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Donna Goller says her drive -- along with a great support system -- changed her life.
"These were my pants," she says, showing the dramatic size difference. "Now I'm a size 12."
She's half the woman she used to be -- in a good way. In 2008, newly-widowed and miserable at 331 pounds, she was sick of being fat.
"Upsize, super-size it -- anything that was simple was my downfall. I had high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and had to have a breathing machine at night."
Donna knew she needed a change, and
he found it at TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), a nationwide, non-profit weight
loss support organization.
She is, in fact, the biggest loser, as TOPS 'Queen
of Missouri.' But it took more than just meetings. She changed the way she
thinks about food.
"I just was determined to be healthy."
Donna targets 1200 calories a day and 45 grams of carbs. She uses her calories wisely.
"I decided on my own, I thought, 'I'm not going to eat any more fried food. I'm not going to have any more sugar. I'm not going to have any more mochas.' Mochas are out."
She adds that over time, healthy food became her food of choice, even if her husband went the opposite direction.
"He'll have a banana split, and I want a salad with grilled chicken on top. I want it."
Donna's weight loss was a three-year transformation, and some damage can't be transformed.
"I had to have both my knees replaced."
But that doesn't stop her from walking every day. In fact, just this spring her walk felt a little off. It was.
"All my life I have had thighs that touched!"
Donna's enthusiasm and success helps other TOPS members get motivated. A friend's comment at one meeting in particular really drove the point home.
"And she says, 'Okay now Donna, I'm going to sit on your lap and I want you to pick me up and carry me around the room.' And I go, 'I can't. I can't pick you up. I can't even stand with you on me.' And she said, 'Well, you used to.'"
TOPS has been around since the 1940's and there are about 10,000 chapters all over the country.
TOPS
National Weight Control Registry
Anschutz
Health & Wellness Center
