Page 8 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2025 TOPS honors Revere woman and North Adams man for weight loss success International weight-loss organization announces leading “Losers” for 2024 Special to Th e Advocate T OPS Club, Inc. (Take Off Pounds SensiblySM ), the nonprofit weight-loss support organization, is unveiling its “royalty” for 2024. TOPS® royalty are women and men who have officially recorded the largest weight loss from their highest weight at TOPS by the end of 2024 and reached their goal weight, regardless of the time taken to achieve their goal. Revere’s Bonnie Moore, who lost 200 pounds, and North Adams’ Ralph Lesure Jr., who dropped 40 pounds, are the 2024 Massachusetts Queen and King. In May 2025 they were honored at a Massachusetts recognition event at the Crowne Plaza Boston in Woburn. Bonnie’s Narrative I came to TOPS 25 years ago in May 2000. A couple of months before, I had seen my doctor, and he wasn’t pleased with my health. I weighed over 450 pounds, and I was a smoker. He said if I didn’t lose weight, I wasn’t going to live much longer. He told me about TOPS. In the beginning, I wondered how I was going to lose so much weight. I became depressed thinking about it, as I was the biggest person at our chapter meetings. Though I was depressed, I wanted to live. I went to meetings, listened, and learned how to keep going. Attending TOPS meetings and being with my TOPS friends has helped me tremendously. I started making changes in my life slowly, morphing from junk food to eating healthier. I started exercising, mainly walking. I met resistance from myself and from my roommate, who was my eating buddy. Walking, because of arthritis, was painful. Before joining TOPS, I was a diabetic on medication. I had sleep apnea, bad asthma, high blood pressure, chest pains, high cholesterol, congestive heart failure, exhaustion, body pain, and no stamina. Now, my diabetes is in remission. I don’t have sleep apnea, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. I no longer suff er from conges tive heart failure. My overall health is much better, as is my outlook on life. I discovered I needed to make small, achievable goals, such as losing five pounds, which was doable. One of my sayings is that small goals equal big success. So many people are in a hurry to lose weight, but I wasn’t. I wanted to lose it and make sure it stayed off forever. To lose weight, I couldn’t just eat healthy and exercise. I also needed to face my other issues head-on. There are reasons I have been overweight my entire life, mainly because I was a compulsive overeater. I received personal help, and with the support of my TOPS friends and attending meetings, lost 100 pounds and received my Century Club medallion in 2006. That was one of my fi rst major TOPS achievements. My biggest message is never giving up. It may take time to reach your goals, but you can do it. Sometimes it takes longer, and that’s OK. Be patient with yourself. You control your destiny. Bonnie BEFORE (Courtesy photos) Nonprofit organization produces “life-changing successes” With an individual approach to weight loss and overall wellness, TOPS provides consistent group support, health education and recognition to encourage successful weight management. Massachusetts has an adult obesity rate of 27%, and in 2024, TOPS members in Massachusetts lost a cumulative 4,346 pounds. “All of us affiliated with TOPS are extremely proud of our members’ weightloss accomplishments,” said TOPS President Rick Danforth. “Through their TOPS membership, these individuals can commemorate their life-changing successes, other members, and those who have preceded them. By continuing their faithfulness to lifestyle alterations, a characteristic of TOPS’ successful formula, TOPS members employ the methods they’re offered and the support of their peers to achieve their weight loss objectives.” In-person or online weekly meetings are the heart of TOPS support. In-person meetings start with an optional weigh-in, with members then sharing challenges, successes or goals. A brief program covering a variety of health and wellness topics follows and might conclude Bonnie AFTER (Courtesy photos) with awards and recognition for the week. Visitors can attend their fi rst TOPS in-person meeting free of charge and are encouraged to try more than one chapter since they’re all a little diff erent. For online membership, meetings are conducted via Zoom and are off ered at least fi ve times weekly. The meeting starts with members disclosing challenges, successes or goals. Next, the online facilitator presents a prepared program that sometimes includes guest speakers sharing expert views on fi tness, nutrition and more. Meetings conclude with action steps related to the presented program. Membership is affordable, starting at $70 per year, plus nominal chapter fees. Visit www.tops.org or call 800-932-8677 to learn more about TOPS and to fi nd a local chapter. TOPS is the original weight-loss support and wellness education organization. Founded in 1948, TOPS is the only nonprofi t, noncommercial weight-loss organization of its kind.
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