Got my insurance requirements....help?

For me, the public meeting was a good time to get a sense of the surgeon and see if s/he was someone you want mucking around your insides. 

Absolutely. I just did the online one so that I could get the ball rolling.

I agree with all others above - the WLS surgeon's office will guide you through the approval process.  You'll need to be on top of it and be your own advocate, but the insurance specialists will be able to help you decipher the diet requirement.  

Try not to become overwhelmed. Once you've made your mind up - and you have - the next step IMO is to find a surgeon you want to work with and START.  The start date is usually first consult or first information session so start as quickly as you can. 

GOOD LUCK! One step at a time!

I got the start of a headache just trying to read all that lol. You are setting yourself for failure already. I suggest you go see a bariatric surgeon, he or she and their staff will know what you need to do to get your surgery approved and advise you accordingly. It really wasn't that hard for me. I went to see their surgeon, they wanted me to lose an unreasonable amount of weight prior to surgery, just to clarify, I stand 6'5" and I have always been a big guy but it got considerably worse after a couple of injuries which I was able to show to the doctor. We did the blood work and other tests he wanted, I never once went to a class or support class, I informed them my brother had RNY so I had someone to talk to about it and have had more conversations than I can remember over it with him. I went to see their shrink and I had to do an 9-10 module online class that was so monotonous that if could have put an insomniac to sleep. I went back to the surgeon and he stated he would need to consider if they would do the surgery. I blatantly informed him he needed to make up his mind, that if he was going to just waste his time and more importantly my time, then I was out of there and would seek it somewhere else. Needless to say we had the surgery about a month later. This is my long winded version of just jump into it, stick up for yourself and don't take no for an answer.