chrissylu

Innumerable consumers, lawmakers, and healthcare professionals alike celebrated at the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, in 2010. The ACA expanded healthcare coverage to millions of Americans and promised to put this country’s broken healthcare system on the mend. The law came with an unprecedented focus on preventive medicine and wellness, and nationwide improvements in obesity treatment seemed to be coming.
Many weight loss surgery candidates and healthcare professionals, however, have been disappointed. The ACA has plenty of shortcomings when it comes to bariatric surgery. More than half of states do not cover bariatric surgery. Among those that do, many put up barriers to getting the procedure that prevent some weight loss surgery candidates from being able to qualify for reimbursement.


Advances in Obesity Coverage Under the ACA
The ACA does have some provisions that help to reduce obesity on a national level. It includes $15 billion in funding for wellness and disease prevention programs, many of which will target obesity. Another preventive measure is that the ACA requires restaurant chains to post calorie counts on menus. The ACA requires Medicare providers to cover obesity screening and counseling when you go to the doctor, and many healthcare insurance providers are also providing these services.
Another provision of the ACA is that employees in qualifying programs are reimbursed for their healthy behaviors. If they do not smoke, maintain a healthy weight, and have blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels within the normal range, employees can get up to $800 per year. Employees with obesity can get cash back if they lose at least 10 percent of their body weight, but will not receive the money until they reach a BMI under 30.
The ACA also forbids health insurance providers to deny you coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Since obesity is now recognized as a disease, according to the American Medical Association (AMA), health insurance providers cannot refuse to accept you just because of your obesity. You also cannot be denied coverage just because you had weight loss surgery in the past.
Measurable Benefits Expected With These ACA Provisions
Each of the above provisions can lead to small amounts of weight loss. For example, counseling for weight loss can lead to a loss of about 5 percent of body weight on average. This modest weight loss can improve blood sugar, blood pressure, and other measures of health, and it can save you, your provider, and the government money.
Limitations/More Is Needed
However, if you are a weight loss surgery candidate, losing 5 percent of body weight will still leave you with a good amount of excess body weight. Obesity-related health conditions such as diabetes and arthritis are still a threat, and your obesity is likely to continue to interfere with your daily life. Bariatric surgery can be effective against obesity, and it can also fight diabetes and other conditions. With its potential to treat obesity, you might expect it to be covered under the ACA. Unfortunately, only some states cover it.
State by State Differences in Healthcare Coverage – Benchmark Plans
The ACA requires states to offer acceptable health insurance plans, but these plans may vary by state. The plans that states can offer to fulfill the requirements are known as benchmark plans. These plans set the minimum level of benefits that a state must provide, and the benefits are based on current plans within a state. So, states where competing private plans do not cover weight loss surgery are not likely to offer Obamacare plans that cover weight loss surgery.
To make matters worse, the states that do not cover weight loss surgery tend to be the states with the highest rates of obesity. In effect, the more likely you are to have obesity, the less likely you are to live in a state that covers bariatric surgery.
You can find out more about each state’s benchmark plan from the government’s The Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) site.
Which States Cover Weight Loss Surgery?
So far, 22 states cover bariatric surgery.
Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming

Five states and cover weight loss programs, but do not necessarily cover weight loss surgery.
California, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico

Twenty-eight states do not cover bariatric surgery or other extensive obesity treatment.
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin

Coverage Often Seems Reluctant
Even if your health care coverage includes weight loss surgery, it can come with a lot of hoops. For example, you may need to wait a certain number of months or diet to lose a certain amount of weight before you can get the surgery. Your plan may not cover the type of weight loss surgery that you are hoping to get, especially in the case of newer surgery types such as the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (gastric sleeve).
There can also be a lifetime limit of one surgery, which does you no good if your first surgery did not work. If surgery is a disease, shouldn't you be entitled to treatment that works?
What Can You Do?
You can advocate for making weight loss surgery a required service under Obamacare by reaching out to state and federal representatives. If you live in a state where bariatric surgery is already covered, contact your representatives in Congress. If you live in a state where bariatric surgery is not yet covered, contact your Congress people, and also contact your state representatives.
In your letter, phone call, or email to your representative, explain what bariatric surgery means to you and to the thousands of others like you. Explain why you need it to lose weight, and how you feel that it could impact your life. Describe the obstacles and health problems that you face because of obesity. Your goal is to convince the representative that weight loss surgery needs to be covered.
If weight loss surgery is the only effective treatment for obesity, it should be included in a healthcare plan. Otherwise, we will continue to struggle with these same problems because not everyone can afford the thousands of dollars it takes to get the surgery done.

