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Local woman named weight-loss queen of Ontario after dropping 111 lbs

July 17, 2025   ·   2 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Weight loss can be daunting for many people.

But what if all it took to achieve a significant weight reduction was little lifestyle changes?

Orangeville resident Christine Duncan lost 111 pounds over 20 months through the TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) program. The achievement netted her recognition as the Canada-wide organization’s weight-loss queen for Ontario.

“Mainly, it was just little changes,” Duncan said of the process.

She said she’d tried to shed the pounds in the past. But many of the other programs or theories, the practices for losing weight, aren’t fun.

“When you try to go so drastic, you don’t enjoy anything at all that you’re eating,” she said. “You go off and you gain all the weight back.”

A major incentive in the program is the accountability derived from the weekly weigh-ins, she said. It also greatly helps to have the encouragement of fellow participants in the Orangeville TOPS chapter, she said.

“I’m absolutely in love with our chapter,” she said. “There’s so many great people there.”

Change can be subtle. Now she’ll go to any one of the local eateries and order a salad. It’ll have breaded chicken strips aboard it.

“This way I’m getting a bit of a treat, but it’s still a salad,” Duncan said. “You don’t feel completely deprived and then feel like later you have to have something else because you haven’t had anything that you enjoy.”

As for advice for anybody who may be thinking of trying to lose a few pounds, perhaps for the umpteenth time, Duncan said simplicity is best. Small steps are easiest.

And it’ll happen.

“Basically, start small,” she said. “Instead of trying to look at the whole thing like, Oh my gosh I’m never going to be able to have ice cream again. Or whatever. Just find ways to make it smaller.”

Smaller portions, basically.

“You don’t have to completely eliminate stuff if you’re just more realistic,” Duncan said.

She said she’s a particular fan of the salty snacks. As with many people, the potato chip in all its flavourful glory can be a particularly alluring temptation. To the point where Duncan said she would try not to have them in her house.

Denial of accessibility ensures distance. Then again, that distance can be good for the cause, too.

“If I’m going to have it, I walk to the store to get it so I get a bit of exercise,” she said.

That way, she earns the carbs and the salty treat.

“When you have a bad morning, when you start off and eat something you shouldn’t have, then you go the day is ruined so I might as well eat what I want for the rest of the day,” she said.

Duncan offers a more helpful perspective: The next meal is your next chance to get back on track.

She isn’t finished yet, she said. Next in the transformation is for her to work on muscle tone.

“I’m already a lot different,” she said.

People have commented about the increase in her confidence as well as her appearance.

“When I first started there, I was really shy,” she said. “I would hardly say anything.”

The Orangeville TOPS Chapter is very proud of Duncan and will continue to support her weight loss journey.

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