Prince Albert boasts Saskatchewan’s weight loss royalty for 2020

She said TOPS provides a group setting, where local people gather regularly to discuss their own journey and help each other through challenges and offer each other solutions. With that support, she has been able to change some habits.

“You have to have some kind of self control. I used to eat sunflowers by the bags, but you have to have portion control. You can have the seeds, but you can only have the recognized portion and you can work with that,” Swain said.

This past fall, Swain lost her husband who passed away on Nov. 16. He wanted to take a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate their anniversary later that month on Nov. 28, but that never materialized. Instead, she went to her TOPS group meeting the night before the anniversary date, and unbeknownst to her, that meeting happened to mark her 25^th anniversary with the program.

“I had my TOPS anniversary to remember my husband by,” she said.

Prince Albert’s Roger Polowski managed to lose more than 37 pounds in three years. (submitted photo/TOPS)

Polowski has dropped 37.6 pounds since joining TOPS three years ago, and is grateful to be recognized for his hard work.

“It’s a good recognition, but it’s a really good thing for me because of my weight loss. It’s helped me be more mobile and stuff like that,” Polowski said.

Prior to joining TOPS, Polowski was having issues with his legs, as his weight was affecting his mobility. He said he would have to stop in the mall after a certain amount of steps because his legs would start to give out. Now, his healthier lifestyle allows him to be much more active than he ever would have thought.

“It makes me feel better, I can go out and ride a bike and walk and not worry about anything,” he said.

Like Swain, the key for Polowski has been a gradual but consistent change in eating habits that has slowly made a big difference. Over three years, he has had months where he’s dropped several pounds and other months where he’s gained, but on average it’s been approximately a pound a month.

“TOPS teaches you better eating qualities. I wasn’t very disciplined, but now I go to TOPS and it’s a fellowship of people that are sharing their stories with you…everybody is there to support everybody else in their endeavours,” he said.

While he says he won’t say no to a burger or a restaurant meal when the opportunity presents itself, Polowski said he’s become a calorie counter, which he never would have imagined.

“If you would have put a whole cake in front of me, I would have eaten the whole cake,” Polowski said with a laugh. “I can still have cake, I just can’t have as much.”

As a result of their efforts, both plan to travel to Niagara Falls, NY for the organization’s International Recognition Days next summer.

–

trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden

by Trevor Redden

Prince Albert boasts Saskatchewan’s weight loss royalty for 2020

What's Trending