Hope for those who battle their weight

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A western New York woman is sending a message of hope to anyone battling a weight problem. This amazing story shows perseverance truly pays off.

Pia Kovacsi was just on the Dr. Oz show. She's one of a hundred people who lost one hundred pounds or more. Pia had been greatly overweight most of her life and tried to lose weight many times.

Pia said, "Diet pills in the sixties, the more recent ones that I had done were Phen-Fen, and I had done Optifast, but that isn't living in the real world."

She once weighed 412 pounds, and like the others on Dr. Oz's show, she needed to find a method that worked. She joind a chapter of Tops called Taking Off Pounds Sensibly.

"I was the biggest person who had ever walked into that chapter. It was hard, but I knew I needed to do something and I couldn't do it alone," said Pia.

She lost weight gradually, over three years, and has kept it off for two years.

Pia said, "I wasn't worried about appearance, but just trying to improve my health [and] blood pressure. I've been off blood pressure medication now for three years. I was on it for 33 years."

She also used to be a diabetic, but last August, after her 60th birthday, her physician took her off insulin.

Pia feels like she has a new life, especially because she can move. She's still not entirely used to it.

"And there'll be a time when I'll go by a mirror and I'll think, "Who is this person?" And it's like, "Oh my gosh, that's me!" I wasn't succeeding for years, but there still was that bit of hope that it would come together and I think the biggest thing for me is for people to keep hope alive in themselves."

And she wants to help. If you or someone you know needs to lose a lot of weight, join Pia at a meeting of T.O.P.S this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Northwest Buffalo Community Center. You can visit this website tops.org or call 834-4642 or 839-4554.