Area Captain Sue Riding

5170 Dulzura Ave.

Atascadero, Ca 93422

805-466-1697

March3, 2018

Hello everyone! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

How did February 2018 go? I hope that we all used it to make a great start at our healthier life. March is a new month to be the best that we can be. Work on your Mission I’m Possible!There’s ten more months waiting for your success. Remember that impossible is only an apostrophe and a space away from I’m Possible! Our dreams and our good health are possible for us to achieve. Try to just have a net loss for the month the rest of this year no matter the amount. It will take us all closer to goal.

March is National Nutrition Month! So let us give our food intake some serious thought this month! Make an effort to include fruits and vegetables during the month and why not try having a meatless meal one or two days this month. Below is an excerpt from the TOP Wellness News that is available to everyone who signs up on the website to receive it. You will receive it twice a month.

March is National Nutrition Month®and this year's theme is, "Go Further with Food." The main focus is to make informed food choices and to develop sound eating habits. Food fuels your body all day long. Fueling your body properly has numerous benefits such as increased energy levels, ability to maintain or lose weight, reduced risk for health concerns such as heart disease, and so on. Here are some tips for fueling your body throughout the day.

5 Tips for Fueling Your Body

  • Start the day with a healthy breakfast. Try to make your breakfast as balanced as possible by adding one food from each food group. A tasty breakfast may include whole-wheat toast with a nut butter, an apple and an egg with sliced bell peppers.
  • Pack healthy snacks. Whether you are at work or out running errands, having a healthy snack on you will help keep your energy up and you feeling full. Almonds, an apple, carrot sticks and string cheese are all healthy snacks to take with you.
  • Have a balanced lunch. Every meal is important and should provide your body with good nutrition. Try to make your lunch half fruits and vegetables.
  • Be sure to fuel your body before exercise. Your body will function better if you provide it with fuel to burn before you're getting active.
  • Whatever you do, don't skip a meal! Feeding your body throughout the day will allow it to perform to the best of its ability.
  • TOPS current theme for 2018 is “TOPS isa Life Saver”. Your Life is Worth Saving! Save it in 2018. I am including this in all of my Newsletters because it is so important for our health!

Happy 70th Birthday to TOPS! On January 21st, 2018 TOPS turned 70 years old. TOPS would like for everyone to “Go Back to Basic’s”. Take a look at what is working for you and for your chapter and look at what is not working. Is change needed? Think about it and decide what changes need to be made. Chapter board meetings are a good place to discuss any changes that might be needed for your chapter. Please checkout the new February/March issue of the TOPS News for ideas.

Did any Chapter do the above? Send me an email if you did.Did you talk about making some changes? Remember just because you have always done things one way does not mean that you have to continue it forever! Change is refreshing.

What contests and themes can you think up for our 70th year? Please give this some thought! We can share at workshop.

I wish to welcomethe following new members to our TOPS family! Congratulations to the following chapters:

1-30-2018Kathryn LamereCA 2110

2-5-2018Muriel RaabeCA 0379

2-5-2018Marcia PuriCA 0379

2-7-2018Ginger JohnsonCA 2110

2-12-2018Helen WillerCA 2428

2-15-2018Christine MasonCA 2428

2-15-2018Lora BrighamCA 2428

2-28-2018Rosie ArmstongCA 0786

3-1-2018Maria LoaizaCA 2428

I apologize to Kathryn Lamere for misspelling her last name in my previous Newsletter.

It is important for our membership to grow. With new members we also get new enthusiasm! This is the perfect time to get your chapter’s information out to the public. It is a time that most people are thinking about how to make 2018 better than the previous year. We can help. The date shown for new members is the date that the new members were entered at headquarters. The actual joiningdate may be different.

Congratulations to the following new and reinstated KOPS members:

Louise MooreReinstatedCA 2110

Ginger JohnsonNew KOPSCA 2110

Helen Smallis New KOPSCA 0500

KOPS is the highest honor that can be achieved in TOPS! It is something that we all should strive to attain. I want to receive morenotices for new KOPS and for reinstated KOPS from Headquarters. Please feel free to obtain your KOPS status anytime! Remember the registrations areFREE! Please include the KOPS registration form, the original goal slip and a copy of the members current weight chart. (Keep a copy of the goal slip with your chapter records.) Come on,be a KOPS!It will be a perfect fit!

