Weight Fluctuation During 6 Month Diet

[Joyecamp1992 23]

Hi everyone! Today is my second weigh in at my doctor's office and I must admit I'm kinda nervous. Right now, it's that time of the month for me (sorry if tmi) and I'm bloated. I've been trying to get rid of the excess Water weight but I don't know if it's working. Has anyone had experience with their weight going up and down during the 6 month process? Does the weight from the weigh ins really make a difference as long as at the end of the 6 months, you're either the same weight as you were at the beginning or you've lost weight? I have anthem blue cross blue shield if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance!

[tooswife 7]

I have anthem to dr told me not to gain at all.

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[KristenLe 5,979]

@@Joyecamp1992 I had my second weigh in yesterday - lost a whopping pound! I'm not sure if it's the same at your practice but my NUT said don't worry about the scale - these visits are to get us eating healthy and learning better behaviors preparing for surgery (eating slower, protein/produce, small plates/portions, reading labels, etc). I also found out at this visit that I don't need 6 months of a weight loss program (I have BCBS and was told I did by the Rep). I'm not sure if that's because of a high BMI or my comorbities - or if they changed the guidelines.

[Joyecamp1992 23]

@tooswife@KristenLe thanks for your input! I'm trying not to worry about the scale because I know they're all different and my weight is most likely different on every scale. I'm just scared because I was told I have the 6 month requirement and I don't want to jeopardize my approval at the end of the process.

[KristenLe 5,979]

Ask your NUT what the goals are for your 6 month weight loss program.

[ojibway 203]

I currently have just finished my 3rd month and half way thru the 4th month. I lost at least 4 lbs a month and feeling pretty good. I have Anthem BC/BS of Indiana and 6 months is required.

[heidikat72 935]

I think it totally depends on your specific insurance plan (even within providers, specific plans can be different). So best to ask at appointment if each individual weigh in makes a difference or just the comparison between the first and last or whatever.

For mine, (I have a BCBS highmark plan) I was told I didn't have to lose weight but that I absolutely could not gain even 1lb during the 6 months or insurance would reject it. My surgeon's office was currently battling my insurance company over a patient who literally gained 1lb over the 6 months.

[busybeebug 415]

@@heidikat72 I have highmark bcbs too. They are notorious for the weight thing

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[Joyecamp1992 23]

@@heidikat72 About the patient that gained 1 lb...is that the total amount of weight gain for the whole 6 months? Or was their weight fluctuating and they gained 1lb and then lost it? I hope I'm making sense because they seem like they make more sense when I say them out loud as opposed to typing them lol.

At my weigh in today, I gained 1 lb from last month. I have my period now and that 1 lb is most likely Water weight. I called my patient liaison at my surgeon's office and she left a message that said something along the lines of "if your weight evens out at the end, you'll be alright". I'm just hoping that when I submit all of my stuff to the insurance company, they don't look at this 1 lb gain as me not trying to lose or something.

[Kim5 0]

I went on vacation after I started my journey. Came back with some nice souvenirs and 8 pounds. Took me months to lose it. I literally broke down and cried once with my nut. Finally broke even and lost one pound. Doctor said not to stress the scale. It's really what insurance wants. I'm scheduled June 13th!

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[heidikat72 935]

@joyecamp if your surgeons office said you should be ok, trust them - they know your insurance requirements. I didn't think to ask the specifics of my surgeon when he told me that at my first apt but I got the impression it was 1lb difference at the end from the beginning, not a fluctuation. but I could be wrong.

[sunshine2479 4]

I had the same issue with mother nature on my weigh in days. It was tough but you can do this.

[Joyecamp1992 23]

Thank you everyone for your replies! i just love this website. I love the support. I told one of my only friends that I was getting the surgery and she made me feel so stupid about it. I regret even telling her but that showed me that I should just keep this to myself.

[heidikat72 935]

I just wanted to post a follow up on this thread. I had a support group meeting at my bariatric center and asked one of the nuritionists specifically about the no weight gain aspect during the medically supervised period., She said it does vary from insurance policy to policy but most of them would make you start the medically supervised period over again from the beginning if you had a weight gain at one appointment compared to your weight at the previous appointment. So as an example if you have a 6 month supervised period required, and at appointment 4 you had gained weight compared to appointment 3, you would would have to start all over with a new a new appointment 1.

[kitkattulsa 28]

I have Anthem and started the 6 month supervised diet but was told to maintain. Frustrating to me because I want to get started losing weight but my BMI is 35 and I cannot go below that. Thankfully they weighed me with a ortho boot so I have 5 lb to play with in case something happens to tip the scales over...I would just go without the boot and if I drop below...wear the boot.