With 2020 just a month old, many are hard at work on their New Year’s resolutions, with weight loss being a popular goal. However, the sheer notion of losing weight can be intimidating, especially when you consider that more than one in three U.S. adults are obese and New York has an obesity rate of 25.7 percent, but with the proper support, achieving a healthy lifestyle is possible.
Take Truda Slocum, of Kendall, into consideration. She lost 198.5 pounds through the non-profit TOPS® (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), a non–commercial weight loss, education, and support organization. Moreover, she was recently crowned New York Queen of TOPS® for her weight loss success, meaning she lost more weight than any other female TOPS® member in the entire state.
Truda’s journey to weight loss has been a long one, filled with ups and downs. After finding initial success with the TOPS® program many years ago, Slocum dropped out and quickly regained the weight she had lost plus additional pounds. “I was too embarrassed to go back. Several church friends went to TOPS® in Morton (now Kendall) and convinced me to try again.” She rejoined TOPS® with a goal of getting her weight under 200 pounds.
“In 1999, I was planning a trip for my son’s graduation to visit our exchange son in Denmark. I knew I would have to get a seat belt extender and I had no idea how I would fit in the airplane’s bathroom. I started exercising and drinking water. I lost 120 pounds and my TOPS® club celebrated by donating 100 pounds of food to the Kendall Community Food Cupboard.”
After a wonderful trip, Truda found her weight creeping up again. She struggled for years yo-yoing back and forth.
In the fall of 2015 Truda and her husband took a Diabetes Prevention Program offered by the YMCA. “The lessons were all ones I had learned through my years at TOPS®, but with my husband’s support, we put them all together and it worked.”
Truda attributes her weight loss success to the support she receives from her fellow TOPS® members along with portion control and regular exercise.
“We wrote down everything we ate, used portion control, checked out labels, and exercised,” Truda said. “My TOPS® club offered support when I lost and encouragement when I stumbled.”
“Losing weight has changed my life,” she added. “It took over 20 years but it was worth it.”
There are 218 TOPS® chapters in New York. Last year, they lost a total of 16,713 pounds through support from others at weekly chapter meetings, healthy eating, regular exercise and wellness information. To find a local chapter, visit www.tops.org or call 800-932-8677.
Provided information and photos
As these before and after pictures show, Truda Slocum, of Kendall, has lost 198.5 pounds through the TOPS® program.
