Andrew Mazza of Austintown is now 100 pounds lighter thanks to a group called TOPS or Take Off Pounds Sensibly.
Andrew and his wife Marlene joined TOPS a year and half ago when they realized they had to lose weight.
"Oh, did I eat. You'll see from some of these pictures. I could sit down and eat a whole pizza myself," Andrew said.
"There comes a point in your life where you have to make a decision. Am I going to eat myself into the grave? Or, am I going to stay alive?," Marlene said.
The Mazza's, both 62, attend the TOPS meeting on Thursday nights at Idaho Road Alliance Church in Austintown.
"Weekly support, weekly weigh-ins," Marlene said.
Take Off Pounds Sensibly members motivate each other to lose weight.
"You do it on your own, but they cheer you on," Andrew said. "It's been wonderful. They're great people."
Most importantly though, TOPS is a lifestyle change for participants that includes portion control, limiting carbohydrates, eating more protein, drinking a lot of water and exercise. And, what the Mazza's said works best: Writing down exactly what they eat every day in a calorie chart.
"You have to be able to say I'm going to eat sensibly," Marlene said.
Andrew credits his weight loss success to the motivation of his TOPS group, his faith and of course, his wife.
"I did this for myself, for my wife. I didn't want to die. I want to stick around to be with her a little longer and at the rate I was going, I wouldn't have made it," he said.
And now he hopes to help Marlene, too.
"I've lost 20 pounds with TOPS so far, and I plan to lose quite a lot more," Marlene said.
Her goal is 100 pounds, just like her husband did.
