The Oasis Hotel and Convention Center in Springfield was a memorable place for Margo Nichols in April.

The Montgomery City woman left there with a crown on her head after achieving a big honor. She was named the 2024 TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Queen for the state of Missouri for losing 193 pounds.

For many years, Nichols struggled with her weight. But after the massive weight loss, she is feeling more confident about herself again.

“I stayed at home a lot and didn’t go out a lot because I was so embarrassed,” Nichols said. “Now I’m anxious to go out. I’m happy and I’m my real self again.”

TOPS honors royalty to women and men who officially recorded the largest weight loss from their highest weight at TOPS by the end of 2024 and reach their goal weight, regardless of the time taken to achieve their goal. It took Nichols three years to lose 193 pounds.

“In between, there were some ups and downs, but this last time, I didn’t let myself give up,” Nichols said. “I just prayed that I could continue. I still enjoy food now and then. I just got to get back with it. That’s easier said than done. These people say, ‘Oh, I already blew it this week. I’ll start again Monday.’ That’s a no-no. You start right away, no matter what day it is.”

Nichols said she lost weight by counting calories. She didn’t take any pills and go through any surgeries.

“I just swear by eating healthy and well-balanced and staying away from sugar,” Nichols said. “I’m very lucky that I don’t have diabetes or anything. My husband does, but sugar is terrible for you and I try to stay away from it. You count the calories that are going to add up. If there’s a special occasion, I would eat more and cut it down the next day. Some people don’t eat the meal before they go somewhere, then they pig out. That’s not right.”

The 69-year-old Nichols also does walking exercises.

“I used to be able to walk to only the end of my driveway and one house,” Nichols said. “I live in a subdivision. Now, I can walk two or three blocks.”

Before her massive weight loss, Nichols had an addiction to ice cream. She said she would munch on ice cream every time she visits her daughter in Texas.

“I would go there for two weeks and gain eight pounds just from eating tons of ice cream,” Nichols said. “It would take me several weeks after I got back to get off of the ice cream. It was actually like a drug or something. But I had a couple of other friends who had that same problem.”

Nichols said she became addicted to food after growing up with a family that had a very strict eating regimen.

“My mom wouldn’t let me eat because she didn’t want me to get heavy,” Nichols said. “I had to ask permission to have an apple. As soon as I got out of the house and went to college, it was like, ‘Hallelujah!’ I started eating like crazy.”

Nichols said when she started gaining weight, she tried all kinds of different programs for weight loss, but they didn’t work.

“I even went to Weight Watchers for a while and it didn’t help,” Nichols said. “I lost about 30 pounds and gained them right back.”

TOPS has been a weight-loss support and wellness education organization for almost 80 years. It has about 65,000 members and has thousands of chapters in all 50 states and Canada.

Nichols, who has been living in Montgomery County since 1980, has been a TOPS member for a long time. She said Montgomery County had a chapter before it folded.

“We finally folded because we had only five people and they couldn’t get anything out of it because they didn’t really care,” Nichols said. “We just closed up shop and I went to Mexico. They have a nice TOPS group. There are only like 16 of us and there’s room for more.”

Nichols joined the Montgomery County TOPS group in 1981. The group met in the basement of the county jail.

“They had a lot of people then, between 25-30 people,” Nichols said. It was terrible. You would walk in to go to your meeting and the criminals would be yelling out the window at you, saying weird things. Then we moved to a church.”

TOPS’ mission is to stress the importance of weight loss and overall wellness to everyone in the country, including Missouri. The state has an adult obesity rate of 35.3 percent.

“All of us affiliated with TOPS are extremely proud of our members’ weight-loss accomplishments,” TOPS President Rick Danforth said in a statement. “Through their TOPS membership, these individuals can commemorate their life-changing successes, other members, and those who have preceded them. By continuing their faithfulness to lifestyle alterations, a characteristic of TOPS’ successful formula, TOPS members employ the methods they’re offered and the support of their peers to achieve their weight loss objectives.”

Ray Brown of Fulton was crowned the TOPS king for losing 26 pounds. Both he and Nichols will be at a speaking event later this month.

“His wife was a queen two years before he was a king,” Nichols said. “That was really odd. It turned out that he was a friend of one of my neighbor’s.”

In 2024, TOPS members in Missouri lost a cumulative 9,034 pounds. Nichols said she was thrilled that she played a part in it with her 193-pound weight loss.

“It’s mindboggling,” Nichols said. “You can’t imagine it. Imagine that if you carry that weight around you everyday and how awful you’ll feel even though you’re healthy and have a lot of strength. You know how hard it is to pick up something heavy. That’s why I really couldn’t do much. I got worn out. Everything hurts. I had both of my knees replaced at one point, but that was years ago. It’s not a place I ever want to be again.”