Florida Pete

So almost 3 years ago (Dec 5, 2008) I was banded and it was working great for me. I was working the program (exercising daily and eating right) and I lost over a 100lbs. By my 1 year bandaversary I had been laid off from my job but was still working the program. By my 2 year bandaversary I was no longer working the program and hadn't had a fill in over a year. Here I am approaching my 3rd bandaversary and I still have not met my goal and struggle. Over the last two years I have gained some of the weight back. I am still down around 100 lbs but truth be told I have another 100lbs + to reach a healthy weight.

I have been struggling to get myself motivated once more about getting back on the program and start the weight loss again. I still feel a lot better than I did before surgery but I still need to lose a lot of weight. My eating habits are bad and I eat a lot more than I should be eating. At this point in time I feel like the band keeps the majority of the weight off and keeps it under control but it doesn't help me lose the weight. Perhaps once I am able to get another fill that will change again. I guess mainly I am posting here cause I am trying to remotivate myself into the weightloss mind set once more.

Hey All,

It's been a while since I posted on here. I hope everyone is doing well in their weight loss and in their lives.

Florida Pete

Hiya! He gave me 2CC's for my first fill because we were not sure exactly how much might have already had in my band. The intent is to get up to 5cc's very quickly with the capacity band I have. I most recently did get another CC but that was because I could tell I needed another large fill. He has been very good in listening to me and working with me. I am at 6cc's now in my band and have room to tighten as needed. It's still a lot of work and control on my own but trust me I can certainly tell a difference to what wasn't even a year ago yet.

Looks like I have not updated mine in a while. Down to 350 lbs. Half way there towards my goal for the year. :thumbup:

Name********Starting Weight*****Current*******Goal******To go

1RockinMom.........254............220.........145.......75

Alleycia...........255............220.........152.......68

ALuv82.............280.5..........259.........200......59

AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150......62.0

Babe...............308............267.........199.......68

Bellaperdente......196............173.........150.......23

Bklyn1984..........317............217.........165.......52

Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53

Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15

Cappy..............240............223.5.......130......93.5

Chocolate_Snaps....244............216.........175.......41

CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5

Clarebear08........192............166.........160.......6

Donna113...........183............172.5.......126......46.5

dublingirl.........224............209.........145.......64

Ebonie.............307............298.8.......200......98.8

EmmaWang...........241............195.........140.......55

FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112

FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54

FlordiaPete........413............350.........300.......50

GratefulHeart......226............187.........135.......52

GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76

health4life........279............239.........150.......89

inri09.............287............254.........185.......69

janesays...........225............175.........160.......15

jtejada............249............201.........170.......31

kaninag............210............200.........170.......30

kimaly.............194............179.........160.......19

Lindar172..........246............218.6.......150......68.4

Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89

LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91

Long2BThin.........216............178.........169........9

lotzasunshine......270............240.........199.......41

Loveislovely.......216............170.........165.......5

ltgordon...........284.8..........229.4.......185......44.4

lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65

Mair...............231............222.........140.......83

Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60

mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55

MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48

nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30

Pink...............230............152.........145........7

Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58

Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55

Sistergrl25........359............232.........170.......62

Snow...............227............167.........141.......26

stacy73............285............214.........160.......54

Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40

Tuger..............217............178.........130.......48

Under200...........242............199.........155.......44

vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52

Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76

WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22

Zoom-Zoom..........229............201.........135.......66

Hey all! Hope everyone is doing well with your weightloss and your changes to live a happier and healthier life style!

For me I lost 3 pounds this week! I broke the 350lbs mark and am very happy about it! Everyone keep up the great work!

Just a quick update. 2 more pounds lost this week. :scared2:

Anybody heard from Florida Pete? Hope you are still doing great out there, Pete. You are such an inspiration. . .hope you are off having too much fun to post.

Hey all! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. A lot has been going on. I had injured myself twice in two weeks. Really took it's toll on me but really not as bad as you might think. As a result I lost then gained then lost and am still at 355. Then I got laid off from work. Yeah sounds bad but I am keeping a positive attitude about it all. In all I am still down 130 lbs since my highest weight and keeping it off. Still plenty more still to go but that's ok. I will get there. I hope everyone is doing well with their weight loss. It's amazing how just 9 months ago we all were getting surgery done and how much it has changed all of our lives! Well at least I know it has changed my life a lot. :biggrin:

So this last week I lost 2 pounds but the week before was a gain of 2 so it's been a wash. LOL So goes it and this week will be better! :biggrin:

First off congrats Veronica on your great progress! It feels great to be losing more then a pound or two!

