2007 State King

BEFORE                 AFTER

Jesse Pettite

TOPS® #GA 531, Dunwoody

35.25 Pounds to goal

 

Like so many others, I had become very proficient at losing weight.  I had been doing that most of my adult life. The problem was to keep it off after I got it off. By the summer of 2007, I had yet again gained the weight I lost in the summer of 2006.  I did this as I watched my wife Sherry have great success losing weight. She had been a member of TOPS® for several years and was so inspiring. Several women in our neighborhood asked Sherry her secret. She told them about TOPS®, and they asked her if she would be interested in starting and leading a TOPS® chapter in Dunwoody, our home town. The thought of having a chapter close by was inviting since she had been driving an hour to attend her current chapter.

 

On May 22, 2007, Sherry and 7 neighbors started the TOPS® #A 531, Dunwoody chapter, and they had immediate success.  Several weeks prior to this.  Because of her successes and after hearing so many success stories of weight loss, I knew TOPS® was for me. I could lose weight but I needed the accountability that weighing in each week would create.

 

I joined TOPS® on June 12, 2007 weighing 233 1/4 pounds.  I joined Sherry counting calories and more importantly, walking 3 to 4 miles, 4 or 5 times a week.  My goal was to reach 198 pounds in 2007, and I was very much on my way until I had my only gain.  After this 1 pound gain I realized that you have to remain focused and work your plan. Believe me it wasn't that easy.  And being the only guy in  a chapter with 10 women, each week I heard, "oh, it's easy for you to lose weight, you're a guy!" or "Oh sure, take our dimes again!"  But with Sherry's knowledge and encouragement, I quickly learned that I wasn't on a diet, but we were making a lifestyle change that meant we would and could remain thinner and healthier for the rest of our lives.

 

Thanks to Sherry and the women of TOPS® #GA 531, Dunwoody their encouragement, inspiration and playful ribbing, I reached my goal on December 11, 2007 of 198 pounds, having lost 35 1/4 pounds.

 

And to each TOPS® here today. One day soon, when you step up on the scale and for the first time realize that you are below your goal -- in that same instant -- you will go from a TOPS® to a KOPS®, and you will know that through the difficulty and struggle of it all -- IT WAS WORTH THE JOURNEY!

2007 State Queen

BEFORE                   AFTER

Brenda Bragg

TOPS® #GA 441, Pooler

71 pounds to goal

 

Many family member had and have health and weight problems. I always fought my weight but would gain even more after a loss. Seeing my family with heart problems, stroke, diabetes and joint problems and me getting older everyday, I did not want to go the same path.  Then I saw an ad in the paper for TOPS® in Pooler. It was 2 more weeks before I got the nerve to call and go to my first meeting. Everyone was friendly and we all had something in common, weight issues. TOPS® is a great support and learning experience.

 

For me, TOPS®, retirement (after 35 years), exercise and gardening are all "GOOD THINGS".  I've made lots of new friends, new interests and released a lot of stress.

 

I do volunteer work and raise plants for different fundraisers.  I am busy all the time and feel great and have energy.  My loss of win has been a win for everyone in TOPS® group.

 

Presently, Phyllis Dodd, our chapter's 10 year KOPS® told me that I was like a butterfly that has come out of a cocoon!  I LOVE MY LIFE!

 

 

Runner-up Queen:  Carol Ashworth

TOPS® #GA 110, Augusta

58.25 pounds to goal

 

I was "big, large, plus size"....let's face it, I was just plain fat! In 1989, I joined TOPS® and attended meetings for several weeks. It was a most interesting group.  We had a morning meeting, after which everyone went across the street for breakfast.  I spent a lot of time laughing about this, but I did lose a few pounds and was beginning to feel better about myself.

 

then my husband was offered a job here in Georgia.  We moved and I fell in love with the area even though we left family and a lifetime of friends in Michigan.

 

I had spent several months settling in my new home when I noticed a TOPS® announcement in the newspaper.  I was so delighted! At my first weigh-in I discovered that I had added 30 pounds to the 203 pounds I was already carrying around. What a shock!  i knew I had gained, but not that much!

 

The weeks and months passed and, with the help of my TOPS® friends, the pounds slowly fell away.  My friends were caring and helpful. Then I plateaued, losing then gaining, then losing again -- the dreaded "yo-yo syndrome" -- not a good thing to be doing.  Over the years, I received yellow roses from KOPS® friends, but still the pounds stayed on. I was discouraged, but kept trying. Then last year a dear friend gave me a yellow rose at SRD. It seemed to be the right time, and the last pounds came off.  I was finally a KOPS®!!!

 

I know that achieving my goal would not have happened without the love of my TOPS® family. I'm fortunate to have friends in other TOPS® chapters, and they are as proud of me as if I sat across the room from them every week.  My husband and children encourage my efforts and tell me how proud they are when I lose. 

 

I would still like to lose a few more pounds and with the help of my TOPS® and KOPS® friends, my family and the Lord, I'm sure I can do it.