Our beautiful, sweet Rose is one of our Arizona State Queens for 2008. She has been an inspiration to all of the members of our chapter and is now an inspiration for others all over the state. She is positive and upbeat and a genuine cheerleader. Her journey to KOPS was not easy, but Rose made it look that way.

Rose tells about her journey in her own words:

My life has been blessed with 22 years of marriage and 8 wonderful children. We are a family filled with love… but, I didn’t know how to love myself. I can never thank TOPS enough for filling this void in my life. Because of TOPS I have found the courage to love myself and my body.

I wanted to lose weight after my last baby was born. I needed inspiration and support because I felt overwhelmed and out of control in regards to my eating habits. My friend, Wilma Dalby, invited me to visit her TOPS chapter #AZ373, Payson. She was patient with my excuses not to go—each week I had a new one. I finally found the courage to go on September 15, 2005. Because I was nursing her, I brought my 11 week old baby with me to the meeting. We were immediately “adopted” and welcomed with open arms and TOPS hugs. Every Thursday morning we were showered with the simplest yet best rewards—a smile, a high five, a pat or hug, words of encouragement, praise for weight loss efforts, positive notes, warm fuzzies, charms, awards, and uplifting talks! When baby Denise turned one year old my chapter gave her a wonderful TOPS birthday party.

From day one, TOPS changed my self-image. The mental and physical impact that joining TOPS has made in my life has been unbelievable. I have had the opportunity to attend 3 TOPS retreats. Each was invaluable and filled me with the knowledge and strength I needed to continue my weight loss journey. I learned that I didn’t need perfection to like my reflection. Two of my favorite statements are, “I am thrilled to be a lean, attractive, and successful person” and “I love the challenges of making wise choices about my food and exercise program.”

I have a “Wall of Fame” where I put my weekly awards, charms, notes, goals, and dreams. This wall provides imagery and gives me energy to move forward. Each positive image pulls me toward what I want. Goals lead to thoughts, thoughts lead to desires, desires lead to actions, actions lead to habits, habits lead to character, which leads to destiny. Goals are stars to guide us, not sticks to beat us.

I learned that exercise is essential to weight loss and maintenance. Five weeks after I joined TOPS, I went to a circuit training gym. I exercise there three times a week and walk around my neighborhood on the other days. Exercise makes me feel empowered and invigorated.

Using the Exchange System and keeping a food diary are also foundations to my success. When I write down the exchanges I eat I know that I have a balanced diet. I try to eat foods in the following order of greatest to least: water, veggies, grains, fruits, proteins. When I eat, I focus totally on my food and savor each bite. I used to eat too fast and gulp my food down in a big hurry. Learning about healthy foods and how they affect my mind and body is fascinating. I believe that one of the most important things we do in TOPS is study food and how it affects our lives.

“I’m losing weight and gaining control.” This positive affirmation changed my life. TOPS taught me to gain control of my food and exercise choices. I learned to have faith in myself and to have fun in the process. Having fun losing weight is really what TOPS is all about. Each TOPS member is like a snowflake because snowflakes are such fragile things, but look what happens when they stick together. The more often we stick together, the better chance we have to help and support each other in achieving our goals.

Our prior leader, Lee Norman, expressed my feelings perfectly when she said, “Every week during roll call I look out and see the happiness you have for each other when a loss is reported. I also see the genuine concern and compassion when a member experiences a gain. That is when I think about why we belong to TOPS. We need each other. We care about each other. We are our own and each others inspiration and through this we will be successful.”

I reached my goal and became a KOPS on March 8, 2007. This “finish line” is really my “starting line” because I started my new life as a KOPS. TOPS provided a path for me to follow when I needed it the most. I’m so grateful to be a member. I now know that I have the determination to live one day at a time and keep my KOPS status. Always remember: What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.