As part of Capella's Healthy Living initiative, O'Neal Hampton, a contestant from Season 9 of The Biggest Loser, came to speak on site. Aside from walking away with a brand new Biggest Loser cookbook, I walked away more inspired than ever. Here are some of his great points:

"Nothing tastes as good as health feels."
He showed a clip of a temptation challenge from his season-he was stuck in a room with junk food and tempted to eat some. He initially took some fries, but told himself it wasn't worth it and walked away. When asked about that moment at the event today, that quote was his response. I need to remember that next time I want to shove Taco Bell in my face.

"Everyone needs a lion in their lives."
He had an interesting analogy. He started by saying that, if a lion and tiger were fighting for the same meat, the tiger would win. Pit 10 tigers against 4 lions, the lions would come out on top. That's because tigers go into it as individuals, but lions work together for the end goal. Basically, he's saying that everyone needs a support system in this weight loss journey. Find yours.

"Don't let the past creep into the present and manipulate your future."
You shouldn't let your past mistakes ruin your future success. Don't look in the metaphorical rearview mirror to what you did wrong in the past. Rather, look out over the dashboard to all the possibilities in the future. Sure it's corny, but he's totally right. It's never too late to start making smarter choices.

Find your eternal happiness.
If being healthy brings you ultimate happiness, you should do what you can to achieve it.

O'Neal started his own foundation to give back to Minnesota and his community. I recommend everyone take a look at his site, because he truly is so inspiring!
Hampton Wellness Foundation