Lexington County, SC - With 2020 only a few months old, many people are still hard at work on their New Year resolutions. As resolutions go, weight loss is one of the most common and popular of these. Unfortunately, many fail and by the end of the year, they’re no healthier than they were when they started.
The sheer notion of losing weight can be intimidating, especially when you consider that more than 1 in 3 U.S. adults are obese and South Carolina has an obesity rate of 34.1%. Still, with the proper support, achieving a healthy lifestyle is possible.
As an example, take U.S. veteran's wife Patsy Banco of Lexington. Patsy lost an incredible 100.5 pounds through the non-profit TOPS® (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). TOPS is a non–commercial weight loss, education, and support organization. Moreover, Patsy was recently crowned TOPS’ South Carolina Queen Runner-Up for her weight loss success. This means she came in second for losing more weight than any other female TOPS member in the entire state!
Patsy attributes her weight loss success to the caring support she receives from her fellow TOPS members. She also says that portion control is a big part of her victory over obesity.
"I was in the air force and stationed in Italy with my husband when I heard about it [TOPS] from a friend," Banco said. "TOPS offered the support and accountability that I needed; they provide you with all the tools for weight loss." she added.
In order to help others, Patsy has shared her story many times. It’s not only inspiring, it lets others know they can do it too. Even more effective are the pictures that she’s willing to share. After all, as the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. In the case of Patsy’s success, her pictures may be worth dropping thousand of pounds for others. In one that Patsy shared on her social media site, it shows Patsy easily slipping her now slim, healthier figure in one leg of pants she wore at her heaviest!
Patsy believes that TOPS worked for her and so many others because it promotes successful weight management with a multi-faceted program. It combines support from others at the weekly chapter meetings, healthy eating, regular exercise and provides information that’s focuses on wellness. If attending weekly meetings is a challenge to your busy lifestyle, there are even ones you can participate with on-line.
There’s no meals or supplements to buy and the more experienced members let the newer ones know that you can eat healthy by making the right choices at any supermarket. Most importantly, that skill of knowing how to control your portion sizes when you sit for a meal helps you return to and maintain good health.
Founded in 1948, TOPS is the only nonprofit, noncommercial weight-loss organization of its kind. TOPS has more than 100,000 members – male and female, age seven and older – in its network of thousands of weight-loss support chapters throughout the United States and Canada. Last year they lost over 2,000 tons of excess weight!
You can learn more about TOPS and see other success stories on their webpage at www.tops.org. To find a TOPS chapter near you, check out their FIND A MEETING tab on that webpage. Here’s a convenient LINK for you that will take you right there.
