One day several years ago, Dave Hemenway stood on a metal plate lying flat on the floor at a local trucking company in Smithers. Above his head was a digital display that read "280". He asked an employee "What's that?" The employee said "That's how much you weigh, Dave".

Dave was shocked. He had not kept track of his weight for years. He suffered from bad knees, shortness of breath and he vowed to do something about it there and then.

Today, Dave weighs a trim 198 pounds and is committed to keeping his weight down and his fitness up.

Dave weighed only 160 pounds in high school and never seemed to gain weight until after the age of 45 when he had a series of sit-down jobs, including operating feller-buncher in a local logging operation.

Dave didn't know how to lose weight on his own, so he joined the Smithers chapter of TOPS, which stands for "Take Off Pounds Sensibly". TOPS is a national and international non-profit organization that provides support, encouragement and education for people wanting to lose weight.

Many people try one of the many diet plans to lose weight on their own. They lose weight quickly only to gain it all back which leads to frustration. TOPS helps by insisting that members lose weight slowly, at the same rate that they gained the weight in the first place. One pound per week is a good healthy weight loss. With slow weight loss, the body has a chance to get used to a new weight and a new way of eating.