Required workouts are held Tuesday and Thursday evenings beginning at 6:30. They generally last two hours. The program ends Nov. 22.

More than a dozen people have participated in rounds one and two, and everyone says it’s changed their lives for the better. In my case, it was transformational. Even though I only lost 26 pounds in the spring session, instead of my 50-pound goal, that’s 26 pounds! Plus I gained muscle, became stronger, learned a lot about exercising and equipment and made more than a dozen lifelong friends. They are the Take It Offers, my new family.

While the overall goal is weight loss, we all found out that the biggest gain is the group itself, the camaraderie and support. In addition to starting the Lake Placid Diet, participating in the Take It Off class was the best thing I’ve done for myself this year to lose weight.

I know there are people in the Tri-Lakes Region who need to lose a lot of weight because they’re spiraling out of control and their health is failing or in jeopardy of failing. Doctors may have been hounding them for years to lose weight. The truth is, they’re never going to do it unless they make it a priority. It is a lot of hard work. Exercising regularly to lose the weight, and changing your lifestyle and eating behavior, is like taking on a second job. It takes a lot of time. But it’s worth it.

If you need to lose a lot of weight, please know that I was in your shoes for most of my life, until last December, when I launched the Lake Placid Diet. I weighed 470 pounds.

To quote myself in the first column of this series, “If I fail, this may be one of the most stupid things I’ve ever done. If I succeed, it may just save my life.” Eight months later, it looks as though it’s saving my life. I’m down 81 pounds as of this week.

I still have a lot of weight to lose. Heck, I’ll probably be the heaviest person again in the Take It Off group. But that’s OK. Someday I won’t be the heaviest, the largest or the slowest. Someday I’ll be able to do burpees and regular pushups like most everyone else. I know I’ll get there because I’m not giving up.

As we motivate ourselves to exercise, and to push past the pain, we cite mantras. The best thing I say to myself, and it started with day one, is, “No more excuses.” That’s what you have to tell yourself if you’re ever going to change. If you need the Take It Off program, sign up.

No more excuses.

For more information, contact Jason McComber at 518-523-4127.

Fitness Revolution is located at 1991 Saranac Ave. in Lake Placid, behind Simply Gourmet.