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Missouri State King Joshua Hamilton
83.00 pounds lost
Hi, my name is Joshua
Hamilton and I am proud and humbled to be your 2010 State King.
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Missouri State Queen Theresa Roe
126.00 pounds lost
Being Mo state queen is truly
a dream come true for me. There have been several years when I was
so angry with myself and would cry when I saw how much the queen
lost, knowing I could have been queen that year. But all things
happen for a reason. I could not have made it this far without Jesus
in my life. He really is my Savior. He saved me from my addiction to
food and now I know all things are possible with Christ.
My story starts differently
than most people with weight issues. For as long as I can remember,
I have been 5ft 8 inches tall and weighed 125#. I grew up in the
Twiggy era and always watched the beauty pageants. So even at my
weight, I thought I was fat. After all, the beauty pageant
contestants at my height only weighed 110#. So I struggled through
my teen years and early 20s trying to get to 110#. Needless to say,
that never happened. Now I look at pictures of myself from back then
and cannot believe I thought I needed to lose weight.
I started gaining weight after
I got married in 1987. The first time I needed to lose weight was in
1990, I weighed 207#. I went to The Diet Center and lost 67#. But
then life happened and I started gaining the weight back, and more.
Then the children came along. We all know how time consuming they
are. There was no time to eat right, exercise and think about
myself. So over the next few years I watched my weight steadily go
up. I tried many diets, like all of us here. I was always looking
for the quick fix, even though I knew it did not exist.
In November 2006, I was
diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. Fortunately, I only had to
have radiation therapy. On one of my first follow up visits with my
radiation oncologist, she discussed the correlation between being
overweight and having breast cancer. In April 2009, she offered me a
diet program that works quickly and has been proven to be safe, no
drugs, no surgery. But I was insulted and left her office in a huff,
with no intention of going back to her. After all, what did she know
about being overweight, she was a skinny little thing.
By June, I was borderline
diabetic, my triglycerides were 344, and my cholesterol was 190. I
was wearing a size 24, my blood pressure was high and I was on 4
different blood pressure meds and an anti inflammatory med for joint
pain. I have a family history of diabetes and high blood pressure
and heart disease. On top of all the health issues that were popping
up, I felt miserable, was lethargic and had low self esteem. I did
not feel attractive at all. My husband rides a motorcycle and I
would ride with him. He told me I was getting to heavy for him to
handle on the bike. That really hurt my feelings but also hit home.
So I called my doctor and told her I was ready to get on whatever
diet she had to offer. She put me on Take Shape For Life using 5
meal replacements and one lean and green meal a day. The weight
started falling off and quickly. I felt great, was rarely hungry,
that was usually if I went past 3 hours without eating, and best of
all, I did not have any cravings. I had found the quick fix I was
looking for, and the best part, it was the healthiest diet plan I
ever did. After just 2 months my triglycerides went down to 47 and
my cholesterol went down to 126 and I was no longer borderline
diabetic. I lost 100# in 9 ½ months. I reached my goal on April 15,
2010. I now wear a size 12, I am off all my blood pressure
medications and only take my anti inflammatory as needed, which is
not very often. And now I ride my own motorcycle, but when I do ride
with my husband, he now says he lost his “backrest”, my belly.
I have tons of energy now, am
able to keep up with my children and my 7 grandchildren. I am much
happier and healthier and feel good about myself and my life. I
teach water aerobics twice a week and walk 1-2 miles twice a week.
So as you can see, it does not take hours of exercise every day to
lose weight and maintain.
I am leader of my TOPS group
903 Festus and have been for a few years, but this is the first time
I feel like I am setting a good example. I hope to help them all
reach their goals.
As I got closer to my goal,
fear started to set in. I knew it was going to be hard work to keep
the weight off. A friend of mine told me about an internet program
called Setting Captives Free. It is a free website to help people
overcome their addictions by placing our focus on Jesus instead of
our addictive behavior. So I did that 60 day program and it did
bring my focus back to Jesus and my faith has grown so much since
then.
A couple really exciting
things have happened to me since reaching my goal. In September
2010, my boss nominated me for the BJC Health Hall of Fame. Only one
person from each BJC entity wins. I won and got to represent SLCH on
the field before a Cardinal game. Then got VIP treatment in the BJC
box. It was a fun filled day.
