International King for 1999
Paul Figucia

Clockwise from above:  Paul Figucia after losing 143.5 lbs. (Wow!)
Paul and International Queen, Susan Schnell reign over the TOPS July 2000 International Recognition Days in San Antonio, TX.  Paul has his official "before" photos taken by his TOPS chapter.  What a difference!  King Paul and Queen Susan greet TOPS members, and acknowledge the enthusiastic standing ovation by thousands.

                                                                Paul's Story
         Twenty-seven year old Billerica, Massachusetts, resident Paul Figucia has been named international king of TOPS Club, Inc. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly).  He earned the honor by losing 143 ½ pounds to his goal weight, over a 53 week time period.. Figucia was crowned during the organization's International Recognition Days held on July 6-8 in San Antonio, Texas.

        "I've been overweight my whole life, but the turning point came one afternoon when I was playing with my daughter on the floor," Figucia says.   "I remember my back hurting and I had trouble getting up.  I looked at my wife and said 'I really need to get this weight off, not just for me but for you and our little girl.  I want to be around to see her graduate from college and get married."

         Paul had heard about TOPS in a chat room on the Internet, and joined a local chapter.  He averaged 2.7 lbs per week in weight loss, and only had about 3 gains in the 53 weeks of losing.  Paul said, "I started riding my old stationary exercise bike "like a maniac" 2-4 hours a day, and drank 1-2 gallons of water a day, eating about 2,000 calories.  Some days I would take an hour walk so I didn't have to ride the bike as long.  The exercising became addictive once I began losing weight." he adds. "The months passed and the pounds kept coming off.  I was amazed at how easy it was if you just put a little effort into it.  I pressured myself to lose the weight each week and failure was not an option.  If I had a bad day or week, I pushed even harder."

        Now that he is at his goal weight, he is working even harder to maintain. "Every overweight person has to realize that when you are 100 lbs overwieght, you can eat a lot more and maintain, than the person who is 100 lbs less than you are.  That's the hard part for me.  I like to eat a lot still, but there is no way that I'm ever going back to the person I was for the first 25 years of my life.  I was unhappy about my weight and lived a sheltered life because of it."  Paul said he has maintained so far by "staying smart in what I eat, exercising and drinking a gallon of water a day.  I'm not delusional to think I may never gain a few lbs again in life, but I know I'll never let myself go like I did ever again. Ever!!"

        Many male members of TOPS have joined because their wives were first members.  Paul's wife is not a member of TOPS, but, according to Paul, she has been extremely supportive of his efforts.  "I owe tons of thanks to her.  It's hard to deal with me riding the bike so much and being such a pain about eating certain foods, but it's just a part of our lives now and she works out a lot now as well."

       "Many people don't even recognize me any more.  It's a great feeling when someone you haven't seen in a year sees you and their jaw drops to the floor."  Paul admits.  Women who have lost weight often appreciate the joy of clothes shopping.  Paul agrees that "buying clothes now is so much more fun, and easier, but basically everything I do in life is so much more fun and easier.  Playing with my daughter is the best now. I know in my heart that I've finally done the right thing for myself.  I plan on being around for my family for a long time to come."          email Paul Figucia!    TOPSLink home

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