Hi, I'm new here.

For as long as I've been around, I've had something to say. Anyone who knows me (even briefly) knows this. I am that person who has a passionate opinion on almost everything, and I'm never afraid to speak my mind, stick up for myself, or stick up for someone else. I am that person that you ask simple advice from, and you end up with an entire novel of ideas and options, and a road map to get there.

I like to run. But more than that, I want everyone to run, especially the people who don't think they can run, or think they'll hate it. Because I'm certain that running changes people, and it changes lives.

In my everyday life, I encounter people who have a general negative outlook on health, wellness and exercise. And who can blame them? It's basically our culture. We are taught that fat makes you fat. We are taught that if you eat some magic food everyday that you can see astonishing weight loss in a week. We are given poor choices dining out, and there's a huge misconception about the role exercise plays in weight loss. We are lured in by "quick" weight-loss miracles, pills, corset type wraps that make you skinny, and we are taught that health, wellness and exercise has a start date and an end date (think 10-day weight loss cleanse).

I've heard people say they are "too fat" to exercise, or that their bodies can't physically handle healthy food ("lettuce makes me weak" ----as if lettuce is all that healthy people eat). I've heard countless people say they are too busy to eat healthy or to hit the gym, that they don't have enough money to lose weight, and that only skinny people run. While there are always medical exceptions, more often than not these are just excuses from people who aren't empowered, educated, or confident enough in themselves to realize they have the ability to do whatever they set their minds on. These are often the same people who think they can't run, or think running is torture.  I'm set on changing these people's minds and give people that lightbulb moment where they finally realize that the effort is worth it, you can eat real food and still lose weight, and that running is not torture.