Having battled lumps, bumps and bulges ever since I was six years old, I finally realized I had been using food to medicate my insecurities and disgust as I continued to grow bigger and bigger year after year. After countless attempts, failures, and false starts of almost every weight-loss method that is known, I am so glad I finally found the road to success and a healthy lifestyle through TOPS.

My weight had become almost too much for my aching knees to bear. I had extremely high blood pressure, and I had become a not-so-pleasant person. I knew I was extremely overweight; I just hoped that others didn’t notice.

While joining TOPS #TX 85, Haltom City, in mid-2006, I nearly died when I had to step on the scales to learn my beginning weight. Being so embarrassed by my size, then being moved to tears after hearing the TOPS Pledge words “…even though I overeat in private, my excess poundage is there for all the world to see,” I felt I had to attend every week and prove there actually was a slimmer “me” somewhere inside.

During Christmas 2007, I received a coffee mug with this inscription: “If you can dream it, you can do it,” a quote by Walt Disney. How very fitting, as dreams really do come true in TOPS!