International Winner, Aaron Bushrow, Division 6,
First Place Teen Male

    Edwardsville, Illinois, resident Aaron Bushrow has been named
    international first place winner in division 6 of TOPS Club, Inc.
    (Take Off Pounds Sensibly).

    He earned the honor by losing 44 pounds during 1999. Bushrow was
    honored during the organization's International Recognition Days
    held on July 6-8 in San Antonio, Texas. TOPS recognizes adult
    winners in six weight divisions, based on their starting weight at
    the beginning of the year, and teen and preteen winners in their
    own separate divisions.

    Bushrow, 16, joined TOPS in eighth grade. "I would go home and eat
    a bunch of junk until I couldn't eat anymore," he says. "But when
    my parents got home to fix supper, I'd eat that too. A couple of
    months of overeating in private and my waist grew to a size forty!
    My mom told me I needed to lose weight because she couldn't find
    clothes big enough for to me to wear."
    Bushrow's mother suggested he join TOPS, the group his aunt and
    uncle attended.

    "I weighed in at 209 pounds," Aaron recalls. "I told my mom I
    really wanted to do this. When I got home that night, there was
    some leftover pizza on the table and I picked up the slice. I was
    about to take a bite when it dawned on me that I was trying to
    lose weight. I put the slice of pizza back and told myself I was
    going to prove to everybody that I could stick with this diet. My
    first week I lost 9 pounds and my mom was so proud of me," Aaron
    says. "Everybody thinks it must be pretty hard to do this at such
    a young age and I tell them that TOPS makes it easier for me. When
    I'd have a gain, I'd get encouragement to lose the weight the next
    week and that made me feel better."

    Bushrow says he lost weight 12 weeks in a row. "After I lost the
    44 pounds, everyone told me how great I looked. I always thought
    I'd couldn't do it, but TOPS showed me I could!"