Hello, my name is
Glenda K. Dye,
I belong to TOPS Ky#212 Paducah, Kentucky.
I am not very good at
writing my story...but here goes..
As for my childhood. I was not a heavy child.
I was born with physical problems that caused me to have
my right amputated when I was 6. I guess because I
was so young I never had any many problems with this.
I was in doctors office in l976 and was talking to a lady
that
was sitting beside me. I was at a top weight for me
at that time
l49 pounds. Little did I know that I would
eventually reach a
top weight of 245 pounds. This was to come a lot
later.
This lady was a member of TOPS, I had never heard of this
organization and this chapter she belonged to was very
new.
She invited me to come to a meeting and I went the next
Wednesday moring they met. As I remember there were
only about 10 members and we were meeting in Red Cross
building. I enjoyed this meeting
very much. I went home and went right to work and
by the next meeting I had lost over 10 pounds. It
didn't stop there....I continued to lose on down and
reached my goal weight of 115 pounds.
I was real proud of my self. I joined TOPS in
November 1976
and reached my goal the next year in l977. I was runner
up in my division in the State of Kentucky. I
received many awards and thought I would never have to
worry with my weight again.
In 1978....I think this was right... IRD was in St. Louis
, Mo,.
which is only 175 miles from where I live. I
attended this IRD and
was on stage as a KOPS. This was very exciting and I
still felt as
though I had that tiger by the tail. It was such an
honor for me
to meet Ester Manz in person and to be able to shake her
hand.
I still felt invincible!
Our chapter had grown at that time up to around 65
members.
I was my chapter's leader. Nancy Best was our State
Cordinator.
We had never had a SRD in Paducah at that time she ask me
to be the chairman and our club to host the 1980 SRD
This was very exciting and everything worked out real
well.
Most of the people that attended, told me it was one of
the best
SRD's they had attended at that time.
I was still going strong and had not faltered.
Shortly after that SRD. I begin to have lots of
health problems.
I guess I lost my focus and began to gain weight. I
tried a
medical excuse and this didn't work and I began to
gain.
I blamed being sick on my gaining weight...
this was before I realized that "it" (being
sick)
was NOT what was bending my elbow......
I was the one in control of this.
That year something happened to my back and I couldn't
move.
My doctor sent me to the Mayo Clinic. There was
nothing
I they could do for my back. They decided to do a
hip replacement.
I spent 4 months in hopsital. They kept me on a diet and
I lost the weight that I had gained. When I got back home
I gained it all back and then some. I always
managed to keep
my weight under 200 pounds. I had become a yoyo
dieter.
As far as health matters.... it seemed every year
something else that
happened. There were so many health problems...I
started dizzy spells. I think the last time I was
sick really was the worst...I spent 35 days in
hospital. I had to have lung surgery and then two
other emergency surgerys. I had a bad infection
which held on for such a long time. This is what I
feel gave me a incurable kidney disease.
I had to take a year of very heavy dosage of
predizone.
This made me put on alot of weight and I ended up at my
top weight of 245 poundsl. This was real hard on me
because I use a wheelchair
and crutches to get around.
After I was through with the predizone. I fell and
broke my wrist.
I think it was because of the medicine. It
took longer to heal and
because I had to use crutches....I could not walk and
spent the next
4 months and one week sitting. This didn't help my
weight!
Soon after all of this... I decided that I was tired of
food
controlling me.... I wanted to be in control of what I
ate. So, at the
beginning of this year I started to only eat when I was
hungry
and to stop before I was too full. In infact, I stopped
"dieting" and I started losing weight.
Since I've been losing weight, I find I have been able
get around better, my confidence has been high and
I feel I can do most anything I want to.
I have been married to my husband for 35 years and we
have one son. I also have a step daughter which is
like my own. I have 3 grand sons. One is
married, another is attending the University of Kentucky
and the youngest one is by my son. He is almost eleven and spends as
much time with us as he possibly can. He really
keeps me young. I turned 60 my last birthday.
My husband is retired from the railroad and when I turned
60, I began to draw a check. LOL!
I am lucky to have two very good friends, Nancy Best and
Jean Mack. They are watching my progress with
interest for we have been friends since I first joined
TOPS and they have seen
me go from big to small to huge. They have never
stopped their encouragement, and have watched my progress
with great interest.
I'd like to say Thank you to everyone in my chapter,
TOPS Ky #212 Paducah, Kentucky,
for all their love,
encouragement and never-ending support.
I also owe alot of my success to Cyber-tops and the TOPS
PALS
loops. Everyone has been wonderful to me with all the
praise.
I have now lost 65 pounds and I still have 60 to go to
get
back to my goal so I can regain my KOPS status.
I have the confidence now that it will happen,
it will just take me a little while longer.
I hope to be close to goal by 1999 IRD in Kentucky.
I will do this.....I know for sure now,
I don't let food control me,
I now control the food.
If I can do it....so can YOU!!
Glenda K. Dye
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