When my boys were little, I
always wanted to be able to play with them in the play places at
McDonalds, but was always too big to even try. This past summer, I
was able to go to Ft Rucker, AL for the birth of my 7th
grandchild. While I was there, my 3 year old granddaughter and I
walked to the playground in the evenings. I had as much fun, if not
more fun than her, climbing on the various ladders, going through
the tunnels, going down the slides and running around the playground
with her. As silly as it may sound, it was a real thrill for me.
I know you have all heard this
before, but being a KOPS is not the end of the road. It is more work
than losing weight. I have to be honest and say that I struggle
almost every day and know it is going to be a lifelong journey to
keep the weight off. But I am truly blessed with a wonderfully
supportive family and friends. And I cannot say enough good about my
TOPS group. They really come through when things get tough by
sending cards, and giving hugs, along with encouraging words.
However, my biggest supporter is Jesus. He goes shopping with me and
when I want junk food, I pray to Him and most of the time, I can
manage to get out of the store without the junk. All the glory
really goes to Him.
I just want to say this is
really a thrill for me and has always been my ultimate goal for the
last 13 years. Thanks to everyone who helped me get here. And thank
you God.
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Missouri King Runner Up Ronnie Mason
78.00 pounds lost
I have been overweight for as long as I can
remember. As a child I hated PE because I was embarrassed at my
weight. In January of 2009 I weighed 267 lbs. I was thinking about
quitting smoking but knew if I did, I would be over 300 lbs. and die
anyway. I was talking to Kem Helvey one day and told her I needed
to lose weight. She suggested TOPS. I thought, Why not? She had
lost over 100 lbs., so I went to the next meeting and joined TOPS
502, Wright City.
I started counting calories. I kept low calorie
foods available in the refrigerator. I still ate well but just the
right kind of foods. Instead of peanut butter and cookies, I had
celery sticks and cottage cheese. Instead of cake and ice cream, I
made desserts with sugar free puddings, sugar free jello and fruit
cocktail.
I have also ate a lot of boiled shrimp. Fellow TOP
member Carl Unnerstall suggested putting away the ridding lawn mower
and using a push mower which I did. After the TOPS meeting on
Wednesday, I allowed myself a special treat. I started out eating
2500 calories a day. I hit a lot of plateau’s to where I had to
drop my calorie intake. By eating 1500 calories a day I reached my
goal of 189 on August 25 and have stayed there for eight months. I
credit my success to my TOPS club for their support and to Kem
Helvey for dragging me to my first meeting. Also the wonderful
leadership of Norma Ordelheide, and the rest of the leaders, contest
chairman and everyone who sent me cards and encouraged me. Their
support has been wonderful. Thank you ! Thank you very much!!
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Missouri Queen Runner Up Jessica McGaugh
107.50 pounds lost
I am just your average mother
and wife who let food become my life. You know that saying “Do you
eat to live or do you live to eat” I ate to live. I knew I was
overweight and I knew I needed to do something about it but it just
never seem to sink in. I love to watch and read about weight loss
success stories but never gave it one thought that I would be one of
those people standing here in front of you sharing mine. My story
begins by meeting a local from my hometown who lost over 100lbs and
who had shared her success story along with inviting me to TOPS.
I went to a meeting and I was hooked. I joined and that’s when my
journey began. I’m not going to stand here and tell you it has been
easy, but let me tell you it has been FUN! TOPS held me accountable
each week. I looked forward to my weigh-ins; I wanted to be the
biggest loser for that month. I love attending the weekly meetings
and learning how to eat healthy and maintain a healthy weight.
Losing weight is not easy but with a support group like TOPS we all
can do it! We all can be King and Queens. I want to give a special
thanks to Bonnie Rafferty who took her time to share her story and
invite me to TOPS, along with thanking my friends in my TOPS group
#327 and to my husband and kids who stood by me throughout this
wonderful journey it is such an honor to be receiving this spot as
runner up Queen for Missouri. Thank you TOPS.
Jessica and her daughter model the jeans Jessica used to wear!
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