HOW MUCH WEIGHT DID U LOSE BEFORE VSG?

[jasleeve 440]

my nutritionist is putting me on a 6month diet before approving me for the sleeve. my question is, how much weight did you guys lose & in how many months? she didnt give me a goal weight to lose.

[wishes 125]

For the first two months of my 6MPSWL, I did not try, and the scale did not move. Over the last three months, I have lost about 5 lbs a month. I hoping to round out the 6 months with 20 lbs down, and hopefully, ten down during the liquid pre-op for a total of 30 pounds.

[jasleeve 440]

i visited with my primary dr today & i was advised by him not to lose any weight because my insurance will not approve me if i do. now im confused.. lol. do i try & lose the weight or do i just keep eating as ive been eating but just take in smaller portions so that if i do lose weight, itll be very minimal?

For the first two months of my 6MPSWL, I did not try, and the scale did not move. Over the last three months, I have lost about 5 lbs a month. I hoping to round out the 6 months with 20 lbs down, and hopefully, ten down during the liquid pre-op for a total of 30 pounds.

[Maddie 9]

jasleeve, the thing is not to lose too much. If the insurance company thinks that you are very successful on your own, they may not approve you for surgery.

I was self pay so didn't have this to deal with, but my cousin got hers done through insurance. Her doctor told her to diet but to be careful how much she lost. I know this seems bizarre but in a strange way it makes sense. The way it was explained to her was this: The insurance company wants to know that you are serious about weight loss so they want to see that you are committed. The only way they have to test you is by putting you on a diet. They expect you to lose a certain amount over a certain period of time. If you don't lose any at all, they think you didn't try and they won't approve you. If you lose too much they think you can do it without surgery and they won't approve. So, the trick is to lose just a little.

So, what she did was cut her calories. For a about a week, she wrote down what she ate typically. This was only for her own use so she was honest about everything that went into her mouth. She added that up and divided it by 7 to get a daily average of calories. Then she cut her caloric intake by 1,000-1,500 calories a day. This still left her eating way more than she would on a diet but enough that she would show some weight loss each time she went to the doctor.

The only way she could do this was to keep a journal of what she ate, which turned out to be a good thing. By the time she had surgery she was in the habit of tracking her food.

I'm not suggesting that this is what you should do, I'm just trying to explain what the dr meant.

[jasleeve 440]

makes much sense! my nutritionist wanted me to cut out soda & i think after cutting soda & juices out & adding Water & exercises but not cutting food, i think ill be down about 5lbs a month. at the end of 6 months, thats 30lbs. do you feel thats reasonable? or is even that too much?

jasleeve, the thing is not to lose too much. If the insurance company thinks that you are very successful on your own, they may not approve you for surgery.

I was self pay so didn't have this to deal with, but my cousin got hers done through insurance. Her doctor told her to diet but to be careful how much she lost. I know this seems bizarre but in a strange way it makes sense. The way it was explained to her was this: The insurance company wants to know that you are serious about weight loss so they want to see that you are committed. The only way they have to test you is by putting you on a diet. They expect you to lose a certain amount over a certain period of time. If you don't lose any at all, they think you didn't try and they won't approve you. If you lose too much they think you can do it without surgery and they won't approve. So, the trick is to lose just a little.

So, what she did was cut her calories. For a about a week, she wrote down what she ate typically. This was only for her own use so she was honest about everything that went into her mouth. She added that up and divided it by 7 to get a daily average of calories. Then she cut her caloric intake by 1,000-1,500 calories a day. This still left her eating way more than she would on a diet but enough that she would show some weight loss each time she went to the doctor.

The only way she could do this was to keep a journal of what she ate, which turned out to be a good thing. By the time she had surgery she was in the habit of tracking her food.< /p>

I'm not suggesting that this is what you should do, I'm just trying to explain what the dr meant.

[Maddie 9]

I'm not really sure, and I would be happy to ask my cousin, but she's on vacation with her family right now. Hopefully some folks who dealt with insurance can answer that for you. Best of luck.

[Chicadee 10]

I had a 6 month requirement of nutrition visits as well. I didn't try to lose anything there either. Once I started my pre-op diet which ended up being like 6 weks long (longer than most people) I lost 22lbs.

[jasleeve 440]

ohh ok! thank you for responding!

I had a 6 month requirement of nutrition visits as well. I didn't try to lose anything there either. Once I started my pre-op diet which ended up being like 6 weks long (longer than most people) I lost 22lbs.

[Kasie 4]

I ended up losing 4 lbs. in my 6 month diet - partly because of the whole "if you loose to much" thing and partly because I was so close to a bmi of 40 that if I lost much more than that I would fall below and then they wouldn't cover me either -- it is crazy these games they make us play isn't it?

[jasleeve 440]

well im glad i know this because i thought i wouldnt be approved if i didnt lose any weight. lol. ive always been told that im 5'1 & now theyre saying 5'3 so my bmi is 46.6. i def dont want to go below 40.

I ended up losing 4 lbs. in my 6 month diet - partly because of the whole "if you loose to much" thing and partly because I was so close to a bmi of 40 that if I lost much more than that I would fall below and then they wouldn't cover me either -- it is crazy these games they make us play isn't it?

[wishes 125]

jasleeve, I am also 5'3" and I weight 241 right now. However, I started at 257 with weight to lose where I can also still maintain my BMI over 40. It starts getting tricky for me if I go below that. I only have one co-morbidity, so I would not be eligible for surgery if I dropped below 40. I am trying to lose weight, but I have to make sure I don't lose too much. However, I definitely second the suggestion to record your food. I do that religiously, even for that bagel bite I had in the Sam's club while shopping. It is a good habit, and really lets me keep track of what I am putting in my mouth.

[jasleeve 440]

well i eat the samething every single day lol. very weird, i know. im the routine kinda person

jasleeve, I am also 5'3" and I weight 241 right now. However, I started at 257 with weight to lose where I can also still maintain my BMI over 40. It starts getting tricky for me if I go below that. I only have one co-morbidity, so I would not be eligible for surgery if I dropped below 40. I am trying to lose weight, but I have to make sure I don't lose too much. However, I definitely second the suggestion to record your food. I do that religiously, even for that bagel bite I had in the Sam's club while shopping. It is a good habit, and really lets me keep track of what I am putting in my mouth.

[kellyw74 258]

I lost 55lbs in 5 1/2 months doing the pre-op diet that Kaiser gave me.

Kelly

[ccbcdeke 11]

I was approved by insurance before my consultation with the surgeon. The consult is normally two weeks before surgery but I pushed mine out to 5 weeks. I started losing weight after my consult so about 5 weeks now and I have lost 31 lbs so far. wow...that's the first time I figured how long it has taken me to lose the 31 lbs...now that I have said it, it seems like alot.

Surgery is Monday...I'm excited.

[Shea 13]

My doctor told me they only look at the weight from the beginning of the diet so if you lose weight it wont count against you. She said the insurance company is looking to see if you're willing to lose weight and is serious about the process because they dont want to waste their money on someone who wont work at losing the weight along with their tool. What's funny is, I went to the seminar and the coordiantor of the bariatric center told me the insurance company looks at the beginning weight when I have my first consultation with the bariatric center. So Im not sure which weight the insurance company looks at, the doctors or the bariatric consultation weight.. I have to be at a BMI of 50 to qualify for the sleeve with my insurance, and therefore I cant lose a lot of weight otherwise I will be below the 50 bmi when I have my first consultation with the bariatric team. I dont know what to do. I've just been losing and gaining the same 6 and 7 pounds.