With help from TOPS, Dave lost 68 pounds in 10 months and won the title of TOPS King in BC for the most weight lost for that year.

Dave learned that to lose weight, your intake of food has to be less than the number of calories you burn in a day. That means reducing the amount of food you eat or increasing your metaolism through exercise or both. Of course, you have to pay more attention to the quality of the food you eat, otherwise eating less will affect your health.

Dave eats a good mix of carbohydrates, protein and fats each day but restricts intake of saturated fats like butter, cheeses and beef fat, and add-ons like sugars and salt.

Raw fruits and vegetables and simple whole grains are excellent. Dave suggests to choose a smaller plate size, eat slowly and stop eating as soon as you feel full, whether there is still food on your plate or not, and despite what your mother told you about always eating everything on your plate.

Dave learned from TOPS that it is better to lose a small amount of weight at a time, 10 to 20 pounds. Losing in stages lets your body rest for a period of time before you pick a new lower weight goal.

To maintain your new low weight, TOPS can calculate the number of calories you should eat each day. In Dave's case, it is 2000 calories per day but a small woman may only need 1200 calories per day to maintain her weight. In no case should anyone eat less than 1200 calories per day. When the body senses that it is starving, it may start to consume muscle and eventually bone, which can be bad news.