6 month PCP monitored diet.....what am I gonna do while waiting???

I had my first consult on Dec 8, 2009 and surgery on May 28, 2010...almost 6 months later and following a 3 month supervised nutrition and behavior modification trial.  If you are on a 6 month program, bear in mind that the insurance has 30 days to approve or deny following the submission of your paperwork; then your doctor's office has to fit you into the surgery schedule...I was approved April 13  for my surgery, 6 weeks before the surgery actually occurred.

What can you do for the next 6 months?  Everything your doctor and nutritionists asks of you.  It isn't so much about losing weight, but learning to be compliant with the demands of banded life...

Spend the next 6 months preparing for the rest of your life!

Thanks Steph. I think this is very difficult for me because I see how rapidly everyone loses weight and changes. I just want to do it tomorrow!! I am actually considering paying out of pocket so that I dont have to deal with the insurance process. But I know you are right, and it may take up to 9 months before I actually get banded. I am just so excited to start this chapter in my life. I am so tired of being overweight and having no enerygy, and wearing ugly cloths. I am ready to change NOW. I plan to follow the MD and the Nutritionist completely.

I was self-pay, so I only had about 2 1/2 months to wait -- but here is how I spent my time.

1.  eating like a bandster ---- no more drinking while eating, cutting my food into small, small bites --- eating on a schedule
2.  making lists
     25 things to do besides eat (put a copy on my pantry and one on my fridge)
     25 reasons I want to lose this weight
     25 ways that I can measure success -- besides the scale

3. develop an exercise routine -- at least 10 minutes a day ---working up to about 60 minutes a day

That is a good idea, to start living like a bandster even before surgery. I am still overeating........right up into last night. This is going to be a true struggle for me!! I will be taking your advice though. Thanks

Hi, Sheneka - Even though I was also self-pay, and I didn't have a definite requirement for a physician monitored diet, I started documenting and tracking every morsel or sip that I put in my mouth last September.

In addition to all of the other great things that have already been mentioned, I believe that's a  useful way to pass the time... getting into the habit of documenting and analyzing everything that you're taking in.  It really increased my awareness of what I was getting nutritionally, my meal timings, etc.
 
As a matter of fact, it helped me as recently as yesterday when I ended up in the doctor's ofc after breaking out in hives.  The first thing they did when I got there was hand me a sheet of paper that asked me to list everything I had eaten and had to drink the day before.

Good luck!  Ther time will fly by... 

Congrats on getting your band!! I have to start a food journal anyway.....I am doing weigh****chers and you have to log what you eat anyway. I just want to be a success. Thanks for the advice, I will start a journl ASAP!