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2010 TEXAS STATE
KING
Billy Before
Billy Bodine
TOPS® TX
1122, Cleveland
Loss of 58.5 Pounds
Like many of you, I have been battling with weight issues for
years. In the past, only limited success with weight loss had ever
been achieved. Usually this limited success was very short lived.
If I worked really hard and lost 20 or 30 pounds, a couple of months
later, I would be back at my previous weight PLUS 20 or 30 pounds.
Just ask me about any fad diet.…I’ve probably heard of it or tried
it.
Finally the excess weight I had been carrying around was not only
annoying to me, but was causing health issues as well. My blood
sugar and blood pressure were both up. My doctor prescribed all
kinds of drugs to control the health issues, but I was still
sluggish and felt terrible. I had to hold my breath just to bend
over and tie my shoes. Finally with the health issues and all, I
felt like my back was up against a wall and that I needed to do
something about it, but what?
At a party, my wife Donna and I met Mike and Nancy Morgan. I am
truly glad that we went to that party. Nancy told me about TOPS and
invited me to a meeting at TX 1122 in Cleveland. After a couple of
weeks, I decided to take her up on it and made a visit. WOW, the
group was so fun, caring and supportive that I joined that day.
That was the best weight loss move that I have ever made.
That first year, I did fairly well in the beginning, I even won a
monthly best loser award. Then I had to be out of town on business
for a few weeks. In that short time, enough weight was gained that
I was too ashamed to come back and face the group.
What a mistake that was, not facing the group. After all, I was
only hurting myself by missing TOPS meetings.
Last year beginning in March, I decided to re-work my travel
schedule so I could make most of our meetings. What a difference it
has made in my life. Good or bad on the scales, I now show up. After
all, our entire group is there with support. They encouraged me and
helped me stay focused on my goals. I have since learned many
techniques for losing weight through TOPS.
Besides better eating habits, I now enjoy an exercise regimen as
well. My weight on March 10, 2010, was 251 pounds. The seams in my
44” waist pants were being pressure tested on a daily basis. About 9
months later on December 1, my doctor goal weight of 190 pounds was
achieved and I gained KOPS status. Now, I’m wearing 34” waist pants
and not testing the seams. During those nine months, many weekly
best loser and monthly loser awards were obtained. It has been a
real pleasure being a TOPS member.
Now 65.5 pounds later, I feel great. No more blood pressure or
diabetes medications. All test results are now in the normal range.
It is really nice to hear compliments from friends and family
members. Thank you Nancy and thank you TOPS…the credit goes to you.
I am truly honored to be recognized as a TOPS State King. I never
in my wildest dreams thought that it would be possible for me to
obtain such a lofty and prestigious title. This is
UNBELIEVABLE….what a ride! First KOPS status, then State Division
Winner, then Contest winner and now STATE KING! 2010 was a terrific
year. You can do IT too! After all, the biggest obstacle to weight
loss is indeed between your ears. |
2009 TEXAS STATE
QUEEN
Karen Before
Karen Norrod
TOPS® TX
1066, Round Rock
Loss of 100 Pounds
My aunt invited me to go with her to a TOPS meeting in 1997. Having
just moved from Maryland to Texas, I did not know anyone, so I was
eager for some social interaction. For quite some time that is
exactly what TOPS was for me; a social outing. Even though I weighed
260 pounds and I knew that was obese, I was in complete denial
whenever I looked into a mirror, at a picture of myself, or needed
new clothes since everything “shrunk in the wash”. I made up every
excuse not to exercise. I was diagnosed with major depression at an
early age and in 1993 had to retire on disability. I had nothing to
do but eat. I had very little money, even ate at the local soup
kitchen, but I always seemed to have money for ice cream. I gained
100 pounds in a matter of months, so I accepted my parents’ offer to
move to Texas.
When I joined TOPS, I celebrated each week if I had a loss, but with
the wrong thing and ended up gaining the next week. I knew what I
needed to be doing, I had heard it plenty of times. I finally got to
the point where I was really willing to work at losing weight. I
started to imagine how I would feel in one year, in two years, and
five years if I would just lose the weight. Then I thought the same
times if I didn’t lose the weight, how my health would be impacted.
I had already been diagnosed with arthritis, high blood pressure,
high cholesterol and was pre-diabetic. I love watching The Biggest
Loser but usually sat there eating ice cream during the show. One
night, Jillian the trainer started yelling at one of the
contestants, “You are probably one of those people who sit watching
this show while eating ice cream!” The spoon stopped in mid-air and
at that moment I decided she was talking to me and I had to stop
keeping ice cream in the house, it was just too big of a temptation.
I knew I would give in to it, it was inevitable. So I would just
have to work with it, not against it. What works for me is
moderation, not deprivation. I made myself exercise – but it has to
be something more fun – Zumba and Just Dance on the Wii are my
favorites. I had to set attainable goals, the most exciting to me
was buying jeans that were not in the plus-size department. I have
not sat down with a pint of ice cream since September 2009. I
started my journey at size 26W and now am a size 10.
I owe a huge thanks to my family and to my friends at TOPS TX 955
Florence and TX 1066 Round Rock. I could not have done this without
you! Thank you TOPS!
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