ORWIGSBURG - For some, Thanksgiving poses a challenge.
"It's just another day to enjoy but if you overeat, you're not going to enjoy yourself," Donna Foster of Takes Off Pounds Sensibly said Monday during the group's weekly meeting in Orwigsburg. "Enjoy yourself and eat moderately."
The national nonprofit weight loss program was founded in 1948 by Esther S. Manz in Milwaukee to offer mutual encouragement to fellow dieters, according to the organization's website at www.tops.org. Weight maintenance goals are set by each member's doctor.
There are about five members of the Pennsylvania TOPS Chapter 945, which meets in the conference room at the ambulance building every Monday.
On holidays and other events that feature large amounts of food, Foster said she usually eats as if she were taste testing for a competition.
"I usually have a small saucer plate with a little bit of everything," Foster said about the holiday. "Taste it, but don't forget that your diet starts again the next day."
Advice from the group this Thanksgiving includes having a small meal before dinner, eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking a lot of water and focusing on family and friends instead of the food.
The group agreed that dessert is the biggest challenge for them on Thanksgiving.
"Sometimes, if you don't take something, you take too much of it later, so the key is to try things, just limit yourself," said the group's president, Margaret Latshaw, New Ringgold.
Latshaw said making a game out of weight loss also helps. She said one of the games the group plays is a version of baseball where each pound lost advances a base runner and a five-pound loss is a home run.
"This is keeping us going and active," Foster said.
Foster is the group's weight recorder. She said numbers are kept private and members do not know each other's weights.
Last year, the group won an award for pounds lost. Foster said they placed second in the state with an average of 17.5 pounds lost per member last year.
Doris Brignola, Schuylkill Haven, is the group's only KOP, or Kept Off Pounds Sensibly member. She has maintained her goal since 2009.
"She's our inspiration to keep going," Foster said.
Brignola credited the support of fellow members for maintaining her goal.
"I have found that since I became a member of this group, I don't eat as much as I used to or I take less," Brignola said.
She said she has given up ice cream and only eats one doughnut a year, on Fasnacht Day.
"It is a sacrifice that really means something. You want to keep fighting and it keeps you motivated. If you accomplish your goal, it really makes you feel much better," Brignola said.
Brignola said TOPS is different from other weight loss groups because membership dues are much lower at only $28 for a year.
"It's not dieting. It's changing your lifestyle," Foster said. "It's really mind over matter and having a support group really helps."
Additional weight loss tips from the group included exercising if you can, portion meals, eat leaner meat and reading labels. Each member also keeps a daily log of what they eat to pinpoint what might be causing weight gain.
People looking to join the group are invited to attend one of the group meetings for free at 5 p.m. every Monday.
"I wish more people would come in and not be ashamed. We are like a family and keep in touch and enjoy each other's company. It would be nice to have more people join."
For more information on TOPS, visit www.tops.org. For information on this local chapter or to join, call Donna Foster at 570-366-0226, Margaret Latshaw at 570-943-2722, or Sandy Zendrosky at 570-366-0762.