Do you know what the hardest part of losing weight is? Well, it is GETTING STARTED! Once you get started and begin to feel better, you want to exercise more and more, and may I suggest to you your local YMCA.

My grandson kept asking me to join the YMCA so he could go and "work out." Right, I thought...his workout would consist of hanging out with his friends watching other people sweating it off. But, after a while, I gave in and went and got us both a membership. It has been a life-changing experience for me, and my grandson actually does work out on the machines, after he plays basketball, dodgeball, racquetball and pool.

I like it at the Y because there are people of all sizes and shapes - some who are just beginning and some that I just don't want to stand next to because they would make me really look bad. When you go to a gym, however, most of the people there have already been working on their bods for a while and they are toned, muscled and tan. Maybe they started at the YMCA?

On my first visit, all I did was walk a mile (9 laps) on the indoor track upstairs. Whew, that mile was a killer and I couldn't wait to get done so I could go and sit and drink some latte while my grandson did....whatever. And I did sit and drink my latte...but I couldn't keep from staring at all of those YMCA'ers who were working out on the cardio-vascular machines, sweating and looking like they were about ready to fall out, but not quitting. I have to admit, it was pretty inspiring.

That night, I dreamed that I weighed 110 pounds again, but when I stepped on the scale...well, suffice to say that 140 is NOT 110. I took that dream to be a sign that I really wanted to be that size again, so I figured I would give the YMCA another chance.

On my second trip, I walked a mile on the track, but my grandson wasn't quite ready to leave (after 15 minutes), so I walked around with a towel around my neck looking at the cardio machines, finally found a stationary bicycle open upstairs overlooking the pool. I figured I could just pedal slowly and kill some time while I was waiting on my grandson. But at our YMCA, everything is state of the art, and even that stationary bike displayed distance traveled, speed, calories burned, and it monitored my heart rate!

I was impressed.  To say the least, I was amazed at how many calories I could burn just by peddling a bicycle! I was starting to get hooked, and I could feel myself slimming down to the 110 goal.

In one day recently, my grandson and I went to the Y two times. Each time, I walked a mile around the track and rode the stationary bike 10 miles (total of 20 miles). We have gotten into the habit now, and go to the YMCA about every other day. I usually walk about two miles, work out on the stationary bicycle for 30 minutes, do the stairstepper for 15 minutes or so, then finish the session by working on the machines that tone your biceps, triceps, legs, etc. We usually stay about two hours, although I rest in between each of the sessions for about 10 minutes.

Moral of the story: I AM going to lose this ugly fat; and I am NOT going to have to cut off my head to do it. You could do it, too!  You just have to get started.