How does TOPS work?
TOPS (“Take Off Pounds Sensibly”) is an international, non-profit weight loss support group. TOPS does not advocate any particular food plan, but rather encourages members to consult their physicians for individually tailored diets. The TOPS philosophy includes weekly meetings at which members are weighed in (amounts lost or gained are publicly announced, although members’ actual weights are not announced), using food diaries to track your daily intake, awards of non-fattening gifts from other group members for the person who loses the most each week, small monetary penalties (e.g., US$0.05-0.50) for those who gain weight, etc. TOPS encourages lifetime membership to keep the pounds from creeping back on; their maintenance program is known as KOPS (“Keep Off Pounds Sensibly”). One a.s.d reader reports that TOPS membership fees are US$16/year for the first two years, US$14/year thereafter; there are also weekly fees (usually a few dollars, but this varies from chapter to chapter). TOPS’
