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2006 TEXAS STATE
KING
(photo)
John Brummet
TOPS®#TX 665, Texarkana
Loss of 36.5 Pounds
My
story starts as a youth. I have heard many times over the past
couple years, "I didn't get this way over night." I can remember
back then I didn't care or even think about nutrition. I didn't know
how to eat correctly and quickly developed bad eating habits.
As I
got older, those bad habits didn't change. After I married my wife
and we had our daughter, I still continued practicing unhealthy
eating habits. My wife told everyone that I would be happy to eat
hamburgers and French fries for every meal. I just rationalized that
I was still young and active, so I wouldn't gain a lot of weight.
In my
mid-thirties, after several years of drug and alcohol abuse, my wife
and family recommended that I admit myself into a Christian life
school. I entered a discipleship program called Teen Challenge. In
this program, we were instructed what to do from the time we got up
in the morning until we went to sleep at night. This meant that I
had to eat whatever was put on the plate in front of me, and during
those fourteen months I gained weight. After I left Teen Challenge
and returned home to my wife and daughter, I still continued to eat
unhealthy. I began to hear, "You sure have gained weight, but you
carry it well," and "You sure have blown up- your wife must be a
great cook!"
The
extra weight started to affect me physically, taking its toll on my
knees and back. One morning, as I was putting my shoes on, I had to
suck in and hold my breath to get the laces tied. I looked up at my
wife and said, "I have got to do something about this weight!"
It was
then that I remembered a friend of ours named Barbara Beard, who
belonged to a weight loss group called TOPS®. My wife and I attended
the very next meeting and soon knew that this was exactly what both
of us needed. Everyone was so friendly and made us feel very
welcome. This was our new beginning on our journey to lose weight.
We joined the group, and looking back I can recall the first time I
weighed. I tipped the scales at 216 1/2 pounds! Now that doesn't
sound like a lot of weight if you're a middle line backer for the
Dallas Cowboys, but when you're 5' 9" and don't get a lot of
exercise, it's quite a bit of extra weight to carry around.
During
my first year at TOPS®I struggled, going up and down on the scale
like a yo-yo. My wife, however, stuck to it, and by the end of the
year she had met her goal weight. She was also named the Area Queen
for our chapter. It wasn't until a year later that I got fed up with
myself for being the same weight I was the very first time I weighed
in. I told myself, "THIS IS ENOUGH!" Now, with the support of my
wife and TOPS®family, I was determined to reach my goal!
We
devised a plan on how I could accomplish this: First, we started
looking at the nutrition labels of everything we ate. Next, we
limited the number of times we ate out at restaurants, and last, I
decided to stick with it no matter what! After going through the
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's holidays, I finally reached
my goal!
Thanks
to the help and support of my wife, family, Chapter #665 Texarkana,
and TOPS®, I made it!! Thanks TOPS®!
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2006 TEXAS STATE
QUEEN
(photo)
Sandra Wallingford
TOPS®#TX 931, Houston
Loss of 123.5 Pounds
As the
mother of three little ones, my early years were spent being the
best mom I could be, and I never really noticed the pounds that
crept on every year. Man, I thought I was in Heaven when those
wonderful pants with the elastic waist band came out. They should
send someone out to hunt down whoever started making those things.
They have been the ruination of people ever since; we kept getting
bigger, and they kept stretching to accommodate us. My mom, Jodie
Lawrence, and I joined TOPS®, but never took it too seriously. Hey,
it was just great fun running around with the girls! As the years
went by, the pounds continued to come on, and I didn't think there
was any way to shed them. I attended the meetings each week, going
up and down on the scale like so many of us do.
By the
time 2006 rolled around, Diabetes had taken its toll and my knees
and legs were very weak. My ol’ cane had become a good friend, and I
began to notice all of the things I had to give up or couldn't do.
Some of the girls and I live to do our trades at the convention each
year, and even that seemed to be getting harder and harder. I seemed
to be sick all the time!
Thank
God for my mom. She offered to take me on a cruise if I could get
down to 200 pounds by the end of the year. I didn't know if this big
idea would work, but it sounded pretty good. Before I knew it, I
reached the 200 milestone and decided to keep going. Two cruises
later, I was at my goal weight and had started working on Century
Club. Did you hear that?! I tricked my mom out of two cruises. You
know how kids are these days...
We
were always told: "Drink that water and stay on top of your portion
control." My key phrase was "All in moderation;" you don't have to
do without something, just keep it all in moderation. I finally
figured out that it doesn't take as much food to keep a person going
as I'd once thought. I had passed the point where food no longer had
control over ME, but rather I had control over IT. It is possible to
live without all of those processed snack foods- imagine that! I was
finally able to get rid of that ol’ cane. For all of you that are
still struggling to reach your goal- keep working, because it is so
worth it in the end. I can't describe to you the feeling you get
when you can finally go into a clothing store and find clothes that
fit, nor can I express the joy I felt when I opened my TOPS®News
Magazine and saw my name. I had really done it.
With
some hard work and the support of my family and friends, my dreams
have become a reality. I wouldn't be here tonight if not for my
club, #TX 931 Houston. If you are not a TOPS®member, you must
understand that all members are part of a family, and you face
everything together. Through thick and thin, my girls are the best!
Now my
health has greatly improved, I have finished my first year in
Century Club and received my medallion. Believe me when I say, I'm
getting used to all this special treatment! Look out when I get
home, honey! Thank you TOPS®, for being there for me. I can't believe
I was once a size 24-26 and now am a size 10-12.
I,
Sandra Wallingford, your faithful TOPS®member for life, pledge to
keep these pounds off and work to help you this coming year. Let's
make 2007 our best TOPS®year ever! Please feel free to call on me
anytime I can be of help to you. I am yours for the coming year, and
I will be the rock you can lean on for support.
Hey
ladies!! I'M GETTING SOME OF THOSE LOOKS AGAIN!!!
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