Fat 2 Fit #69 – Take Off Pounds Sensibly
Written on July 8, 2009 – 12:00 pm | by Russ Turley
Have you heard of a program called “Take off Pounds Sensibly“? Its been around for more than 60 years and has more than 10,000 chapters worldwide. Most likely, you have a chapter right where you live.
TOPS is a nonprofit, non-commercial weight-loss support organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, with chapters located worldwide. Its two-fold objective is to encourage healthy lifestyles through weight-management support groups and to sponsor obesity research. Russ checked out a local chapter in Long Beach and went to a meeting to find out what it is all about.
In our email and comments section, Markus wrote in to say that 2 Doctors and a Nutritionist have told him not to eat smaller, more frequent meals. Tracey told us about Shirataki Noodles and Yam Noodles which are extremely low in calories, and that our listeners might be interested in giving them a try. Teresa gave us some inspiration and let us know about some other effects of alcohol that we didn’t mention on an earlier show.
In the Web Report section, Jeff found a New York Times article which discusses why certain foods are truly addictive for people. If you are looking for a great full body workout without any equipment, Russ found a site which will lead your through a full body-weight workout complete with video tutorials.
Links Mentioned in the Show:
Take Off Pounds Sensibly
What are Shirataki Noodles?
More Shirataki Noodle/Yam Noodle info
How the Food Makers Captured our Brains (NY Times)
No Weight/Body Weight Workout
Recipe of the Week:
Healthy Chocolate Blueberry Oatmeal (From listener Anna)
I start by cooking my old fashioned oats in boiling water in a pan. I add in a healthy portion of frozen blueberries. As they thaw, I also add in wheat bran (lots of fiber, very cheap and has few calories), ground flaxseed, and some soy protein powder. Now for the special ingredient! Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa powder. A tablespoon of this only has 5 calories and tons of great flavor – a bonus is all of the flavanol antioxidants. After I’ve mixed everything in, I serve in a bowl with a scoop of low-fat yogurt on top.
Homework:
We all have to admit that there are foods that we are addicted to that are bad for us. Its really not your fault because the food industry has created them to have that perfect combination of fat, sugar and salt. There are certain foods that I never buy because I know that I cannot stop myself from eating the entire package or bag. The homework this week is that if you have any of these foods in your home right now that are tempting you, throw them out and don’t allow them back in your home. If you save them for later, they will never be any more healthy for you or any less addictive than they are now. Don’t let an engineered food product undo all of your hard work.
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7 Responses to “Fat 2 Fit #69 – Take Off Pounds Sensibly”
By Cheryle on Jul 8, 2009 | Reply
Hi guys,
I have been listening to your podcasts off and on for a few months and LOVE them! Keep up the great work, they are extremely motivating.
BTW, you might want to listen to the very end of your episode #69 podcast … right after the music ends. Was that intentional?
By Jamie on Jul 10, 2009 | Reply
I attended TOPS about 30 years ago and lost 70 pounds. I kept it off for about 20 years. My weight is now out of control and I am trying to get control! I wanted to thank you for your podcast as it has been motovational and informative. Actually I have been thinking about joining TOPS again and was suprised to see it as the topic of this podcast. It was very helpful to me back then and I found myself reciting the TOPS pledge along with you!
The group I belonged to consisted of a group of women that were going to the same meeting every week for many years and I felt (as did Russ)that it was more of a social club for them as many were the same weight when they joined. On the plus side, I think it was helpful for them to keep from gaining any more weight! The thing I liked best was that it was basically a support group where you could share and gain knowledge about this battle of weight! You did not have to buy their special food or go on a special plan.
Thanks for this week’s topic….I think I’ll jump over to the TOPS website and check it out. I will keep you posted on it…comparing then and now.
Thanks again,
Jamie
By Becc on Jul 11, 2009 | Reply
Hello from all the way down under (aka Australia). Just wanted to say that i am totally addicted to your podcast. I have all the episodes permanently loaded on my ipod. Your sensible advice has kept me going through some very hard times. Thanks and keep the advise and inspiration coming.
By Emma on Jul 11, 2009 | Reply
I had also belonged to TOPS for a couple of years, about 10 years ago. And a friend belonged about 30 years ago. I told her of my experience, and she said it hadn’t changed, mostly being a social group for the regulars. Well, she went back 2 years ago, and she said it’s better, that the group she’s in does some exercise at the start of the meeting.
I did notice that the pledge had changed. The last line used to be “How foolish I have been,” which I always found rather insulting. The lifers told us about how, in the beginning, they would put pink plastic pigs in the front yard of whoever gained the most weight that week, and they had to leave them on the lawn the entire week. Shame seemed to be their method, which is sad, even if it worked. Many of the regulars finally lost weight due to some medication they were taking. Overall, I didn’t find the group inspiring for weight loss.
On the plus side, the magazine, which is included with your membership, is entirely inspiring. Compared to the Weight Watchers magazine, with all their junk food ads, I love the TOPS one. It’s full of success stories. The magazine alone is worth the price of membership.
Also, TOPS costs about a tenth of what Weight Watchers costs, and WW doesn’t include the magazine. With Weight Watchers, you get a paid cheerleader and staff. TOPS is run by volunteers, like most small clubs, so the quality of the meetings depends on who they can get to volunteer and how much time and effort they can devote to it. Anyone can start a chapter, but they have to have enough members and volunteers for that, not to mention a low-cost meeting place.
For those who like a support group, if TOPS or WW works for you, then it’s worth every bit of money, time, and effort you put into it. Too often, in both groups, after awhile I would hear, “at least I’m not gaining,” which isn’t really the goal, but more of a surrender to your old habits and limited thinking. If that’s the new focus and you aren’t even close to your goal weight, then I’d say it’s just become a social group for you.
Sorry, I went on kind of long! Thanks to both of you for the great podcast, and congratulations on getting to your high school weight, Russ. Now THAT’s inspiring. We want photos!!
By Debbie on Jul 12, 2009 | Reply
On a different note, I went out and bought shirataki noodles. The texture is a slight bit more rubbery than traditional pasta, but they truly have no taste at all. The funny thing is that I had this notion that I was depriving myself of pasta all this time, but I found I really just wanted my green veggie with the meal!
By terry on Jul 23, 2009 | Reply
I couldn’t help think about your mantra of “living like a thin person” when I camped for 5 nights at a walk-in campground. Almost everyone I saw there was thin, and it was great to think about all the calories I burned just going to the outhouse, let alone all the way back to the car! And these are in addition to the hiking, tide-pooling and beach play.
For a variety of reasons I’ve found myself out of shape and overweight. I’ve been working on it and this trip felt really good. Makes me want to go camping at a walk-in site more often!
Thanks for your podcast. You do a wonderful job!