Let’s celebrate this wonderful organization by adding KOPS to our chapters! Your health and well-being are certainly worth expending the effort needed in 2018.

CA2468 Nipomois off to a good start, they recorded a no-gain meeting on February 6, 2018! The rest of us should start working on a no-gain meeting for 2018! I would still love to report that all my chapters were able to have at least one this year.

My form for ano-gain meetingcan still be foundon thewhywelovetops.comwebsite. Go to the website, click on California,scroll down to Franki’s area then click on my photo,click on the No Gain Meeting form. You may print it from there.As alwaysno-gain meetings are for fun! Never ever stay home from your chapter meeting because you might have a gain. Your chapter will be there for you, your fellow members want to helpin your journey to good health.The no gain meeting form counts TOPS member’s weights only. However, if all of your KOPS had a loss too, let me know! That is amazing! Happy losing everyone!

Below are some itemsof interest toyour chapter.

  1. Smart Goals for 2018

Have you set your Smart Goals for your chapter and for yourself? Start the New Year off with attainable goals. Remember that “Smart” stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Smart goals can be for any amount of time. A week, a month or whatever you choose. Review your goals at the end of the time period that you selected and celebrate your success or adjust the goal if need be.

  1. Publicity Volunteers

I am still calling forpublicity volunteers! I need members to volunteer! It is very simply placing TOPS information in public places in your own community. There is a video on the TOPS web site that will explain it to you. You will receive supplies directly from Headquarters. Let me know if this is something you would enjoy doing for your chapter and for TOPS. Come on fellow members, this is not difficult. I certainly would appreciate all the volunteers that I can get. If you are already doing this and wish to continue, please let me know.

4 Weigh-ins

Please be sure that all members who are weighing in at your chapter are doing so privately. That means where the scale is not easily visible. This is important to many of our current members and it might be especially important to all those New Members that you are going to sign up in 2018.

  1. 2018 Rally Days

We will be celebrating TOPS 70th Birthday at rally this year. More information will be posted when Rally sites are confirmed.

It has been decided that we will not have a Rally T-Shirt for sale at the 2018 Rallies. Instead we are asking for all members who would like a T-Shirt to order the TOPS Anniversary shirt from TOPS Headquarters. The shirts are available in Men’s and Women’s style and are only $16.00! If you order as a group and theorder totals $40.00 or more, the shipping is only $5.00. I have purchased one and they are very nice.

  1. Workshop

The next workshop will take place on May 19, 2018. The location will beat the Sunnyhills Mobile Community Clubhouse, 1650 East Clark Ave., Santa Maria. Thank you for volunteering your facility for our meeting! Please mark the date on your calendar. Don’t forget to bring a $10.00 gift per chapter for our drawing. There will be more on this workshop in my next Newsletter

SRD 2018

TOPS World of Success SRD will be held in the Visalia Convention Center June 8th & 9th 2018. Mark your calendars to save the dates! The 2018 SRD packet has been sent to your chapter Leader. Please pay attention to all deadlines for participation. You may also find the SRD information and forms on whywelovetops.com at the top of the California page.

It is already March so make sure that you are talking about attending SRD! If you are planning to attend, you should make your room reservations immediately as I understand that the 2 queen bed rooms are almost gone already!

Please share this Newsletter with your chapter.

Please note. I will be out of state beginning March 8th through March 24th and therefore unavailable for contact for most of the month. If you have a problem that cannot wait for my return, you may contact Franki for help. However, if it can wait for me, please do so. Part of my trip will be attending a TOPS retreat in Arizona! It is a good place to recharge and be motivated! You should try it one of these days.

As always feel free to contact me with any questions you might have regarding TOPS.You may phone oremail me and I will get back to you as soon as possible. My contact information is at the top of the Newsletter.

TOPS Hugs,Sue

A goal should scare you a little, & excite you A LOT.

Joe Vitale

I am now required to add the following to all my Newsletters.

"This information is designed for educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for personal medical attention, diagnosis or treatment.If you are concerned about your health, please consult your licensed healthcare professional."