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STERLING HEIGHTS — It is good to be queen. And for Sterling Heights resident Mary Daniels, it is even better to be queen while being over 130 pounds lighter.
Daniels, 64, has lost 138 pounds via the TOPS Club Inc. program. TOPS, which stands for Take Off Pounds Sensibly, is a nonprofit weight-loss organization that advocates lifestyle changes beyond mere dieting.
Daniels’ success in losing so much weight meant that she became the 2022 TOPS Michigan Queen. She fondly recalled the experience, which took place this past May in Port Huron.
“It meant a lot to me. They were really encouraging to me, and my daughter was with me, and she took pictures,” Daniels said. “I got flowers, roses that were artificial, but they were really pretty. It looked like a real bouquet of flowers. I got a sash; I still have it.”
But before Daniels earned the crown, she had to gather the conviction and tools to lose weight. She said she started the TOPS program at around 280 pounds.
“I have an illness and have been on medication that caused me to gain a bunch of weight,” she explained. “I got so big that I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
At one point, Daniels had considered undergoing bariatric surgery. But upon her doctor’s advice, she decided instead to try the TOPS program, starting in 2010, she said.
Daniels discussed how TOPS helped her.
“They’re very encouraging,” she said. “I made a lot of friends right away.”
Daniels said she lost around 50 pounds via the TOPS program at first, though depression caused her to gain back over 70 pounds at one point, bringing her to her highest weight at 304 pounds.
She said she considered surgery once more, but ended up deciding to instead stick with her TOPS program. She said she then started hitting her goals. She first reached 170 pounds, and then after the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, she hit a key milestone of 160. She continued to hit her next goal of 145, and now she is aiming for 135, she said.
Daniels discussed the role food played in her transformation. She said that while she used to eat “a lot of junk food,” she learned to like salads and fresh vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, as well as fish and chicken.
“Now I’m getting off the frozen meals,” she said. “I feel less depressed right now.”
Exercise also plays a role, and Daniels said she regularly walks around the court on her street. She said she started out taking one lap around and then gradually increased the duration.
“It got up to seven times around my court,” she said.
Daniels recommended that anyone else who wants to lose weight join a TOPS group.
“They always take a picture of the new people when they started, and then they take pictures when they get to their goal,” she said. “And that really helps. That’s how I got a handle on my weight and started losing. I carried around excess weight for so long.”
Rick Danforth, the president of the TOPS Club Inc., commented on Daniels’ feat.
“With her success and other members’ across the United States and Canada, they act like our own walking billboard,” Danforth said. “They show folks that we are very successful in helping our members lose weight and get a healthier lifestyle.”
Learn more about TOPS Club Inc. by visiting tops.org.
