I'm baaaaack.

Actually ( at least for my insurance) the initial weigh in weight was the only one that counted. Losing too much before surgery was a big concern for most "lightweights" back when we had to prove we could lose weight to get surgery but in most cases it was unfounded.

Welcome back and good luck on your new journey!

I think it varies greatly from program to program and people's individual insurance. I had several pre-op visits - some for medical clearance items and some for psychological clearance. I had to meet for an introductory group session, then a 1:1 with the surgeon, meet with the dietician and a physical therapist to talk about exercise. I also had to meet with a psychiatrist to get mental health clearance and "diagnosis" of an eating disorder (this was a weird process since they didn't really know what to diagnosis me with as I wasn't a binge eater).

My BMI was 36.1, so they advised I should not lose weight as the cut off for my insurance was 35 with a comorbidity (I have monogenic diabetes). I started my process in September and had surgery mid-January and I think I gained 6lbs in that time frame, LOL. I was really worried about losing - I was a great loser, I just never kept it off. I had regularly gotten down in the 28-30 BMI range "on my own" (hate that phrase but you know what I mean). I had 9 days pre-op of liquid diet. I was allowed protein shakes, calorie free clear liquids and one 'meal' of greek yogurt or cottage cheese per day. Then one day of only clear liquids before surgery.