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Knoxville, Tennessee
TOPS TN 0294, Knoxville
"I’ll
just say it right now: The people at TOPS are the best bunches of
people!"
“I’ve been overweight most
of my life. When I was younger, my family, teachers and doctors tried to
help me lose. My eating habits, however, were ritualistic."
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Before |
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"I’ve been overweight most
of my life. When I was younger, my family, teachers and doctors tried to
help me lose. My eating habits, however, were ritualistic. I would eat
the same foods at the same time every day. Due to my Asperger’s Syndrome
(you might know it as High Functional Autism), I cannot tolerate certain
textures of foods, such as fruits and vegetables. So, I ate mostly
spaghetti, pizza, hamburgers and cereals. I graduated from high school
weighing over 300 pounds.
This eating habit continued into my adult life. I eventually began
taking high blood pressure medication and was having trouble walking any
distance. My father suffered a stroke in 2005 and another in 2006. In
helping my mother care for him, I found it difficult to help lift him
with all of my extra weight.
One night I saw a TV how about teenage obesity. It really hit home. I
finally understood what my parents had been telling me for years. I
asked my mom to help me lose weight. She took me to a dietitian who
explained portion control and food groups. This didn’t work for me, so
Mom began reading books. We decided on a low-fat, low-sugar, low-calorie
food plan. We started reading labels. I stopped going to fast food
restaurants and started going to a gym three times per week. Then I
asked Mom if I could join TOPS with her. I’ll just say it right now: The
people at TOPS are the best bunches of people!
Thanks to my mom and TOPS, I’ve lost 198.5 pounds. My pants size has
gone from 60” to 40”, I’ve come out of my shell, and I’ve made new
friends. I’ve even changed my email address. It used to be PokemonKid.
Now, it’s KOPSman!"
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