Giveaway Guest Post 2- Sami!

My next guest post is my girl Sami. 

She is....well amazing. 

She probably doesn't know this but she inspires me on a regular basis. 

She not only makes me want to better my running, but to remember to run for a cause. 

Last summer I completed her Virtual 5k for Running for Maggie and I met a lot of wonderful people through it. 

If you don't follow her on Instagram yet you should! (@ runsamirun1)

She is always posting things that make me want to get out there and make the day my biotch. 

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First of all, thank you so much to Candra for thinking of me and getting me involved in this giveaway! Love you girl! Also, thank you for letting me guest post for you today! 

Like many other people, I have tried and tried and tried and tried to lose weight. I would always "start" on a Monday and by the end of day, I was craving sweets and would give in. At times, I would make it two days before I caved. 

At my highest weight, 245 (yikes), I was depressed and self conscious about how I looked and what I wore. I hated everything I tried on. EVERYTHING. I never felt comfortable in anything. And I just didn't know what to do anymore. 

Easter 2013 - my highest weight. 245. 

In November 2012, I was telling my best girl and hairdresser, Amy, how much I wanted to start running. She introduced my to Natalie. We became Facebook friends, messaged back and forth and finally decided to meet for a run at 5am. We ran for about 3 weeks together before I started making excuses. Man I used to be the QUEEN of excuses. 

In January 2013, I signed up for the Rockford Half Marathon in May 2013. Unfortunately, I did not train. Didn't do anything. It wasn't until after my birthday in April, did I really decide that running was something I really wanted to take seriously. I switched from the half marathon to the 10k. I am so glad that I did, but, I was so not ready for the 10k either. You can read my recap here. It was a painful and awesome experience. 

I started asking everyone on Facebook if they wanted to go on a run with me. My friend, Kari, started running with me. I introduced her to trails and she helped me get started half marathon training. I decided that I wanted to run a half marathon and raise money for my sister's foundation...the Maggie Bertram Foundations for the Fine Arts. Maggie passed away in a tragic car accident in March 2012. You can read more about that, and, Running For Maggie here. 

I spent all last summer training. I changed the way I ate....I went from eating fast food all the time, to following recipes and cooking at home. I used Pinterest A LOT!! I had the support of my blogger buddies, my Instagram followers and my Facebook friends. I felt like I was unstoppable. 

In September of 2013, I ran the IVS Half Marathon in Peoria with Big Holly, Melanie and Laura and my uncle (cousin) Bill. I can't tell you how excited I was when those awesome ladies said they were going to come up and run with me! My first half marathon was awesome! Such a great experience. The course was crazy difficult, but I did it. I trained and ran a half marathon! It was one of the best experiences of my life. You can read about it here. 

So what advice can I give you? 

Take it slow. Unfortunately, results are not going to happen over night. Womp, womp. Have patience and have faith in your journey. 

Don't cut everything out of your diet. If you want to have an oreo....Ok. Have 1 not 5. I believe that everything can be enjoyed in moderation. 

Find something you enjoy doing. For me...it is running. For you it could be, Zumba, Yoga, lifting, whatever! Get up and get moving! Even if it is for fifteen minutes. It is fifteen minutes more than you did yesterday! 

All of our journeys are different but we all have (pretty much) the same goal......to better ourselves, have more confidence, get healthy and be more positive! 

Work hard, believe in your journey, find something you love to do and start adding some fruits and veggies into your day....you will start to see results and eventually be able to achieve your goals!

Happy Hump Day Loves!