Take Off Pounds Sensibly
It’s a growing trend in the United States that servings are getting bigger and bigger, and people are getting heavier and heavier. In fact, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 66 percent of Americans are either obese or overweight. That’s more than a half of the population – or, about two out of every three people.
It follows then, that many diets, exercises and exercise machines, and weight loss programs exist to cater to America’s fast growing number of heavy people. There are now even health pills and surgical procedures to reduce one’s weight.
What many do not realize that each person is possessed of a unique body and physiology – which is why some programs work for some people and fail for others. And this philosophy is what guides and lies behind the Take off Pounds Sensibly (or TOPS) weight loss program.
Take off Pounds Sensibly: Where did it start?
TOPS started back in 1948, when a woman named Esther Manz, who saw the need to provide a support group for people suffering from being overweight and obesity. Even then, obesity was seen as a problem – overweight people tend to suffer from discrimination and ridicule – and a support group was established not just to deal with the emotional scars these people suffered, but also to help them conquer and remove their excess weight.
It started pretty modestly too – around a kitchen table at the Brinton Recreation Center in Milwaukee. Esther Manz, along with Grace Messner, Verna Konings and Frances Eggers, all thought of losing weight and getting better and slimmer figures, and agreed to support each other throughout the process.
This small support group of four women inspired Esther to start a larger group, to help people deal with their weight problems and stay on the recommended diets and programs by their nutritionists and doctors, as well as offer moral support and encouragement from others dealing with the same problems. After consulting with her doctor and receiving his recommendation to start such a group, Take Off Pounds Sensibly was born.
Even their first meeting back then was jampacked, and TOPS has never stopped growing. The TOPS website cites 180,000 members and 10,000 chapters scattered all throughout the United States and Canada, as well as other countries around the globe.
TOPS’ international headquarters is currently located at 4575 South Fifth Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
The Program: Getting to know what TOPS is
TOPS is set apart from the rest of the diet fads and lose weight by its philosophy of not advocating a specific diet or exercise. What it campaigns for is for each person to consult a physician or nutritionist to determine what kind of diet and exercise regimen is best suited to his or her body, as well determining what kind of goal weight they should have.
This goal weight is then reported to the Weight Recorder of each local chapter, after which participants will weigh themselves in to start the program and determine their level of progress. The members of each TOPS chapter meet once a week.
After that, members are guided further by a lifestyle guide called “The Choice Is Mine”, which offers tips and guidelines in meal and serving management, good nutrition, motivational tips, exercise regimens, and other pointers for a general healthy living lifestyle.
The TOPS program also further motivates its members by offering friendly competitions between members of a chapter, and has traditionally crowned Kings and Queens – as recognition for people who have lost the most amount of weight each year. There are also retreats and rallies for members to participate in, and a in-house health news magazine – TOPS News – that members receive regularly.
TOPS has also included other weight-related conditions like anorexia and bulimia into their program, and contribute to research on metabolism and obesity.
The TOPS website puts the annual fee of $24 for members in the United States, while annual membership in Canada costs $30. In addition to this, members also pay a minimum monthly fee to cover the operational costs of their chapters – just about an average of $5 a month.
Last Word
In a nutshell, TOPS is an all-around approach to weight loss, and in the recent years, with the emergence of weight-related disorders, has risen to address these issues well. And while TOPS encourages its members to lose weight, its healthy living approach also gives its members many other health benefits.
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Thank you