Are you finding yourself at over a year out and now you find yourself struggling?
Do you miss the excitement that you first had when you had post op surgery while the weight seemed to melt away?
If this is describing you, then I want you to listen up…


How To: Get Back on Track and Stay There
Are you finding yourself at over a year out and now you find yourself struggling?
Do you miss the excitement that you first had when you had post op surgery while the weight seemed to melt away?
If this is describing you, then I want you to listen up… you are not alone. In fact, I’d say that probably all of us post-operative surgeries have felt this way at one time or another. The difference between all of us is how we respond and how quickly we can hit the ground running again after a setback.
So then, what are those who are successful doing differently compared to those who are struggling more? I have been doing extensive research in the last 6 months and I’m going to share with you what I have discovered. I’m hopeful that it will help everyone out there, because none of us are failures. If we have a setback, we MUST forgive ourselves and fight to get back up. The only time one can be determined as a failure is if they simply give up. As long as you don’t give up, you still have a chance.
Weighing In:
I’ll be the first to tell you that your self-worth has nothing to do with the number on the scale. That said, the scale never lies, but you just have to determine what it is telling you. It will let you know when you have not been on track, that’s for sure. During my weight loss phase post op, I never went more than 10 days on a stall. I’d sometimes fluctuate up a Lb. or two due to hormones and water retention but it was the scale telling me I needed to do two things, drink more water which is a natural diuretic and second reduce my sodium intake. I tend to crave saltier foods at that time and no, the scale did not lie one time.
Sodium is a major culprit in water retention, not only that if you have high blood pressure you will always want to be mindful of how much you are getting in. Someone with HBP should keep their daily total to 1,800mg or less per day. A normal person should be around 2,400mg per day or less.
Back to weighing in however, doing so at the same time of day daily, weekly or monthly (whichever you personally prefer) is really the best way to measure the difference between your last weigh in. Again, do not allow the scale to crash your mood. It is a measure of success or changes that might need to be made. But it won’t lie to you! If you are up 5 Lbs. then likely you need to put on the brakes somewhere and get back to basics. Put a limit on how much you will allow yourself to weigh on your scale. You decide what that number is, as long as it’s a healthy number for you.
The WORST thing you can do regarding staying on track is ignoring your scale altogether. It has to be a part of your regimen because take it from me, it is much easier to lose a 5 Lb. gain than to realize you have gained 40 and desperately need to stop the gaining in its tracks. If you have been ignoring the scale then it’s far beyond time to stop lying to yourself and check the damage. In the smaller sizes it only takes 7-10 Lbs to go up a size. Do not wait until your clothes feel too tight, because by then you probably have already gained that much.
Diet:
Diet: di·et1
noun
noun: diet; plural noun: diets
1.
the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats. (Google Definition)
What does your Surgeon and/or Medical staffs say about this? Did they leave you with any kind of eating plan before you left from your hospital stay? The majorities of all of the journals I’ve ever read regarding post op diet plans are extremely similar to one another, give or take a few variations on when to move to the next step in foods. I’m talking about long term eating however, not the liquids or soft foods phases, but more what and how to eat as a Weight Loss Surgery patient once your stomach has healed.
Back in 2011 when I was being asked by numerous members on the website how I was able to maintain my weight so well I decided to create a thread called the Basics Bootcamp. It was a regimen I held close to me if I felt I was falling off track and it helped me to stay at goal for nearly 3 years. I recently have made a bit of a revision to it knowing what I know now regarding nutrition and health sciences. I’ve been studying Nutrition and Health for a while now as well as speaking to many Bariatric Registered Dieticians and Nutritionists. But it still has the basic concepts which are: We do not need to eat so much sugar, we do not need to eat so much salt, we need to focus on protein first and we need to eat our fruits and vegetables. We especially need to be sure we are getting in our minimum of water every day.
Sound simple enough? It should be but we have to deal with head hunger too.
