I am a member of TOPS. Everybody rolls their eyes when they hear this - but it's not just another weight-loss fad, this is an organization that helps you change your lifestyle, if you are seriously looking into becoming healthier.
Taking Off Pounds Sensibly Club, Inc. or TOPS is the original, non-profit, weight-loss support and wellness education organization. It was established in 1948 in Milwaukee to champion weight-loss support and success. TOPS promotes successful, affordable weight management with a philosophy that encourages healthy eating, regular exercise, wellness information, awards and recognition and support from others at weekly meetings. It costs $30.00 a year to belong to the national organization and you receive, free, in the mail, a monthly magazine (TOPS News), plus, it cost a nominal fee of about $7.00 a month for local meeting expenses. There is a private weigh-in at the beginning of each meeting followed by an interactive program focussed on various aspects of a healthy lifestyle.
Since 1966, TOPS has provided more than $6,000,000.00 to establish and support a medically-oriented obesity and metabolic research program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Findings from these studies have been published in more than 140 papers and medical journals. TOPS members are currently part of a landmark research project overseen by Dr. Ahmed Kissebah, medical advisor to TOPS. The TOPS mission is to support our members as they take off and keep off pounds sensibly.
I joined a local TOPS Club on February 16th, 2010. It has been a great journey for me. I have made numerous new friends and on October 5th, 2010, I became a KOPS (Keeping Off Pounds Sensibly) by reaching my goal of losing forty pounds. Every week, I meet the others at the church. We have a greeter (a hugger) who meets us at the door, we weigh in, then enjoy a program that one of the volunteers gives or has arranged. Once a month, we have awards day and every month, so far, I have won at least one award (a pin of our choice) to add to our collection of pins on the collars that we wear. Some people have been going for years, one lady received a special 11-year KOPS pin today, and next week, another lady will be receiving her 35th year KOPS pin. This is a real honour, to have reached your goal weight and to continue to come to the meetings, year in and year out, supporting others in their efforts, as well as keeping yourself in check. These KOPS members are the people who have inspired me and I hope that I can do the same for others.
I joined TOPS in 1994, and once I had lost the weight I needed to lose, I quit. Within a very few years, I had gained more than ever before. I feel I need the support and regimen of a program such as TOPS. Obviously, I don't have the will-power to keep it up on my own. It is probably a life-time commitment, and as long as I am able, I will be a member.
Having reached my goal of weight loss, I now have taken up an exercise regimen. I make it a point to walk rather than drive, if possible. I have taken up mall-walking when it's cold, but when the weather permits, I love to walk outside. I am 68 years old, going on 69 and want to live a healthy elderly life. I am a director and a sometime-actor and learning lines, although harder than when I was young, is probably good exercise for my brain. Now if I could find some easy way to keep my skin from stretching and falling back into wrinkles on my face, I would be very happy indeed. Haha!
Carole Forhan.
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