We interviewed Roger Wright for this episode of TalkJogRun. Roger lost 113 pounds in 10 months time. He is known for his inspiring video on YouTube that shows his journey to the Boston Marathon.

Roger decided to lose weight, run a marathon, and raise money for cystic fibrosis. He not only completed the Boston Marathon, but many more marathons since that time. He currently runs for the Boomer Esiason Foundation, to raise money for cystic fibrosis.

Roger's story is extremely inspiring. In this podcast, he shares his journey with us and all the ups and downs that came with it.

How has Roger's story inspired you?

It's a new year and for many of us that means getting out there and accomplishing new fitness goals. I love social media and I find that it can really help inspire you to meet your goals. I've created a list with my favorite apps, Facebook pages, and Twitter handles and how they relate to fitness, nutrition, and inspiration. Be sure to buy (if applicable), like, or follow them and start on your way to better health and fitness.

Facebook

Fitness

AskCoachJenny: Coach Jenny's life revolves around helping runners reach their goals. Jenny answers questions daily ranging from running your first 5K, to getting the best tips on injury prevention. She is also the creator of the WalkJogRun Training Plans, now available for free on the site. Coach Jenny's Facebook page is great because you can look at questions and answers from other runners as well.

Nutrition

Best Recipes: I like this page because it is a lot like the WalkJogRun Facebook page. The Best Recipes page owners post recipes, as well as facts about different foods that are in season. I like reading occasional news articles related to food and recipes. Best Recipes also has a big fan base, so you can connect with them to inquire about recipes, or ask about one you are looking for.

Inspiration

Runner's World Magazine: I love reading about everything related to running. Runner's World Magazine is definitely a Facebook page to "Like" if you want the latest content related to the running world. They always post interesting things and it always happens to relate to me. If I have some knee pain one day, I'm surprised when I see there is a new post about what to do for knee pain.

Twitter

Fitness

@AshleyBorden: Ashley has over 20 years experience as a fitness trainer. We love seeing her blunt updates telling us to get off our butts and get out there to work out! She gave us a ton of tips in 2011 on fitness and nutrition that you can view here. If you follow Ashley on Twitter, you are sure to get some good fitness tips throughout the year.

Nutrition

@EatThisNotThat: Eat This, Not That finds the outrageous calorie counts in foods you would never expect. For example, I recently learned that a serving of Pasta Roni Fettuccine Alfredo has the sodium of 4 medium orders of McDonald's french fries! All of these tweets are very valuable information. They will definitely help you from unknowingly messing up your diet plans. These tweets are also very useful in learning which foods to avoid!

Inspiration

@RunningQuotes: Running Quotes is great because the quotes can motivate you to get off the couch, and out to run. New quotes are posted everyday and there's always new ones. I love that they simply post quotes. It's very inspirational to spend a few minutes reading the new quotes on their Twitter page. Their description is very simple as, "Quotes to keep you running," and their page is exactly that.

Apps

Fitness

WalkJogRun: Come on, people. Did you really think we wouldn't include ourselves in this list? ;-). The WalkJogRun app is perfect for helping you reach your fitness goals. The app has 23 professionally developed training plans, and the ability to view routes where you are. If you're going on vacation, or looking for a new place to run, the WalkJogRun app is perfect for you! I am currently working through the Beginner Run Marathon Program. I'm only on week two, but my training is going well. Even though the marathon I'm training for will be my third, this beginner plan fits in very nicely with my schedule. I love being able to see my plan right from the app, and set the dates there as well.

Nutrition

Whole Foods Recipes: Most of us have a budget when it comes to maintaining our health and fitness. What I love about the Whole Foods app, is they have a ton of recipes for you to try. It's a great money saving tool because they have a section called, "On Hand," where you can add the foods and ingredients you already have. The app will then show you a recipe based on those things, so you don't end up buying a million things at the store. This is definitely a benefit for those on a budget!