I have to say it is amazing how some people can have one or two CC's and hit their sweet spot while others pretty much fill their band full before hittin their sweet spots. For me I got another CC of Fluid into my band on Monday so I am at 5 CC's now. I do have a 10 CC capacity band. But I do feel a decent amount of restriction. I had a scrambled egg and two slices of bacon for Breakfast this morning and I feel completely stuffed. I actually have a hard time imagining how much more restriction I would have if I had 10 CC's. LOL

Well for me this week I lost another 4 pounds! WooT!

Heya Veronica,

First off congrats on the 3 lbs lost in the last week and congrats to everyone for your weight losses! It's great that we all are continue to make progress no matter how slow or how fast we do it. For me this week was just a 1 pound loss. Still a loss but not as much as I would have liked.

I had my 2nd fill about 2 months ago and am scheduled for my 3rd fill this coming monday. Right now I am at 4 cc's so far and I will be telling my doc to go at it aggressively. Like you Veronica I feel like I have practally no restriction. After I had gotten my 2nd fill I felt good restriction for like 3 weeks and then what seem like all of a sudden I was getting hungry sooner and eating more. Granted I still cannot eat like I did before surgery but it sure does seem like a lot of food at times. Best of luck with your fill I am sure it will help you and I sure hope mine helps me as well :sad:

Name********Starting weight*****Current*******Goal******To go

******************:laugh:*******************************:thumbdown:

1RockinMom.........254............220.........145.......75

Alleycia...........255............220.........152.......68

ALuv82.............280.5..........280.5.......200......80.5

AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0

Babe...............308............272.........199.......73

Bellaperdente......196............177.........150.......27

Bklyn1984..........317............235.........165.......70

Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53

Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15

Cappy..............240............223.5.......130.......93.5

Chocolate_Snaps....244............219.........175.......44

CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5

Clarebear08........192............170.........160.......10

Donna113...........183............172.5.......126.......46.5

dublingirl.........224............209.........145.......64

Ebonie.............307............298.8.......200.......98.8

EmmaWang...........241............203.........140.......63

FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112

FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54

FlordiaPete........413............364.........300.......64

GratefulHeart......226............187.........135.......52

GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76

health4life........279............239.........150.......89

inri09.............287............254.........185.......69

janesays...........225............189.........160.......29

kaninag............210............210.........170.......40

kimaly.............194............183.........160.......23

Lindar172..........246............218.6.......150.......68.4

Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89

LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91

Long2BThin.........216............180.........169.......11

lotzasunshine......270............244.5.......180.......64.5

Loveislovely.......216............180.........175.......5

ltgordon...........284.8..........229.4.......185.......44.4

lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65

Mair...............231............222.........140.......83

Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60

mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55

MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48

nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30

Pink...............230............152.........145........7

Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58

Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55

Snow...............227............167.........141.......26

stacy73............285............214.........160.......54

Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40

Tuger..............192............187.5.......130.......57.5

Under200...........242............199.........155.......44

vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52

Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76

WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22

Another week and I am down 3 lbs. Right where I want to be. Set a go for the next 6 months of 75 lbs so I need to average just under 3 lbs a week so this is a great start to that goal :thumbdown:

In December of 2008 I flew to Mexico and had my surgery done. I had to say that was a great experience. But living in Florida posed the challenge of finding a doctor who would take me and give me the aftercare I needed.

After some search I found U.S.Bariatrics and Dr. Perez. I scheduled my first follow up back in January of '09. The staff there was great and Dr. Perez was excellent. Since I am a self pay patient the prices were reasonable and I have since been back for additional follow up appointments. I would recommend Dr. Perez if you are thinking about any bariatric surgery.

Last year when I began my process of looking at bariatric surgery I first contacted Dr. Vaughan's office and went to the seminar that he puts on month for potential patients. It was a very informative seminar and he seems like a very personable person. He had a patient talk in the seminar that had gastric by-pass done several years ago who had lost a ton of weight too. Dr. Vaughan pushed gastric by-pass as the way to go but did also say he will do lapband proceedures as well.

