This is the story of inspiration. Of hope. Of perpetual youth. Of perseverance. All the good stuff. Gift-wrapped for all of us.

As a nun.

This is the story of Sister Mercedes. What's left of her, anyway.

Sister Mercedes has been a member of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church in Baltic for the last 52 years. She is 71 years young. She is sweet and kind and owns a magnetic demeanor that runs like a current throughout the room.

And in the last two years, Sister Mercedes has lost 102 pounds. That's correct. One-hundred, two pounds.

Sister said she began the odyssey at 272 pounds, Nov. 3, 2009. She was barely able to walk through the door at another place for salvation in her life, Thin's In in Waterford, a hip, weight-loss enclave that has contributed to payloads of fat loss all over the region.

Sister Mercedes, on the maintenance program and still attending classes with Thin's In staffers Dianne Rubin and Tracy Wiseman, is at 170 pounds, walking 40 minutes per day - up to 20 minutes at a time on the treadmill, habit and all.

"The hardest part was the first three days," Sister said one day last week. "I used to eat potato chips, grinders, drink soda ... Then all of a sudden I was weighing everything, measuring everything and drinking all that water. But I kept it up. I fooled 'em all."

It began when Dr. Sandeep Varma at Backus Hospital delivered the news that unless Sister lost weight, she would be dead in a year. She had arthritis that would require morphine. And so Nancy Podurgiel, wife of the late Dr. Bernard Podurgiel, who had been Sister's doctor for many years, recommended Thin's In.

"Tracy and Dianne guided me," Sister said. "I followed it 150 percent. I didn't cheat. Thin's In is the greatest place to improve your overall health. The staff is exceptional. And my peers were encouraging."

Sister's days begin at 4 a.m. There are several bouts with teaching at the learning center. And now there's exercise twice a day.

"When I started, the only thing I could do was get up from my desk every hour and walk one minute at a time," she said. "I couldn't lift my leg to get on a treadmill."

Now there's no stopping her.

"She'd call me at 7 a.m.," Rubin said. "'I didn't wake you, did I?' She's a great example that if the reason you want to lose the weight is more important than eating something, you stick to it."

Sister Mercedes is also a fitting illustration for perhaps Rubin's most valuable advice: "forgive thyself."

"A lot of times, if someone eats something that's not legal, they (continue to) eat because they just ate," Rubin said. "You've got to let go of that thinking."

Or just think about Sister Mercedes.

This is the opinion of Mike DiMauro.