BELLA VISTA -- It's really about being healthy, said Jeanne Crowley, the leader of the Saturday morning TOPS group.
For many people, being healthy means losing weight. TOPS functions as a support group for people who work on their health. The group meets at Riordan Hall at 8:30 a.m.
TOPS stands for Taking Off Pounds Sensibly. It doesn't include a specific diet. Everyone is free to find out what works for them, and Crowley said different people find that different programs work better for them.
But everyone needs to start with a doctor's approval. If they have a goal weight, it needs to be set by a doctor, she said.
Some diets are unusual, she said. For example, one member was following a plan based on her blood type which seemed very unusual, but it worked for the woman who was using it.
Occasionally, a new member will arrive with a diet plan that just seems unhealthy, but other members will often talk the newcomer out of it.
While TOPS doesn't recommend a specific plan, it does encourage habits that lead to weight loss.
"You bite it, you write it," she said, describing food journals members are encouraged to keep.
Sometimes the journals provide lessons for the entire group. On occasion, pages from the food journals are picked at random and read to the group so everyone gets a chance to comment. That stimulates some interesting conversation, she said.
TOPS is an international organization, and each member gets a magazine subscription. The magazine is helpful, Crowley said. It has tips for individuals and for groups.
"It spurs you on," she said.
Each meeting begins with a weigh-in, which can be confidential although most members are completely open about their weight. Members socialize during the time open for weigh-ins, she said. What the scale says is not the only way to measure your progress, Crowley said. She used to be a type 2 diabetic, and curing her own diabetes is a huge win for her.
After the biggest losers are celebrated, there is a business meeting, which is usually short, and most weeks there is a program. Sometimes the program is presented by people from other chapters; there is another chapter in Bella Vista.
The second chapter meets at Riordan at nine on Monday morning. People probably choose the chapter that meets their schedule, Crowley said. There's no rivalry between the two groups. She's visited the Monday meeting in the past.
No one is sure how long TOPS has been in Bella Vista. Crowley knows her group has one member who has been coming to meetings for 18 years. The program was already going strong when she began.
Many members have completed their weight loss journey but continue to attend meetings. They are called KOPS, Keeping off Pounds Sensibly.
The group is small enough that members can get to know each other. Before meetings resumed at Riordan, each member was asked if they were vaccinated against covid-19, and they all were.
"Coming in every Saturday and being accountable to that scale, that's something that keeps us coming," Crowley said.