After a week I contacted his office about what steps to take next and we started looking into if my insurance would cover the proceedure. Well like so many others out there my insurance would not cover the proceedure so then it was self pay. The cost for Dr. Vaughan's group was more then what I could afford and ultimately I went to one of the leading surgeons in the bariatric field who is in Mexico.

So for my after care I wanted to find a local doctor to do my fills and follow ups with. Naturaly the first person I looked to was Dr. Vaughan since for me he's only like 5 minutes from where I live. Unfortunately for me Dr. Vaughan will not see Mexico Patients and so I had to find another surgeon to do my aftercare and follow ups.

So from my experience Dr. Vaughan seems like he would be a decent surgeon but if you are a Mexico surgical patient don't bother calling him for aftercare or fills.

It's June and that means we're all hitting the 6 month mark since our surgery! For me that day is actually today!

• How have you done in your first 6 months?
  
• Do you feel better now then you did 6 months ago?
  
• How many fills have you had?
  

For me I have lost 75 lbs since surgery. It has been a great journey and one of the best decisions I have ever made. When I began my journey it was a workout to walk to the mailbox and back. Now I walk 2 miles everyday in just 30 minutes time and love it. I am down in clothing sizes and feel great. I have more energy and more confidence. I have had 2 fills so far and looking to get another really soon.

So congrats to all and I hope to hear from you and how your doing!

Slow start to June for me. Just 1 pound this week but that's ok cause it's still a loss.

Another week and another pound. Not much of a weight loss this week but still continued weight loss. Don't be discouraged Sue. Just take a look at what you have done and see where you can make changes. Eating different foods. Drinking more Water and less flavored drinks. Slight changes in your exercise routine. All these I have noticed do affect weight loss. So now it's time to start on June's weight loss!

I am not sure how much this is a weight loss NSV but still an NSV for me. Yesterday I finally got up enough courage to enroll back in college to get my bachelors degree. I have talked about doing it for years much the same as losing weight. Finally I have taken the plug and am moving forward and it's no longer just talk. So starting as soon as a few weeks from now I will be taking classes to further myself educationally and professionally.

Now for a weight loss NSV that I have recently experienced is that I do want to get out and power walk in the mornings. I like working up a sweat and burning off those calories. I can't jog yet but I will get there. I am still just to over weight and to much of my body moves when I try to jog but I will get there. For now I am happy that it feels great to get out for the power walk and that I actually do enjoy working up that sweat.

Congrat to Stephanie and Ann on your recent NSV's! I think these are the ones that really count deep inside us. They show to us that we are losing weight not just by the number but by how these make us feel. Good going girls and keep up the great work! Our goals ARE obtainable!!!

Name********Starting weight*****Current*******Goal******To go

******************:eek:**************:wub:**********:tt2:*******:smile:

1RockinMom.........254............220.........145.......75

Alleycia...........255............220.........152.......68

ALuv82.............280.5..........280.5.......200......80.5

AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0

Babe...............308............275.6.......199.......76.6

Bellaperdente......196............177.........150.......27

Bklyn1984..........317............238.........165.......73

Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53

Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15

Cappy..............240............223.5.......130.......93.5

Chocolate_Snaps....244............224.........175.......49

CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5

Clarebear08........192............170.........160.......10

Donna113...........183............172.5.......126.......46.5

dublingirl.........224............209.........145.......64

Ebonie.............307............298.8.......200.......98.8

EmmaWang...........241............203.........140.......63

FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112

FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54

FlordiaPete........413............369.........300.......69

GratefulHeart......226............191.........135.......56

GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76

health4life........279............239.........150.......89

inri09.............287............254.........185.......69

janesays...........225............189.........160.......29

kaninag............210............210.........170.......40

kimaly.............194............183.........160.......23

Lindar172..........246............219.6.......150.......69.6

Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89

LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91

Long2BThin.........216............182.........169.......13

lotzasunshine......270............245.........180.......65

Loveislovely.......216............180.........175.......5

ltgordon...........284.8..........229.4.......185.......44.4

lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65

Mair...............231............222.........140.......83

Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60

mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55

MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48

nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30

Pink...............230............152.........145........7

Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58

Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55

Snow...............227............167.........141.......26

stacy73............285............214.........160.......54

Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40

Tuger..............192............187.5.......130.......57.5

Under200...........242............199.........155.......44

vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52

Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76

WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22

lost another 3 pounds last week. really have been working hard at keeping that scale moving. power walks in the morning have greatly helped my matabolism I think :smile:

