TOPS learns about portion control

TOPS Chapter 319 El Dorado Springs met in the Church of Christ meeting room on Thursday, Oct. 27.

Robbie opened the meeting and Kay led us in singing “The Place For Me”.

Robbie led us in roll call. Sandi was the week’s best loser with a loss of 4.4 lbs.

Twenty-Five members weighed in today.

Juanita had the program today and she chose a program from the TOPS programs, “Portion Control”. Juanita had a table laid out with many of the common foods we all buy. She started with telling an easy way to determine what a serving is. One portion of meat (3 oz) is the size of a deck of cards. Two tablespoons peanut butter the size of a ping pong ball, one cup yogurt is the size of a softball, one ounce bagel is the size of a yo-yo, 1 1⁄2 ounce of cheese is the size of three dominoes and 1⁄2 cup of vegetable is the size of half a softball.

She pointed out we need to read labels. For instance the microwave popcorn she brought was one package but is three servings. Most dressings are based on two tablespoons as one serving. If we measure out two tablespoons we will find we are using much more just pouring it on. One serving of Candy Corn is 19 pieces and is 150 calories. How many of us count out 19 pieces of candy corn to eat?

Juanita also suggested the use of smaller plates and serving spoons. Stop and listen to your body, just because it is 5 p.m. are you really hungry? Use the food chart TOPS provides to track your intake, it helps.

Marie won the right to draw a marble but drew a green one. The pot continues to grow.

Robbie announced the KOPS meeting this Saturday in Springfield. Also Fall Rally Nov. 5 in Rich Hill.

Warren presented his idea for a new contest. It is based on points and the one with the most points is the winner. In case of a tie the one who lost the most weight is the winner.

For TOPS the points are: loss three points, gain -one point, stay the same two points, and no gain for the entire month five bonus points. KOPS would be under goal three points, gain-1 point and no gain all month bonus five points. Contest starts with next week’s weigh in. The entry fee is $1.

We sang “Happy Birthday” to Jan T and to Tom.

Robbie said since Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, do we want to meet on Tuesday, Nov. 22, if the church is available. Carol made motion we meet on Tuesday and Becky seconded motion. Motion passed and Robbie will check with the Church.

Robbie reminded us next week will be double fine as Monday is Halloween.

We welcome anyone who is interested in learning about a healthy lifestyle. We welcome women and men of all ages. We encourage healthy eating and offer support through our chapter and the National Chapter of TOPS. 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.

Come and join us.