I have a 10-year-old daughter who is a competitive gymnast and has practice five days per week for four hours a day. Since she is not old enough to drive herself to practice, the burden is left on me to get her to and from the gym every day. I used to go shopping or meet friends for dinner four out of the five days that she practiced. I noticed myself getting larger and more out shape each time I dropped her off. One day I looked at myself and said, "That is it. Enough is enough!"

I joined Jenny Craig in September 2004 to learn how to manage and control my eating habits. Their advice on portion control really helped me. I lost 30 pounds with Jenny Craig. Then one night after dropping my daughter off at practice I drove by Quads Gym - and I stopped. I walked in and told the trainer that I had never lifted a weight in my life. I explained that I had recently lost the weight that I had wanted to lose, but I needed to tone up and get some definition. He told me I would lose even more weight, and I said, "Well, that is fine with me."

My trainer put me on a scheduled gym routine that included squats, bench presses, free weights, jump rope and 800 sit-ups. I started this routine in May 2005, and within a couple of months, I saw a dramatic change in my body and my physical strength. Now I am able to lift and move things that I used to have to wait for my brother to help me with.

I lost another 15 pounds working with a personal trainer, but I have not finished toning up and slimming down. Still, I have gone from a size 14 dress to a 4/6. The compliments and stares I get from people who have known me for years have been remarkable.

The ultimate compliment was when my trainer asked me to enter an upcoming bodybuilding contest. I have never done anything like it before. I am terrified of being onstage and having my body stared at, since most of my life I have been ashamed of it. But my trainer will not let me quit. And he reminds me by saying, "Whenever someone new comes to the gym they think you are a personal trainer." And it is true! People come up to me and ask my advice, and I say, "I am getting trained. I am not a trainer." It makes me feel really good. I never thought I would be at this point.

I have become a workout fanatic. It seems like the more I work out, the more I want to keep doing it. Not only do I go to the gym four to five days a week, but I also take a Pilates-type class five days a week, a womens boot-camp class two days a week, and I run 8 - 13 miles on the weekend. There is no stopping me now because I feel great inside and out.