The holiday season is almost here. For me it starts on Halloween, which means with all the bite-sized chocolate bars and candy corn readily available, holiday pounds have packed their bags and are just waiting to move into my already crowded self.

But there may be a way to cancel their travel plans.

Meet Vicky Spencer, 58, a TOPS – Take Off Pounds Sensibly – leader.

“My girlfriend next door and I decided we needed some support [in losing weight],” she said of her decision to join TOPS. “It’s not a diet. It’s a change in the way you live.”

TOPS, a weight-loss support group founded in 1948 by Esther Manz and three friends hoping to help each other with the battle of the bulge, has grown to international status.

TOPS members choose an eating plan on their own that best suits their individual needs. Weekly meetings feature private, confidential weigh-ins, a roll call announcing a member’s loss or gain – actual weights never are revealed – and a program for the evening, anything from playing a game to having an outside speaker to simply sharing among members. There is a $20 sign-up fee, and weekly dues are $1 or $2, depending on the chapter. Meetings generally last 30 to 45 minutes.

“You just have to walk into a meeting knowing you need some support and need to lose weight, or want to maintain weight,” said Spencer. There is no other requirement.

While Spencer hasn’t lost a lot of weight, she no longer is gaining 10 pounds a year as she did before joining the program.

“I can’t imagine how much I would weigh now if it weren’t for TOPS,” she said. “We are a support group. That’s why we are there – to lose weight and to maintain weight.”

Betty Joy, 70, who joined TOPS a little more than two years ago, agrees.

“My friends were there and they thought it would be a good idea for me to go,” she said. “I just love the people and the camaraderie. And I like the fact that there’s hope. I’d like to be slimmer, but I haven’t given up hope. I have seen people become KOPS [members who reach their goal weights become part of Keep Pounds Off Sensibly]. I know it can be done.”

As important as working on the pounds, Joy has gained something invaluable from the program.

“I feel it’s supportive to me, and I feel I give something to the young people that go,” she said. “They seem to like talking to me because I’m older. That makes me feel good about me.”

For Sonja Bernier, 74, the scales are a powerful motivator.

“It’s the discipline of getting on scales somewhere else than home,” she said with a laugh. “And I like TOPS because it is informal and it’s cheap. And we don’t push anything on you, and there’s no grumbling if you put on weight.” Bernier has lost 20 pounds and is at goal but will continue to attend meetings to face the scale.

“It’s one of the easiest programs I’ve ever seen because there’s no pressure,” she said.

To find a TOPS meeting near you, check the Support Groups section of The Weekly.

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I think Petula Clark said it best: “When you’re alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go – Downtown.” She was right.

Freeses Assisted Living, a senior housing complex in downtown Bangor and a program of Eastern Agency on Aging, currently has openings. If you or someone you love would enjoy living in a private apartment while having 24-hour assistance available at the touch of a button, call EAA and ask for Deb Poulton. Housekeeping, three meals a day and other services are provided by caring, friendly staff.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information on EAA, call 941-2865 or visit www.eaa.org.