Indulging in sugar can become a slippery slope. Some people can do much better at moderation of these types of foods than others. I am not one of them. I find that if I abstain from junk food all together I do not think about eating it as much. But once I eat that first bite it feels almost uncontrollable to stop when I should. I continue to crave it for a week or more but then as time goes on the cravings do diminish once again. It all comes down to knowing how YOU react to them and recognizing these behaviors. Getting in tune with your personal triggers and avoiding them is one of the best ways to both get back on track and to stay there. When you hear that sound in your head that says “It’s okay, other people do it and they are okay. Go ahead, you’ve been good, you deserve it.” Realize this voice is a liar and if you listen you will likely find yourself back in square one.
Anyhow, here is the thread if you’re looking to kick start getting back on track: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/306411-basics-bootcamp-v2-getting-back-on-track/#entry3459464
Exercise:
Working out... Does everyone really need to do this? Even if you’ve lost weight really great in the beginning? The answer is definitely YES. Everyone should have some kind of exercise regimen tailored to them, but no matter what everyone should be doing something. Maybe all you can do is sit on the couch and do leg lifts. Then do that. Maybe you’re very advanced and you can run marathons… good for you! But do it and don’t stop. It takes a long time to become conditioned enough to be advanced but only a matter of weeks to fall all the way back to level 1.
According to the Mayo Clinic standard adults should get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise every week, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise weekly. Break that up into 21 minutes per day if you have to, but just be sure to do it. This is a general guide and a good one to follow, especially if you are just starting up or starting again.
The secret is figuring out how to stay there is to find something you like to do. You don’t have to train to run a marathon if you hate running. All that will do is burn you out and likely you will want to give up because it does not meet your fancy. Keep searching and doing new activities. Even brisk outside walking is considered moderate aerobic activity. I personally love it; I can treat it as my getaway at work. I put on my head phones to my favorite tracks and just let my mind wander to another place and relax. Yes, I love it so much I find it more relaxing than tiring. I breathe the fresh air and let the sun soak in. Believe me there are so many choices out there, you only need to find your favorites to keep you coming back.
If you are doing this for reasons such as health, you will want to add in your workout. That’s not the only thing working out is good for however, it can help tighten your loose skin, toning can help fill it out. Also, being able to withstand longer periods of workout can help with simply being in a good mood. It’s a great stress reliever.
It’s all mental:
Yes, it really is. Your attitude will always be the driving force to whether you become a success and especially if you stay a success. How do you perceive yourself? Do you see yourself as worthy of being healthy, active, and happy and at a reasonable weight?
Celebrate every pound you are down, no one pound deserves more praise than another. Lose the word “only” or “but” when describing how well you’re doing. It is okay to feel good about yourself and shout it out to the world! Take periodic progress photos so on days you’re feeling down, look at them and see how far you have come. Take as many photos as you like! It is not a bad thing.
Another rule to hold dear is to ALWAYS forgive yourself, get back up and keep fighting. A baby never learned to walk after his first step. It took many try’s, stumbles and falls – but the baby keeps getting back up and builds those leg muscles until it can walk without effort.
One last thing, NEVER compare yourself and your journey to anyone else!! You should only compete with who you were yesterday.
Struggling has quite a bit to do with how you feel about yourself, and how you feel about yourself will have everything to do with how often you’re struggling. Stay positive, always. Every time!
“If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win, but think you can't
It's almost a cinch you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you've lost,
For out in the world we find
Success being with a fellow's will;
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you're outclassed, you are:
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.”
― Walter D. Wintle

Rhodes...congrats on how you handled it. Definitely prove them wrong...and you are so right...God's got this!
Slojo67...I can't believe someone said that to you. Congrats to you on your response as well!
God bless you both!

