That night I talked to my husband and told him how I felt and what I wanted to do. Being the wonderful man he is, he told me it did not matter what size I was he would love and support me whether I lost weight or not. Hearing this just made me more determined to do this because I knew whether I succeeded or failed he would be there for support.

I knew I couldn't do it alone so I joined TOPS® in August 2005. After I attended that first meeting I was really excited about my decision. The next day I struggled to walk a quarter mile, hugging and puffing all the way.  It was rough but I did it.

I attended my meetings and listened to their advice on how to eat healthy and in moderation using my food exchange. I would then go home and as soon as I would walk through the door my husband, son and daughter could hardly wait for me to walk in before they asked me how I did. My son would ask me if my "teacher" (our chapter leader) gave me a "paper". The paper he was referring to was the chapter Division Winner Certificate. He knew if I came home with that I had lost weight and had a basket full of health snacks. My family really got involved in my weight loss and could hardly wait for me to get home to see how I did. As I was working towards my goal it was my son's loving little voice that would tell me I was "still a little bit fat." If you want to know the truth about how you look ask a child they hold nothing back. His little comments helped me keep on trying.

I faithfully attended my weekly meetings and each day put my two children into a dual stroller and walked with them going from a quarter mile to an easy two miles six days a week!  With the guidance and support of my TOPS® chapter and that of my loving family, I had 8 months of consecutive losses when I got to my goal and went from a very tight 22 to a size 10!!!

A couple of weeks before I reached my goal my son told me I was "almost whoo-whoul", which to him meant a cheerleader or movie star type person. On September 14, 2006, I came home from my chapter meeting with my Division 3 loser of the week certificate and told my husband and two children that I had lost 2 1/2 pounds and was now a KOPS®.  My two year old said "You did it mommy....you're skinny now" and my son told me "now you will be Chapter Queen" From his response you can tell TOPS® is a normal conversation in our home. We live and speak TOPS® every day. I have ended up going 11 1/2 months with a loss or a turtle, absolutely no GAINS.  If I can do it you can do it too!

                                                                                        TOPS® LOVE,

                                                                                     Bambi Compeaux