TOPS gets Halloween survival tips

TOPS Chapter 9319 El Dorado Springs met in the Church of Christ Meeting Room on Thursday, Oct. 26.

Leader Sheryl Walker opened the meeting and Kay S. led us in singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little TOPS”.

Twenty-seven weighed in today and the chapter had a 15 lb. net loss.

Sandi was the week’s best loser with a loss of 5.4 lbs.

Marilyn led us in exercises by having us dance to music for 10 minutes. We thank Marilyn for keeping us going and moving.

Jean L. had the program today. She took her program from the TOPS Magazine. Taking the “Fail” out of the scale. She reminded us it is not always the numbers on the scale and should not make us feel sad if we do not like the number. Remember there are “Non Scale Victories” to celebrate. Maybe you are building muscle from increased exercise this will first show up on the scale as a gain but your clothes will be fitting better. Losing weight does not go down in a straight line. It sometimes plateaus for weeks and then suddenly drops all at once, or even goes up before going back down. Some “Non Scale Victories” to celebrate are:

Lowering your blood pressure or blood sugar numbers, liking the person you see in the mirror, getting taken off of certain medications by your doctor, being able to sleep better, bending over (and breathing) while tying your shoes and having an improved skin tone.

Jean then gave us some tips on surviving the Halloween candy craving.

Did you know a small piece of candy such as a Reese’s only makes you feel good for about three minutes?

Candy Corn the Halloween staple is a love-em-or-hate-em. If you love them you may eat so many so fast you don’t even really taste it. To retrain yourself to eat more mindfully do this exercise. Line up three candy corns, away from the rest of the bag or bowl. Eat one at a time, noticing the taste and texture, focusing on the piece in your mouth instead of the one that’s coming next. Then apply this slow-and –savoring method to all the candy you indulge in.

Keep in mind 150 calories is approximately, three mini York Peppermint Patties, two fun-size packages of M&M’s, six mini Musketeers, seven Hershey’s Kisses and five snack-size Twizzler twists.

Drink lots of water. If you are craving some candy drink a glass of water before you indulge.

NEW BUSINESS:

Jean reminded us that the KOPS Society will meet on Saturday, Nov. 4, in Springfield.

Marilyn won the right to draw for the marble but did not get a winning one.

Warren reported on the contest. Sheryl is still in the lead but Jan T. and Linda H are tied for second place. In the KOPS section Steve has 60 points and Juanita has 58.

Juanita reminded us next meeting will be double fines as it follows Halloween.

Steve suggested we all wear the clothes we wore when we started coming to TOPS. We would do this for our meeting following Halloween. This will be a lot of fun to see how much some have actually lost. We hope to see a lot of baggy clothes.

Linda H. said the little information sheet given to new members needs to be updated and needs permission to do so.

Carol asked about open house. This prompted a discussion on things we need to do to be a gold star chapter. Jean read the list of requirements. Open house is one of them. We did one in April of 2017, so need to plan one in 2018. We need to participate in a Health Fair. Sheryl will check with the hospital to see if any are going to be scheduled between now and first of the year.

With no more business we closed with our song “The More We Get Together” and our motto “IF IT IS TO BE IT IS UP TO ME”.

TOPS #MO 9319 meets each Thursday Morning in the Church Of Christ Meeting room at 302 E Hospital Road, El Dorado Springs. Weigh-in starts at 7:45 a.m. the meeting begins at 8:45 a.m. and is over by 10 a.m.

We welcome men and women of all ages who are interested in learning about a healthy lifestyle. We have a lot of fun in our weight loss journey and make lifelong friendships. First visit is free with no obligation. Membership and dues are very inexpensive.

For more information, call Robbie Chase at 417-876-0233, Juda at 876-4888, TOPS toll free number 1 800-932-8677 or you can find us on the web at www.tops.org.