Hey, thanks for responding! Covering all the food groups sounds good, and so does that weight loss amount, wow!

To have the surgery covered at the one hospital in Winnipeg that does it under provincial coverage, you need a BMI of 40-55. I'm (genuinely) big-boned and muscular, so I've also been told that BMI will never quite accurately describe my health, but for this the number is all that matters. Mine, depending on the chart you read, is currently about 60-62. I'm also quite short, at 5'3", which doesn't help!

Going to google that diet now. Thanks!!

Hello! I'm JUST starting my weight loss process now and looking for diet advice. I need to lower my BMI by about 7 points to qualify for covered bariatric surgery (in Manitoba), but I have six months before I can even apply because I'm currently living in a different province. So! I have six months to diet and exercise as diligently as possible and then, if I qualify, I'll be in a hospital program that monitors diet and exercise as part of the whole surgical process. I'm looking at different diets and weighing options between the Mayo Clinic's weight loss diet, which is essentially a 1,200 calorie/day Mediterranean one but doesn't specifically focus on low carb/high protein (though on the whole, it looks to be lower in carbs and higher in protein, but with less emphasis on that) or a straight-up high protein/low carb diet. I'm also cutting refined sugars completely. Any thoughts/advice? I'm sort of looking at two different meal plans but found myself confused while grocery shopping over things like fat content in diary products (should I go high fat? No fat? The high protein diet seems to think high fat), use of nuts, eggs, etc. Help?

You are very sweet, thank you. My husband calls me the research queen because I research everything! And I mean everything. I do believe everyone should keep themselves informed when it comes to their health care costs (among other things) and get a good idea on the out of pocket costs that you may incur from the surgery, after care, maintenance and any possible complications now and down the road. I expect the best outcome, but am always prepared for the worst!

No, no one discussed the cost with me, since that was the only option. Continuing as I was trying to take supplements that aren't working would have resulted in my death. However, I had already extensively researched the cost of iron and I'm aware of the high cost of it. At this point, I consider it well worth the cost since it's saving my life

I was lucky. The hematologist checked all my other nutrient values, B12, calcium Vitamin D, etc.. All levels were great except for the iron. I'm feeling tons better except for the achy joints (side effect of the IV iron). Go on Thursday for my last infusion, then in one month for labs to be sure I don't need more. Apparantly, my body can maintain/utilize all the other supplements but the iron.