Yelm resident Grant Mason recalls over 100-pound weight loss journey in local TOPS group

Yelm resident Grant Mason, 60, has called Yelm home for 14-years now, and thanks to the local Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) weight-loss group, has plenty of great years ahead of him after losing over 100 pounds throughout his recent weight loss journey.

Mason told the Nisqually Valley News on Tuesday, Sept. 8, that between two-and-a-half years and three-years ago, he was stress eating to cope with the death of his mother. He noted, at the time, his step dad belonged to the local Yelm chapter of the weight loss group TOPS.

“The most I can remember seeing on the scale was 273 pounds, but I could’ve weighed more than that,” Mason said. “I was getting too high in my weight and my mom wouldn’t have liked that. I got with my step dad and told him I needed help. So, I asked if I could join him at a meeting at TOPS.”

Mason noted he joined his step dad for his first ever TOPS meeting during the group’s Christmas celebration potluck dinner — which coincided with its December monthly meeting. He’s been attending the Yelm TOPS group meetings for nearly three years since, and claimed the group has been very supportive and very encouraging toward his weight loss goal throughout his time there.

“I lost a total of 88 pounds to get to my goal weight, but I’ve lost more than that. I received the century award for losing over 100 pounds,” Mason said. “I was walking a lot. I was walking either six, eight, 10 or 12 miles each day. It just depended on the weather, but most of the time it was eight to 10 miles each day.”

Since meeting his weight loss goal, Mason said he’s been walking two-or-so miles each day to maintain his weight loss progress. He also pointed toward a dietary change of simply eating healthier foods, like fruits, nuts and seeds, as a contributor to his weight loss.

“It was easy to add that stuff into my diet,” Mason said. “As I lost weight, I would cut something out that I didn’t need to eat like the nutri-grain bars. I cut those out. I didn’t need to be eating that. Once I started losing weight again, I’d cut something else out like Poptarts.”

Mason added that the changes to his diet weren’t difficult because he wouldn’t make all of the changes at once, but rather in a slower, more methodical fashion. He added that he had the mindset that he didn’t need to be eating those foods anymore for the betterment of his own health.

Now, Mason finds himself eating a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats for breakfast, six crackers for lunch and six crackers for dinner. He’s also sure to drink down a bottle of Boost with each meal of the day.

Due to his successful weight loss journey, Mason was also named the TOPS Washington King recently.

“I reached the goal and based on what happened last year, there was a recognition day. They call it SID, and I was there with my TOPS school,” Mason said. “The person who became king for Washington state previously only lost 21 pounds. With the amount of weight I had to lose to get to my goal weight, my step-dad said there’s a good chance that I could become king. I kind of knew that it might happen.”

He also believes that he “got lucky” with his weight loss journey, noting that some people can have a rather difficult time losing weight while trying hard to.

“I got lucky. I didn’t really suffer a plateau in my weight loss,” Mason said. “Once that hospital stay happened, that nullified the plateau because I just don’t eat that much and I lose weight. I just lose a little bit a week,” Mason said. “The TOPS group has been very supportive. I’m of the Yelm, Washington chapter 9933. They have been very supportive and helpful and encouraging toward me.”