SUCCESS STORY / Bob Lee, 73: From 334 pounds to 194 pounds
Former weight: 334 pounds
Current weight: 194 pounds
Pounds lost: 140 pounds
Height: 6 feet
Age: 73 years
How long he kept it off: "I started TOPS Club Inc. July 15, 2015, between 6 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.," said Lee, who reached his current weight in December and has maintained it since then.
Personal life: "I am married to my wife, Jeniene, 45 years this December. I met her when she was my very first Weight Watchers lecturer — we ended up getting married. I am a retired police sergeant out of Valdosta State University. I was a corrections officer in New York state working with criminally insane inmates."
Turning point: "Food is not the only addiction I've ever had. … TOPS is not (just) a diet, it is a support group. … My wife has also lost a considerable amount of weight on TOPS; she started before me. I do most of the cooking in the house, and she asked me … if I would cook healthy for her. I continued to cook for me. I cooked two meals per day." He eventually decided to join TOPS. "All the other diets I was accountable to only go and show up. This one I have to go and show up and be accountable. … Part of recovery (from addictions) is keeping busy, too. … I have to keep my mind occupied; I have to keep it thinking straight. … It is by helping myself I help others, too."
Diet plan: "I only eat two meals per day. If I eat breakfast, I don't eat lunch," he said. Breakfast is a hard-boiled egg and a banana. If he bypasses breakfast, then lunch is a green salad with tomato and onion to which he adds tuna or chicken. Supper is often seasoned lean hamburger meat and steamed vegetables.
Exercise routine: "I do a lot of walking. If I go to Wal-Mart, I will walk around the store a couple of extra times. I keep active."
Biggest challenge: "I had to change the way I thought about food instead of it being a total necessity to gorge myself with food. … I don't want to go back to the way I did things in the past, but I bear it in mind because I did this thing before and look how that worked out."
How life has changed: "Mobility — being able to do things I could do 30 to 40 years ago. … I am doing the push mower instead of the riding mower. I've been cleaning up the yard. I've been able to do the work that I would have had to find a way to get somebody else to do it before. I can bend over and tie my shoes." On July 15, Lee was crowned international king of TOPS. "I am having a lot of fun with it. I lost the most weight for a male in 2016 internationally in TOPS. … I have to do everything I can to be an inspiration. … My favorite thing is to encourage people — oh yeah, I'll have an opportunity."
Be an inspiration: If you’ve made positive changes in your diet and/or fitness routine and are happy with the results, please share your success with us. Include your email address, a daytime phone number, and before and after photos (by mail or JPEG). Write: Success Stories, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30346-1301; or email Michelle C. Brooks, ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.
