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One pound of fat is equal to one pound of muscle. The difference is the composition. Fat is lumpy and is just, well, fat. Whereas muscle is very dense. For example, you have 2 men weighing 200 lbs. and 6 ft. tall. Man "A" watches 40 hours of TV and eats pizza all the time. Man "B" does strength training 4-5 days a week and eats healthy carbs. The difference is Man "B" has leaner, denser mass compared to Man "A" who has bulky, lumpy mass. Back in the days when I was in shape, I never let the scale define me. I was a Div.I collegiate athlete and according to the charts, I was always obese. Now that I really am, I still do not look like it (thank God for my days of being an athlete) but I know my actual body fat percentage is much higher in comparison to my lean muscle mass. Ask your trainer if he/she knows of a place where you can get your body composition analyzed. Once you know how much fat you have actually lost, i am sure you won't be too bothered by the number on the scale! Keep up the good work,

If you are working out, just remember muscle weighs more than fat. If you aren't exericsing, try adding 30 minutes a day, even if it's just brisk walk

I had my surgery on March 15, 2012 and have lost 23 pounds as of today. I too have the issue of not having a food restriction. The best advice I can give you is to make sure you drink or eat plenty of protein. That will satisfy the hunger. Also try drinking water or a sugar free beverage to satisfy the hunger. If you give it a little bit of time, the feeling goes away. Hope this helps!

i think if you keep digging around this site and you will see that others have experienced this as well. it seems to be pretty normal. once the swelling from surgery goes down most don't have any restriction and some people do begin to gain as the band is not serving its purpose yet because you haven't had a fill. so during this phase most commonly referred to as bandster hell you are totally left to rely on good old fashioned will power to restrict your portions. the best you can do is make better choices so if you are eating more at least its more of the good stuff...if you have been cleared to exercise begin to move a bit if you are capable and this may at least help maintain all that you have lost so far. don't fret you will be ok and your band will begin to work wonders...this is just a part of the process for some:)

Oh wow, I am in the same boat. Surgery 4/19/12, lost 21lbs. Gained back 4, and have absolutly NO RESTRICTION! UGH :...(

Hey sister~ I have 2 kids left at home and they run me ragged...I can only imagine having 6 ...yikes kudos for you!!! At 4 days post opt I was walking short jaunts and counting the steps to home...LOL You will bounce right back because by day 10 I was going to the movies, attending the county fair in Imperial California, and later by 19 days I started water arobics. This was the best thing for me as you are boyant in the water, your knees and back don't complain and you get a good work out! This is something I could never do on land with the weight impacting on my joints being so heavy. You need to stay away from the scale for a time, then when you do hop on the little bugger it will tell you, you weigh less...the numbers will start to fall. Keep in mind your body will go thru stalls, you just gotta work thru them, mine was at about 3 weeks I had a bout 4 days where I did not even lose 1 ounce.....grrr DO IT FOR YOU!!! everyones metabolism is different...are you keeping a food calorie/carb/protein diary? If not try it, it really helps me be honest to the program I have set forth.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Usually others will start noticing changes before you do. If it helps start taking your measurements. Most of the time you will loose inches more than on the scale. That has help me keep things in perspective. I have only lost about 30 lbs in over 3 mos, so believe me I need all the encouragement I can get. But I can tell a difference in my clothes and sizes. I do measure myself at least once a month and the inches are coming off. YOu are beautiful and on your way to a better you. It is a process, so hang in there.