Willis Logan weighed 12 1/2 pounds at birth. He had always been big and, at one point, tipped the scales at more than 400 pounds.
But at age 62, Logan, who has been minister at Woodlawn Church of Christ since 1979, was on blood pressure pills and diabetes pills. He had trouble breathing and sleeping. His doctor told him then, if he didn”t lose some weight, he eventually would lose his ability to walk.
“After hearing that, finding a way to lose the weight became a priority for me,” Logan wrote in a letter detailing his journey from 364 pounds to 250 pounds.
His four children were worried about him, as well, since his battle with weight had been a yo-yo, at best.
“In my lifetime, I have lost a lot of weight, and I would put it right back on,” said Logan, now 67.
This time, 114 pounds lighter and with the support of the Caledonia chapter of Take off Pounds Sensibly, Logan has kept the weight off. Logan was named the 2010 Mississippi king for TOPS and was recognized for his achievements over the summer during a Nova Scotia cruise.
“What”s good is not the losing, but the keeping it off, and I credit that to TOPS,” Logan said, looking over a 60-inch pair of suit pants.
Today, Logan has a 47-inch waist and has given away most of his old suits. He held onto one, as a reminder of the size he never wants to be again.
“What keeps it off is going in every week and weighing in, because (if not) it”ll sneak back up on you,” said Willis Logan”s wife, Tonyaa, a retired mail carrier.
“It”s not a program which sells you anything. It”s strictly peer pressure and willingness to lose the weight,” said Harold Howton, leader of the Caledonia group for the past three years.
TOPS members weigh in once a week, and the results are periodically sent to the national organization.
“There is no way to fool the scales, so I knew I had to really watch my food intake and exercise hard to get my weight off,” Willis Logan wrote in his letter. “Changes in my diet and exercise gradually became a part of my daily life.”
TOPS members also have to tell the group whether they have lost or gained weight and how much.
“That gives you a great incentive to go on and do what you ought to do,” Howton said.
Howton and his wife, Virginia, joined TOPS about seven years ago and were named the king and queen for their chapter the same year.
“We wanted to lose weight. We were overweight,” Harold Howton said.
Tonyaa Logan joined TOPS to encourage her husband. She lost 47 pounds, going from 192 pounds to 145.
“I feel a lot better, too,” she said.
The Logans eat healthier — less bread and more green vegetables — and exercise.
“We do a lot of walking. That”s something we didn”t do before,” Tonyaa Logan said.
In January 2010, Willis Logan”s doctor took him off his blood-pressure and diabetes medication.
Willis and Tonyaa Logan both have moved over to the KOPS — Keep Off Pounds Sensibly — club.
“Once you reach your goal, you have a 10-pound spread, three above your goal and up to seven below,” Harold Howton explained.
Soon, Willis Logan will join the Century Club, TOPS members who have lost more than 100 pounds and kept it off. He lost most of his weight in 2009.
The Caledonia TOPS club currently meets at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Caledonia Church of Christ on Main Street. There are four chapters in Lowndes County. For more information about the Caledonia club, call Harold Howton at 662-325-4666 or co-leader Willis Logan at 662-356-6629.
To find a TOPS club near you, visit www.tops.org.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.