Rhodes...congrats on how you handled it. Definitely prove them wrong...and you are so right...God's got this!
Slojo67...I can't believe someone said that to you. Congrats to you on your response as well!
God bless you both!

people die everyday from things (heck go to a movie and something horrible happens--who'd ever thought that?) or the flesh eating bacteria??
this surgery, your surgeon will be done/performed.
you will wake up and you will be fine.
people say things because they dont understand
they dont KNOW and they are scared (so they say things like they said about people dying).
just nod your head and say what you said. you handled it well.

Thanks And my husband fully supports me getting this surgery. If he didn't he wouldn't be paying for it. I just hate that people who don't know anything about the surgery want to act like they ate experts on the matter. I am aware of the risks but also aware of the benefits. I trust my surgeon and trust that God will watch over me. My mother stated yesterday that she hopes nothing happens. I told her that she wasn't very encouraging. She said well you know they said they knew people who died. I just told her that if God was ready for me then I couldn't stop it. I could walk out the door today and something happen. Life is not guaranteed so you live it and make the best of it and do everything you can to be healthy and prolong it. My trust in God is what has gotten me this far. If my surgery wasn't meant to happen it wouldn't.

Congratulations! Already said a prayer for you. God bless and keep us posted.

In less than an hour I will be on my way to the hospital and will start the first day of the rest of my life. Pray that all goes well..

What you are describing reads like you may be harming your knees. From my experience, and what I have been told by my orthopedist "crunchy joints" are not normal, and the "crunchy" sound or feeling may be cartilage being damaged or ligaments which may be inflamed.

Either way, it would be a sound idea for you to be evaluated by an orthopedist to be certain you are not harming your knees by participating in an impact exercise program.

Congrats to you all! and God bless.

Hi, I just started using myfitnesspal yesterday. I have had a long journey (08/2008) with the lapband and would get it again tomorrow but I would certainly do some things differently. I am tutornmom on myfitnesspal as well.
Does it track fats and carbs or just calories?

Hi I am a Christian and am glad to find the Christian banisters, anyone using myfitnesspal so I can friend you. I need some ideas on how everyone is eating. I'm getting bored with my routine.
In Christ
Cindy

Hi, my name is Kim and I am still here, and still believing God in this journey. I am so happy for your weightloss, and know that you feel wonderful. I have lost 60 pounds, and still struggling to lose 30 more, but I know I can do all things through Christ who strenghthens me. I was banded in January of 2010.

Chrissylu,
I am still here. I am doing fine. Congratulations on your weightloss you are doing great!!
Cheri

Hi...I don't know if anyone is still in this group or on this thread. I was banded in January 2012. I've lost 70lbs so far. I believe that God allowed someone to create this tool in order to help me get healthy.
Would love to talk to any Christian bandsters still out there.

Way to get back on track Cortney! I'm so glad you are not giving up. Sending up a prayer for you on this journey...because that's what it is...a life-long one. Best of luck and God bless & keep you!

Yesterday I went shopping for a dress for my rehearsal dinner. I saw a cute one but they only had it in a size 8...I figured "What the heck, it can't hurt to try it". It fit! I don't think I've been a size 8 for my entire adult life. I assumed that when I fit into an 8, I would cry or something, but I'm just happy and glad I made the decision to have the lap band. It has really changed my life, and I wouldn't be where I am now without it!

Joyce sorry to hear your experience was so bad but sounds like you have someone now that is going to take good care of you if he was just in it for the money he would have just done the sleeve(more money) instead of try to work with what was already done sounds like a good DR. I applaud you on getting back on that horse it's very easy to get stuck feeling sorry for ourselves and stay right there. remember it took a awhile for the weight to creep up and sometimes you need to just let it slowly melt off. you will give your body time to adjust and possible prevent(or reduce) sagging skin so trust your DR but if you focus on your diet I'm use the 2 lb/week will go up. I haven't been banded yet I am hoping for Aug but this is some of the stuff my nutritionist was mentioning about weight loss Good Luck to you and God bless

Such an inspiring story. Thanks for sharing.
Hope you and the girls get your funding soon.

