JOHN WALTON

VIRGINIA STATE KING

48.00 pounds lost

 All my teenage years, I had been as skinny as a rail. Eating everything I could get my hands on and not gaining weight. As the years and decades passed by, like a lot of you, I gradually got bigger and bigger due to the usual poor food choices, lack of exercise, metabolism changes, and all the other causes or excuses we are so familiar with. Well, in January, 2010, I saw, I mean I REALLY saw in my mind that I needed to do something after having a heart attack and having a fibrilator put in, that I needed to change my eating habits and exercise more. My wife Joyce and I had seen in the senior newsletter about a support group called TOPS. We decided to join this group for support that we needed. We came to TOPS VA 0313 Salem that meets on Tuesday nights. I began exercising and attending the weekly meetings which helped me realize that wellness comes from within as an individual choice. I began healing my mind with positive self talk, being very conscious of what I was doing with food. Changing old habits required self control, commitment, and plenty of support from leader and chapter. I thank my TOPS family for their encouragement and support. Finally, I’d like to encourage anyone who is struggling. It does not matter how old you are, how much you weigh, or how long you’ve weight it. If I can do it, it is possible for anyone and the TOPS food exchange plan is the key to success. I am not saying that it is easy, but it is a lot easier when you have such great friends as there are in TOPS. I want to thank my wife Joyce, my leader, Judy Oliver, and all my TOPS brothers and sisters at TOPS VA 0313 Salem for all the love and support given to me.

CAROLINE NICHOLSON

VIRGINIA STATE QUEEN

59.00 pounds lost

 When I joined TOPS on July 28^th, 2009, I wore a size 16/18 jeans. I was tired of being overweight and not having any energy. I was going to be turning 50 on my next birthday and I knew it wasn’t going to get any easier to lose the weight as I grew older. I started eating healthy and counting calories; I tried to stay under 1600 calories a day.

  I discovered that you can eat really well and still lose weight. I am on the internet all the time looking for good, low calorie, healthy recipes. I also started exercising to get more fit and toned. I would walk about 45 minutes everyday. My average weight loss was a pound a week. I was very realistic about this as I knew I didn’t gain all this weight over night and I knew I was not going to lose it over night. We all know it is not as easy to lose the weight as it is to gain it.

    I would give myself incentives to loss the weight, like buying a really cute pair of jeans 2 sizes too small. I had a goal to lose 50 pounds by my 50th birthday. I didn’t quite make it by that day but I was only 5 pounds away. I finally reached my goal this December and I feel wonderful. I contribute my weight loss success to healthy eating and exercise. I now wear size 6/8 jeans. It is a hard road to success but with our friends at TOPS we can be successful.

Congratulations for Best Average Weight Loss

TOPS VA 0536 Chesapeake with a loss of 12.28 per member

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