I defeated the biggest giant—obesity. Losing and maintaining weight has been the longest and hardest battle that I’ve had to endure and overcome in my life. My first visit to TOPS was very welcoming and inviting. I truly felt like I could succeed there. The Leader, Barbara Paprocki, took me under her wings from the very beginning, especially since I was the largest member. As she did with all members, I received weekly cards and incentives to continue to inspire me. She also encouraged me to participate in officer positions, which I did on and off while I was at that chapter. Barbara is now my heavenly angel and continually keeps me under her wings.

The word diet has never been in my vocabulary. I lost weight through preparing and cooking everything fresh, which was a challenge in itself. I ate my biggest meals early in the day, ate no heavy meals after 6 p.m. and drank lots of water. For exercise, I do line dancing, African & Urban ballroom dancing, tai chi and aqua exercises. After a long challenging battle of losing over 100 pounds, I was ready to start the first Black TOPS chapter in my community. The chapter has been going strong for 11 years now.

It's truly been a long journey to my weight-loss victory. I reclaimed myself mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. It's a total balance. I'm so grateful to God that he continued to smile down on me during all the struggling years of life's ups and downs. Through it all, I never gave up on myself to persevere and achieve my goal. Life is wonderful in spite of it all.

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You only get out of TOPS what you put into it. We can't guarantee weight loss just by attending meetings, but we can offer support through each stage of your weight-loss journey. Your results may vary.