Do you have a "Vitamin Shoppe" near you? I think I saw those in multi-packs at the one close to me (Nashville)...but I don't remember how much they were. You could also ask your local pharmacy how much it would cost for them to order in large quantities for you..??

I was told you can fluctuate between 4-8 lbs... I wouldnt weigh again until its gone.

Envy and jealousy are part of the human package, but is your envy of others using up energy that could better be devoted to weight loss?


THE EVILS OF ENVY
For reasons that seem obscure to us in the year 2012, Shakespeare called jealousy the green-eyed monster when he wrote the play Othello in 1604. I don't think Shakespeare believed that green eyes indicate evil...my husband has beautiful green eyes and not one evil or envious bone in his body. Historians explain that in Shakespeare's time, green was the color sickness and also the color of unripe fruit that can cause its eater so much pain.
But envy is definitely a monster when it takes charge of my brain and measures everything I do, everything I am and everything I own against the actions, talents, and possessions of other people. In this monster's grip, I am unable to think rationally, and I waste an enormous amount of time and effort on resentment and self-pity that does absolutely nothing to improve my own situation...in fact, it undermines my situation.
When I had weight loss surgery, I had been obese for so long that I had stopped being jealous of naturally slim people. I felt that they belonged to a different human tribe. So I was surprised to find myself sitting in a support group meeting a few months after my band surgery thinking evil thoughts about another bandster who had lost 50 pounds already. I had "only" lost 35 pounds. What was wrong with me? Why was she blessed with superior band success? I was a good girl too - a very hard-working and deserving girl. It just wasn't fair!
Then in a far-off corner of my cloudy little brain, I heard my mom saying, "I never told you life would be fair." No, she hadn't told me that life is fair. She had reminded me over and over again that life is hard and that bad things happen to good people...kind of a grim view of life, but mom was nothing if not honest. At first I resisted those blunt words of hers. Mom's life was hard, but I vowed that my life would be different, better, happier.
But how? How would the different and better things happen if God didn't send a shower of glittering gold coins and success down onto my eager, upturned face? And again I remembered Mom. In my mid 20's I complained bitterly to her about a work acquaintance who seemed to get all the praises, all the raises, all the promotions. I'll call her Debbie (a popular name when I was born). Mom said, "Why don't you just ask Debbie how she does it? If she's a fake like you think she is, her answer will confirm it. If she's for real, maybe you can learn something from her."
At the time, I didn't have the chutzpah to follow Mom's advice, but I did begin to pay closer attention to Debbie's work habits and behavior. Over the next few months, I reluctantly admitted that she did deserve some of her accolades. Some of them still seemed undeserved and unfair, the result of her pretty face and outgoing manner. It wasn't until I was in my 50's that I realized that a lot of good luck shone down on Debbie from heaven simply because she expected it to. What a novel idea!
Now when people ask me the secret of my success with the band, I want to say something like, "It happened because I demanded it." Like I had written out a purchase order for a 90 pound weight loss, put it in an envelope, addressed it to God, and threw it up in the air for him to catch and fulfill. But if that's too metaphysical an explanation for you, I do have some more down-to-earth ideas about it.
THE BEAST WITHIN ME
Like Shakespeare, I call my jealousy the green-eyed monster. It’s the malevolent beast who chews on my heart when I'm jealous or envious. Officially, though, jealousy and envy are different things. Jealousy is what you feel when you fear that something or someone (like your spouse, or the job that you and a coworker named Debbie are competing for) will be taken away from you. Envy is what you feel when you want something or someone that another person already has: their weight loss success, their bank account, their fancy car, their 9-bedroom home.
In my experience, both jealousy and envy get me on a never-ending, tiresome treadmill of comparison and criticism. It becomes an obsession so blinding that I can't see any of the good things happening in my life. I compare myself to others, like my ex-husband's beautiful and devoted female lab assistant, or Debbie's MBA degree that I'm sure will earn her the promotion I want, or Marcia's 148 pound weight loss which is 100 pounds more than mine. Adding up my skills, talents and accomplishments results in a negative number every time, and those flashing red numerals reinforce my often unrealistic concept of all the pluses on Debbie's and Marcia's side. I hate them for it. I hate myself. Instead of making a new plan, I end up planning an appropriately painful (if unlikely) demise for my rival.