1RockinMom.........254............220.........145.......75

Alleycia...........255............220.........152.......68

AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0

Babe...............308............278.6.......199.......79.6

Bellaperdente......196............177.........150.......27

Bklyn1984..........317............241.........165.......76

Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53

Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15

Cappy..............240............223.5.......130.......93.5

Chocolate_Snaps....244............224.........175.......49

CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5

Clarebear08........192............171.........160.......11

Donna113...........183............172.5.......126.......46.5

dublingirl.........224............209.........145.......64

Ebonie.............307............298.8.......200.......98.8

EmmaWang...........241............210.........140.......70

FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112

FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54

FlordiaPete........413............372.........300.......72

GratefulHeart......226............193.........135.......58

GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76

health4life........279............239.........150.......89

inri09.............287............254.........185.......69

janesays...........225............189.........160.......29

kaninag............210............210.........170.......40

kimaly.............194............183.........160.......23

Lindar172..........246............219.6.......150.......69.6

Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89

LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91

Long2BThin.........216............183.........169.......14

lotzasunshine......270............247.5.......180.......67.5

Loveislovely.......216............185.........175.......10

ltgordon...........284.8..........250.5.......185.......65.5

lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65

Mair...............231............222.........140.......83

Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60

mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55

MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48

nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30

Pink...............230............152.........145........7

Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58

Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55

Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40

Tuger..............192............187.5.......130.......57.5

Under200...........242............199.........155.......44

vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52

Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76

WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22

Snow...............227............167.........141.......26

Hey all - dropped another 4 pounds this week. Actually a little surprised but very happy about it. Hope everyone else is having a great week.

Heya! Yeah I actually weigh in on Fridays. I had surgery on a Friday so I have weighed in ever week since. I find it easier for me to track my progress like that.

Hey All - I have been terrible about posting this last month. Sorry about that. I updated my weights on the spreadsheet. Hope everyone is doing well. I lost 2 pounds this last week.

Name********Starting weight*****Current*******Goal******To go

********************************:thumbup:**********:huh2:*******:thumbdown:

1RockinMom.........254............226.........145.......81

Alleycia...........255............220.........152.......68

AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0

Babe...............308............278.6.......199.......79.6

Bellaperdente......196............177.........150.......27

Bklyn1984..........317............248.........165.......83

Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53

Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15

Cappy..............240............227.5.......130.......97.5

Chocolate_Snaps....244............224.........175.......49

CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5

Clarebear08........192............171.........160.......11

Donna113...........183............172.5.......126.......46.5

dublingirl.........224............209.........145.......64

Ebonie.............307............298.8.......200.......98.8

EmmaWang...........241............210.........140.......70

FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112

FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54

FlordiaPete........413............378.........300.......78

GratefulHeart......226............199.........135.......64

GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76

health4life........279............239.........150.......89

inri09.............287............254.........185.......69

janesays...........225............199.........160.......39

kaninag............210............210.........170.......40

kimaly.............194............183.........160.......23

Lindar172..........246............220.4.......150.......70.4

Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89

LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91

Long2BThin.........216............183.........169.......14

lotzasunshine......270............251.........180.......71

Loveislovely.......216............185.........175.......10

ltgordon...........284.8..........250.5.......185.......65.5

lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65

Mair...............231............222.........140.......83

Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60

mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55

MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48

nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30

Pink...............230............152.........145........7

Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58

Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55

Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40

Tuger..............192............187.5.......130.......57.5

Under200...........242............199.........155.......44

vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52

Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76

WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22

Hey all -

Well you asked for more NSV's from me. I have to say my latest was on Sunday I went for a 3 mile walk. I can't tell you when the last time was that I could actually do that. Even better still I was pushing my 18 month old son in his stroller the whole way too. Other NSV's for me has been fitting into smaller clothes and even some of those are now starting to be a bit on the loose side. I got my 2nd fill this week and am getting used to that. I am up to 4 cc's now.