Did you have to have a documented diet failure?

sleepyjean · October 11, 2005

Just curious. This is one of the requirements for UCLA's bariatric program. If you had to have the documentation, what did it consist of? Is it just a letter, or is there more to it? And does the diet have to last for a certain length of time?

SJ

Alexandra · October 11, 2005

I had a lifetime of diet failures to share, and my documentation consisted of a three-page list. Give them dates, numbers, measurements, results, whatever you can think of to substantiate previous diet attempts. This is in addition to any doctor-supervised program they might require, since the whole point of doctor supervision is to get that third-party documentation. But most carriers ask for a diet history and that has to be supplied by you. Overwhelm them with as much data as you can remember.

ejezyk · October 11, 2005

I went to the Dr. I did my liquid diet with and asked for my recored I made copies of all my weight watchers stuff from the weight watchers group I had gone to (multiple times) and I gave the name of the nutritionist from the liquid diet group. and the one I saw when I was a gestational diabetic. I also listed from teenage years how many times and ways I attempted to lose weight and how long it lasted. It was really sad to see my journey on paper of a compulsive overeater and obese woman. It inspired me though...

I hope this helps

Elda

NJChick · October 11, 2005

I gave my surgeon a 2 page list of diets I've been on since the 1970's (including exercise clubs I joined, the years I joined etc.). I told him I really tried to remember all the diets I was on. I mean from the Aydes appetite candies, the Grapefruit diet, my mom's broiled hamburgers and green bean diet to today, Atkins, Nutrasystem, WW...etc. I told him just to write that I started a new diet every stinkin monday LOL.... funny but true.

Spydr · October 11, 2005

I agree with Alex. Overload them with data. The key to getting anything approved regarding medical treatment and payment for me has been paperwork. I submit anything I can get my hands on. I got an old calander and went back to the 80s and wrote a list of everything I tried. I feel sorry for the person who has to sift through all my paperwork cause there is a ton!

sleepyjean · October 11, 2005

I’m taking your advice. I made a list of all the things I need to dig out of various corners of my closets to add to my application. Between that and writing out my diet history, it really knocked me for a loop. I mean, I know I’ve been trying to lose weight for a long time now, but to look at the list of all the crap I bought – the books and the equipment and the memberships and on and on – and all of the times I didn’t succeed is a little mind-blowing.

I never really thought of myself as a yo-yo dieter, but there it is, in black and white. It makes me even more anxious to get banded because I can clearly see just how much time, my thoughts, my energy and my money – how much of my LIFE has gone into my weight. I can only imagine what I might have accomplished if only I’d been able to channel all that energy into something else

Alexandra · October 11, 2005

I’m taking your advice. I made a list of all the things I need to dig out of various corners of my closets to add to my application. Between that and writing out my diet history, it really knocked me for a loop. I mean, I know I’ve been trying to lose weight for a long time now, but to look at the list of all the crap I bought – the books and the equipment and the memberships and on and on – and all of the times I didn’t succeed is a little mind-blowing.
I never really thought of myself as a yo-yo dieter, but there it is, in black and white. It makes me even more anxious to get banded because I can clearly see just how much time, my thoughts, my energy and my money – how much of my LIFE has gone into my weight. I can only imagine what I might have accomplished if only I’d been able to channel all that energy into something else

I think this is one of the most valuable reasons to DO this exercise, actually. It's totally eye-opening to see it all on paper, and really concentrates the mind and will beautifully. Banding really is different than all of those previous attempts, as we can all attest, but it's very important we don't lose sight of the fact that it's a lifelong project. Looking at where we've been is an important first step in seeing where we're going.