Group's encouragement helps local couples to lose weight

MANSFIELD - A group of teenagers were swatting a racquetball among one another as 78-year-old Rich Plodzien walked through the Mansfield YMCA toward his favorite exercise machine.

"This is a lovely atmosphere," he said, placing his feet onto the machine's pedals. "The people here are really nice."

Rich has driven from Lucas to use the facility several times a week for the past four years. The habit started in 2009, not long after his wife, Anne, suggested the couple join a weight-loss group named TOPS — Taking Off Pounds Sensibly.

It only took a few months for the combination of TOPS and the YMCA to help Rich drop 100 pounds, from 330 to 230. Anne lost 70 pounds during the same time-period.

"This community has things that people have heard about, but they don't go visit them," Rich said. "I wish more people would do this."

But one day, he confessed to Anne that the workouts were making his heart hurt. She called a doctor, and an ambulance drove him to Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, where he had a quintuple bypass.

"The doctor looked at me and said, 'You're lucky you lost all that weight,'" Rich said.

He recovered from the surgery quickly, and lost another 30 pounds within the first three months of his return home.

The Plodziens quit attending TOPS for a few years, and their old club disbanded. When Rich found himself in medical trouble again in 2015, Anne made a strong case to find a new local group to join.

"I didn't know any of these people, but my wife pushed me," Rich admitted. "She said, 'I will join, but I want you to come with me,' so I did."

Now he's glad to again be working out regularly.

There are 19 members in the Mansfield TOPS, which meets 9 a.m. every Thursday at the Richland County Community Alternative Center, 597 Park Avenue East, according to Cami Bohrer, the chapter's leader.

Cami and her husband, Jerry, joined the same day seven years ago. Rich and Jerry happen to be the only men in the group.

"When you join the club, you get a weight-loss goal from your doctor," Cami said. "It can’t be an arbitrary number."

Once they reach their goal, members transition from TOPS to KOPS, which stands for Keeping Off Pounds Sensibly.

"Some folks never reach their goal, but they say that being in TOPS helps them maintain their weight," Cami said. "You receive encouragement every week that you’re there."

Like the Plodziens, the Bohrers rely on the YMCA for the majority of their workouts — since they live in Ashland, they use the one there.

"I like to swim, so I will go in and swim," Cami said. "Jerry goes and does the treadmill and the weight machines, so there are options."

The YMCA has given Cami another set of friends in her weight-loss journey. They workout three days each week, from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

"There’s a little community in there," Cami said. "We have a group of swimmers who goes out to breakfast every week."

While the YMCA has various membership and pricing options, TOPS is straightforward: $32 a year, plus $3 a month.

"You’re allowed to attend two meetings before you have to pay the membership," Cami said. "And you get a monthly magazine from the national organization when you do join."

Every TOPS meeting features a special presentation, with topics such as how weight loss helps your hip joints, organic gardening, the psychology of losing weight and the pros and cons of eating certain foods.

Anyone interested in learning more about TOPS can call Cami at 419-289-0972.

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