TOPS Chapter 9319 morning group

by Linda Hall, Co-leader

Sheryl Ann called our meeting to order and asked Kay to lead us in a song. Our song for the day was Count Your Calories.

We had 20 weigh in today and a net loss of 13.4 lbs. Kadeana was our best loser with a loss of 6 lbs. We were happy that Steve reached his goal weight today and is now a KOPS. He has lost nearly 55 lbs.

We sang to our two who have birthdays this week: Linda W. and Kay. Carol S. celebrated an anniversary last week but was overlooked. So, we sang to her this week as well.

Marie won the drawing to play the Marble Game but didn’t win.

Our new contest is supposed to be ready next week. We will look forward to a golfing competition for this contest.

We were pleased to have our new Area Captain Claudia Gaylord with us today. Claudia started in TOPS when she was still living in California at the age of 14. She didn’t know then that TOPS was an international organization.

Claudia has struggled with weight gain just like the rest of us have. After all, TOPS is about helping us to become healthier and also helps us to be accountable for our weight. She became more successful when she stopped lying to herself about what she was eating and set realistic goals. To date she has lost nearly 92 lbs.

She shared the program: Tune up with TOPS. If your weight-loss journey were a song, what song would it be? Music can help us enjoy the trip. Create a playlist that will help you to success.

When we first started in TOPS, our song might have been Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. We were wired and ready to lose. We keep motivated and uplifted by coming to TOPS. TOPS will Stand by Me when we need help. However, we must learn to be our own cheerleader too. We are worth the effort!

We need to keep our food chart, move more and continue to make changes – they add up. We feel good when we do what we know we should. We can celebrate our accomplishments because we know we earned them. Remember to Give a Little Bit of yourselves, too. Encouraging others will help us keep focused on our goals as well as the needs of others.

Bad days will happen; but how will we handle them? It’s your choice. So, decide today what changes you can make that will help get you through them. Don’t stop believing in yourself – especially on those bad days. You can do it.

Sheryl Ann encouraged us to bring our “Build Your Own Playlist” to the meeting next week for review.

We closed with our motto “If it is to be, it is up to me.”