Russell

If you are struggling with your weight,
this message will inspire and encourage you to keep on trying.
You're dream of losing the weight & reaching your goal
IS ACHIEVABLE!

He has lost over 165 3/4 pounds!

My name is Russell Foster and I belong to
TOPS #WA 1026, in Parkland WA.

I have struggled with my weight most of my life.
I was always too short for the weight that I carried -
not overweight, just undertall.
I had tried to lose the weight so many times and
had not been able to lose and maintain -
Oh, sometimes I would lose weight but then
I would gain it back. I tried all the diets that came along
that promised "quick weight loss" and I tried all
the ones that were "sensible and long term"....
the one thing I noticed about
all of them was that I was alone throughout it -
some of the "commercial" diets had counsellors
but no one "going thru it with me -
losing at the same time"

I would like to tell you how I managed to get to
my starting weight of 372 3/4 pounds.

Russell"s "Before" Pic

I have always loved to eat a big breakfast,
and no it wasn't a Mac D's Big Breakfast,
it was MY Big Breakfast.
My Breakfast would/could consist of 4 measuring cups
of Cream Beef (made with whole milk), 10 - 15 Biscuits,
4 - 5 eggs fried with rice or potatoes,
something to drink like whole milk, coffee or tea.
This was almost a daily routine with me,
and remember this was only one meal.
I would drink upwards of 10 liters of non-diet soda a day
and of course no exercise.
You have heard of the couch potato well,
I was the couch.
Yes, this was me when I joined TOPS In January 1997.

As I mentioned before, I had tried to lose weight many times,
did good and then would gain it back plus.
Then I heard about a program called TOPS,
I became curious and inquired about it.
At my first TOPS meeting I kind of just stood back,
watched and stayed in the background,
taking in all that was being said and done,
but the one thing that I noticed the most was all of the
support that was being given to everyone,
so the following week I joined TOPS.

One of the greatest things I liked about TOPS was that
I didn't have to be on a diet that "worked for everyone".
I know that my body is different than everyone else's
and so I was not going to lose weight on
what everyone else was losing weight.
I did not have to do things I was not comfortable with
and could not afford. I could eat the way I could eat
in order to get MY body to lose weight
and according to the life style that I was in
and not 3 times a day at 8AM-12noon and 6PM
or 6 small meals a day like some of the diets require,
or any thing that didn't fit the way I lived.
What worked for me may not necessarily work for you
so why should you have to do that. In TOPS we were
allowed to work with our own bodies -
but the support was always there and
the help if I ran into problems.

After joining TOPS I knew that one of the best ways
of losing weight would be to set small achievable goals.
Goals, though small, had to be enough to realize that
I was losing weight...So far most of the goals were met
at the times that I set them, some of them were not,
but the ones that weren't met at the time I set them,
have been met now..

It may seem that I had an easy time losing my weight,
but I can tell you that it hasn't been.
There were walls that needed to be torn down,
such as modifing my eating habits.
I had to start an excercise program,
and I had to learn how to LIKE MYSELF .

Some of the times that I really had a struggle were vacations.
I was away from the things I needed to make my diet work.
I was again thrown into a world of eating what was
available to me from the menu's, the machines or the
people in whose home I was. I finally had to figure out
for myself that I needed to be bolder,
state what I wanted specifically.....
and usually when I did that,
I found that people would comply.
So it was a learning experience for me to claim what I needed.
I had to know and be firm about what I could
and could not eat and not let myself be swayed
into anything that would go against that.
Maybe it would work for you to plan ahead the
kinds of things that you could eat from a menu -
for me it was just being sure of what I would
eat and what I would not and sticking to it.

When I gained for the first time I was upset,
mad, wanted to give up, and quit,
but ôhen I realized that I was human,
and all I had to do was get back on track.

The wonderful part of TOPS is that most people
have been through the same experiences that I have
experienced in my effort to lose the weight.
They have had occasion to "fall off the wagon", "binge",
"lose their way" and gain weight.
They were neither condemned for it nor did they condemn
when someone else was in that situation.
they were there to support, and encourage and
console whenever it was needed.
That is rare and is what is missing in most diets -
someone whose walked in my shoes,
knows how I feel and has felt that way themselves.

I'd like to share some of the things that have changed
for me since I joined TOPS and began losing the weight
that I wanted to get rid of. I have learned
to like myself much better and accept that everything
that seems bad is not necessarily.
I have learned to let others help me when I was discouraged
and have learned to let people celebrate with me when I
succeeded. It's been hard for me to accept the
congratulations and compliments when I did well.
I used to hide when I failed and dismiss the significance
of what I had done when I succeeded.
In turn, I have learn to encourage others, helped others
to get back up and get back to losing again when they slipped.
I learned to give and to take and those were important lessons
for me. I had been so wrapped up in myself and the weight
and my misery that I had to learn again to live with people.

Here are a few other thing that have happened
since I have joined TOPS:

1.   My eating habits have changed.....I have gone from
Living to eat to eating to Live.

2. I have gone from no excercise to walking 10 miles a day,
5 days a week. Walking might not be for you -
for some it might be dancing, or biking, or bowling -
whatever it is, it is exercise -
so find your passion and follow it.

3. I can now do things that people take for granted,
such as bending over to tie my shoes, bending over to pick up
thing that I have dropped on the ground or floor.

4. My health has improved.

5. Last but not least, the biggest change has been my personality.
As you can now see I no longer sit in the background.
I go out to the different TOPS Chapters to talk and to try to encourage all my TOPS friends and show them
that TOPS DOES WORK!

Russell"s "Now" pic

I would like to say that without the Love, Support, and Encouragement from all my TOPS friends that I have
I would not have gotten as far as I have.
Now most of all I want to say to my TOPS PALS in
TOPS #WA 1026, Parkland..

I LOVE EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU,
and MAY GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU.
YOU ARE THE GREATEST!!!!!!

This is his latest email recieved:

Hello everyone,
Well another night at the scales,
and this time there was a weight loss.....I lost 3 1/4 pounds...
This now makes me a total of 165 1/4 pounds lost
with 8 1/2 pounds to go to goal....
My oh My, I can see the end of the tunnel now.....
I am on a roll and I will be KIW soon....
Thanks to all of you for your support and
I hope that one day I can be here for you...
Remember that I do care...

Your TOPS E Pal
Russell

Russell is now with in reach of his goal & becoming a KIW
If you would like to send Russell a message,
his email address is RSAMUEL@aol.com
Lets all FLOOD his mailbox with praise,
encouragement, and support!

Who knows...Russell just may be the future
1999 TOPS INTERNATIONAL KING!