Question:
How do you honestly answer diet info when you have poor memory for details?

What do you do when they ask for very specific information on your past diet history and because it was so long ago on alot of it..you just don't know anything about how much you lost and how long it took or even when you actually were even on the diet? I have had several diets like that ..I just have no recollection ...those diets were like 8 yrs ago. Also, Weight Watchers doesn't keep any documentation..so I don't have that info either..that was 6yrs ago. Any one have any suggestions on how to fill out these forms honestly but no look like a total moron who may seems like she needs to have a huge dose of ginko for her memory? HELP!!!!!    — kathleen-Joan piper (posted on February 19, 2003)

February 19, 2003
Kathleen, I had the same problem. I just did the best I could. Actually, I guess I was pretty creative because I had no hard facts to back up what I wrote - my memories were pretty general - not specific at all. Is this for the doctor or for the insurance company? For me, it turned out that I didn't need all that information after all. I was using it for the surgeon and ended up changing doctors. I know this isn't much help - good luck.
   — Patty_Butler

February 20, 2003
Hi there. Do you keep any kind of personal diary? I've been keeping a diary since I've been 12 (now 35) and while it wasn't perfect, it did help me jog my memory. Also, I used other life events to come up with a calendar of sorts. For example, my son was 8 when he had his First Holy Communion and I wore the blue dress which meant I weighed X amount. I went to the surgeons consultation with diet history documentation that wasn't that strong, but it was something, and I guess it helped - I'm 4 months post op now! Good luck to you.
   — Yolanda J.

February 20, 2003
Do the best you can, and just don't worry about it. Make sure your list shows many, many diets over a span of many years, plus a general upward spiral of weight gain. I listed exercise programs, nutritionists, doctors, Weight Watchers, Atkins diet, etc. This is more a case of fulfilling their paperwork requirement than trying to be absolutely accurate.
   — Kathy J.

February 20, 2003
First of all, I wrote down every diet I could ever think of that I'd been on. Then I went to the local library and started pulling those books. I found a lot of diet plan books that I had tried in the past but hadn't remembered to put on my list. Most libraries keep copies of magazines for the past 3 years or so.....many of them, like Health, Redbook, Woman's Day, Better Homes and Gardens, etc. have diets in them every month. Basically, you don't have to lie about diets, but if you honestly tried one, it doesn't matter if you know if it was last year or three years ago, just write them all down, make a copy of them out of the book or magazine (or if it's a whole book, make a copy of the cover of the book)and attached a month/year that you may have tried it. Just make sure you put everything in chronological order. Submit even all of these copies with your insurance packet. One piece of advice....make sure that the dates you use jive with the date of the book (i.e. don't say you tried diet "X" in 1999 if the book wasn't published until 2001!) LOL Good luck!
   — Lynette B.