Hearing me say that I hate myself may surprise you. I'm well aware that I have the reputation of being a Little Mary Sunshine, or the relentlessly cheerful storybook heroine, Pollyanna, who triumphed over every adversity with a smile on her face and a "thank you" on her lips. Am I telling you to deny that you're envious, to smile even as your rival receives a round of applause at the Weight Watcher's meeting when she reaches her weight goal? After all, I've implied that you're suspicious of successful people and bear a grudge against them, as if you're the child who didn't win a prize playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey at your sister's birthday party...your evil sister who not only won the prize but also received hundreds of marvelous birthday presents and the first piece of birthday cake, the big corner piece with all the extra pink frosting roses on it. Your evil sister who deserves to get food poisoning from that cake and die a horrible, slow, painful death, after which you will move into and redecorate her bedroom with Justin Bieber posters. Am I saying that you should just grow up and get over it, or that you're weak and spineless for feeling something as unworthy as envy?
No, actually, I'm not. I'm just suggesting that this one time you try stating your wish plainly, preferably out loud, and framed as intent instead of as secret longing. Give up the "I wish Jean would gain 500 pounds and have to be transported with a crane." And no, saying, "I wish I were as successful as Jean" won't work either, though it's certainly better than devising cunning punishments for me. Try something more like, "I will lose another 62 pounds and celebrate that next year just as we're celebrating Jean's success today." Tell that to your reflection in your mirror and to a friend who'll be sure to say, "Go for it!"
WHY ASK WHY?
I'm an analytical as well as an optimistic person (I choose to see that as a felicitous if conflicting combination of my parents' strongest traits), and when evaluating myself, my past, and my prospects for the future, I tend to get stuck on the "Why? Why am I this way? Why am I acting like this?" and on and on and on. But as the old Budweiser commercial said, “Why Ask Why?”
Don't torture yourself by asking, "Why am I so envious? Why can't I let it go and be the positive, optimistic person Jean says I should be?" The asking probably won't get you very far. The answer could just be as simple as, "Because you're a living, feeling human being." Nothing wrong with that! Although I majored in art and like art museums for an hour or so, it's boring to spend a lot of time with inanimate (if beautiful) marble statues. I want friends who are flawed (like me) and capable of both deep feeling and high aspirations.
On the other hand, don't spend too much time with the loyal, well-intentioned people who feed your envy by saying, "You're so right, she doesn't deserve that success, she hasn't worked nearly as hard as you have, and did you know she has six toes on her left foot and even worse halitosis than my poop-eating dog?"
Oops! Did I say "poop-eating dog"? Indeed I did. Which brings me (finally) to my final point. Try to see the humor in the situation. Admit it, if Tracey Ullman were up on the stage acting out the part of an envious character and using your very own words, you'd be laughing your a** off now.

If you live anywhere near a Ross it's a great place to shop. Good merchandise with low prices. You just need to have patience to look. Good luck!

I agree entirely with Mis73, some, like me, cant lose any weight at all eating more than about 50 carbs a day at most, i also dont eat more than 1000 calories, no reason why u cant adjust both carbs and calories..
I also have to burn more calories than i eat by exercising, intially it was easier to lose wieght as i was very heavy, now i fight for every lb but i know how to fight .. make yourself the 'expert' on you and that way u learn lessons that will last you your whole life.

Everyone is going to tell you something different, unfortunately. The reason for that is, every surgeon and nutritionist have different ideas. There is no right or wrong answer, in the end, it all comes down to doing whatever works for your body.
A lot on here seriously restrict carbs. My nutrionist told me a minimum of 60g of Protein and no more than 125g of carbs daily so that is what I do. Obviously, my carbs are not seriously restricted, yet I still have lost considerable weight. Others simply can't lose while eating carbs. Everyone is different.
Calories are similar. Some do very little calories, some don't measure calories at all.
My advice would be to experiment and see what works for your specific body.