exercise that may give your body a jolt. Using a pedometer helps a lot, I know that if I have 10,000+ step days, the weight will drop off. Good luck.

I am in imaging systems architect for a major bank, and a member of the AIIM Michigan board of directors. Most of my time is spent on conference calls and answering email.

What is the reasoning behind not using straws? Is this a permanent requirement, or just while healing?

My previous employer's health insurance also didn't cover any weight loss. This is often due to the contract between the insurance co and the employer company, so your anger perhaps should be directed at the employer. I also filed an appeal, though not with a lawyer, and was summarily dismissed. My only break was that my company was aquired, and the new owner company health plan does allow for lapband. If you don't have a career invested in your current employer, it may be worth it to change jobs.

I am working with the Beaumont Weight Control center in the Detroit area. They are very thorough, and the best thing they did for me was give me a pedometer, and tell me to shoot for 10,000 steps per day. This way each morning I take a quick note on my palm pilot of my morning weight and the number of steps from yesterday. I've been tracking it on a spreadsheet, and while I have been pretty faithful to the initial diet (I'm not banded or on pre-op liquids yet) I can definitely see from the trends that days of high exercise lead to big drops in weight, while days with lower activity result in minimal weight loss. I think my body is very clever at trying to maintain or increase my weight, even when the calorie count has dropped. Adding exercise helps keep the metabolism up and lets the pounds come off. So I heartily recommend getting a pedometer. You'll be able to see how a normal inactive day only results in a couple thousand steps, yet mowing the lawn, or vacuming the house gives you a couple thousand boost. I like to ride my bike, and I clip the pedometer on my shoe, since it doesn't register anything if it is on my hip. If you shoot for having a few 10,000 step days per week, with most days over 5,000, you may see some improved weight loss.

From a male perspective, I think what you have going there is very impressive. If they were perfectly even with your arms up, then they might be off with your arms down, so I think you got the better end of that deal.

Good discussion. I started dieting a month ago, based on plan that the nutritionist laid out for me. I've lost 15 pounds, and haven't really suffered. I agree that getting into this mode prior to surgery will be beneficial. I was at a banquet last night, and did my best to eat properly, and ignored the cake when it came around. I didn't even long for the cake anymore, its just not important to me anymore. I meet with the doctor next week in prep for meeting with surgeon, but its possible for me to get a date in the summer months too. I've been charting my weightloss along with the steps on the pedometer, and I can definitely see a correlation between days of high exercise and days of weight loss. So for me, exercise is a critical factor, beyond what a diet will do.

When you go to Tickerfactory and set up your design, it will give you bbcode. Select that code and copy it. Then inside lapbandtalk, go to your profile, and choose edit signature. Paste the code into the big box above all the smilies, and then preview it to make sure it works. Dont put it in the bottom section under picture. That was my mistake. Good day.

I was under BCBS-IL for years, and could get nowhere with weight loss, because they wouldn't cover anything. I even filed an appeal, which was denied to the the policy in effect. Now due to a merger I am under BCBS_GA, which does cover lapband, and doesn't require a 6 month supervised weight loss! I am hoping for surgery in the next couple of months. However, I think the policies around coverage are mandated by the employer, not BCBS. My suggestions would be to ask your doctor if there is a cost effect way to complete a supervised weight loss since it is out of your pocket. You could also try to file an appeal with your HR department. Best of luck.