Betty Uber once joked that she felt like she was born 150 pounds. From the time she was a student at Denver’s West High School, a contentious relationship with the scale seemed to be part of life. After the birth of her three children , Uber thought it was unlikely she would ever be a healthy weight again.
Article by Joe Rubino
But she didn’t give up. In her late 40s, she committed to conquering the scale. And that’s exactly what she did, demonstrating her perseverance by finally achieving an ambitious, long-standing personal weight loss goal at the age of 90.
Uber joined a local chapter of the nonprofit, weight-loss support networkTOPS Club, Inc. — or Taking Off Pounds Sensibly — in 1972 at the suggestion of a friend who was already participating. Weighing an unhealthy 244 pounds at the time, Uber and her doctor set her loss target at 102 pounds. In September 2015, after more than 43 years of weekly TOPS weigh-ins and support meetings, triumphs and setbacks, Uber hit her mark, weighing in at 142 pounds.
Uber died on Oct. 8 at the age of 91. She is survived by her children, Ginny Matthes (Bob Pitz), Gail Barnes and Donald W. Uber; a brother, Robert Kemerling, sister, Linda Astuccio, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
She spoke with YourHub in September in the Littleton-area home she has lived in since the 1960s, just weeks before dying peacefully there among her family, according to Matthes.
“I feel much better without all that weight. I’ve dealt with a weight problem practically all my life,” Uber said in the interview, remembering back to when she was invited to her first TOPS meeting. “I said ‘It’s not going to do any good,’ and my husband laughed and said, ‘You’ve tried every diet there is, you may as well try that too.’ ”
Her first year as a TOPS member, Uber, then the mother of three adult children, lost 77 pounds. She said she took to the organization in part because it was affordable. Annual membership now is $32. Each local chapter charges its own dues. For Uber’s club, dues were $3 a month.
She said she also liked that meeting lessons focused on portion control and healthy life choices over gimmicks and that the organization relied on camaraderie to help participants.
“What worked for me is that we go to the meetings every week and we talk about how we lost weight each week. How (each member) lost their weight, what they ate, what they did. And we also talk about if you didn’t lose weight, what you did,” Uber said. “I think over the years, I missed maybe a half a dozen meetings. I always know I have to face that scale on Wednesday.”
It wasn’t all success. Uber did have weeks in which she gained weight. When her family was fighting and she was under stress and after her husband died, for instance. But she kept tracking her calories and going to meetings.
She credited one of her daughters and son-in-law moving in with her eight years ago for helping her finally shed the last few pounds to reach her goal. Her daughter, Ginny Matthes, took over much of the cooking; preparing fresh foods and healthy, balanced meals with lots of fish, vegetables, and fruit. Uber also had a kidney removed after a bout with cancer in 2006, making her more mindful of the sodium in her diet.
“It’s very motivating for her friends at TOPS,” Matthes said of her mom. “Even though she wasn’t always successful along the way she kept coming back to it because of the people in TOPS. The group we so motivating.”
Uber was presented with a crown at TOPS Colorado recognition day in June, signifying her status as state “queen” for the year. She also received a “century medallion” last month, an award for those who lose more than 100 pounds and keep it off longer than a year.
“She was a very outgoing, very motivational woman. She was always there to lend a hand and help others,” said Janet Rae Laes, TOPS Colorado state coordinator said of Uber. She added Uber’s lesson to others is, “It can be done.”
Laes said there are more than 1,500 TOPS members in the state. Colorado was ranked the leanest state in the country in 2015, but state health statistics indicate nearly 3 in 5 adults are considered overweight or obese.
For those struggling with their weight, Uber had one message: “Everybody has to figure out their own diet. There is no set diet for all people. You have to set in your mind that you’re going to do it. If you gain this week, you start over on your diet again the next day.”
Read more at: denverpost.com