Inspiration

MyFitnessPal: I used this app for two months in the past and it helped me to lose about seven pounds of college weight I was carrying around. Most of us don't realize how quickly calories add up. I would definitely recommend this app for calorie counting. I need to start using the app again, as much as I hate counting calories! The one part I hate about counting calories is having to measure my food exactly. In order for the calories from MyFitnessPal to be accurate, you need to measure everything down to the spread of butter you put on your toast. It's tedious, but it definitely helps with weight loss. There are similar apps out there including Daily Burn, and Lose It!

For this episode of TalkJogRun, we interviewed Amanda Arlauskas of The Biggest Loser Season 8. Amanda talks about her experience on The Biggest Loser and how it has changed her life. She gives us advice on fitness, health, and nutrition. Amanda explains why the marathon is not the race for her, even though she finished the distance on the show.

Greg Bruno wouldn't have believed you if you told him he would be running a marathon a year ago. His father, an avid marathon runner, called him from the Chicago Marathon expo in 2010 and told Greg he was going to run the Chicago Marathon in 2011. Greg had only just started doing a few P90X workouts and running a mile here and there after deciding he wanted to get in shape. He had never competed in any type of race before in his life.

He knew running would help get him in shape since his father has run over 28 marathons. Greg signed up to run with CARA and began following their training plan created by Hal Higdon. He was excited to begin marathon training because it was something his father did. Greg stuck to his training plan and completed his first half-marathon in April. He had a slight IT band injury at week 13, and needed to walk through many of his runs for about a week. He still got out there and completed the distance.

On October 09, 2011, Greg passed the finish line at the Chicago Marathon. Once a man who never did any type of exercise, he now plans on running two marathons a year.

Greg's favorite moment of his entire weight loss and marathon-training journey was hugging his father at the end of the marathon. Greg said, ''Giving him a hug was better than getting a medal. It meant a lot to be able to do the race together.''

I asked Greg how he stayed motivated to keep up with his runs and weight loss. He said, ''The best motivation I had was myself. I found a bad picture of myself and put it on my phone. If I ever needed motivation I looked at it and knew I had to keep going. Your main motivator is yourself.''

Since 2010 Greg has lost over 80 pounds and is now a marathon runner. When I asked Greg what caused such a dramatic weight loss, he said, ''I didn't change a whole lot of my overall lifestyle. I just watched what I ate. I didn't drink any soda or eat anywhere that had a drive through. Those things [along] with the running really helped.''

Greg has some great motivation for new runners, ''Even though every step is difficult at first, it gets easier and those steps get less and less difficult. If you set little goals, you can finish them.'' He shared his favorite quote with me, ''There will come a day when you can no longer do this, and today is not that day.'' This quote has been quite a motivator for him as well.

How do you stay motivated with fitness and exercise? We'd love to hear your tips!

Many of us have been fitness addicts for years. However, for Niall Young of Derby, England, fitness was not always something that made the top of the to-do list. Many of us have different aspects of life holding us back from living a healthy lifestyle. Whether that is a full-time job, lack of motivation, or simply not knowing where to get started.

I first heard of Niall's weight loss accomplishments on our Twitter feed. He always tags us when speaking of workouts he planned to complete each day. Niall elected to start working out after a few close friends experienced health problems. At forty-nine years old, he promised to get in the best shape of his life before his 50th birthday. He began exercising and eating a more sensible diet. Niall has just over a month to go before turning 50, and his before and after pictures show he has kept the promise he made himself! Niall has lost a total of 42 pounds since starting his fitness journey in May.

Niall did not become a seasoned runner overnight. He started his fitness journey by walking a little each day. After one week of walking, he began power walking. His walking fitness went from just two miles a day to up to seven in a little over a month. By July he was able to start jogging. He now runs four to four and a half miles five evenings a week. It is amazing to see the way Niall started off with no base, and is now working towards a five mile run.

Niall tracks his daily running routes on WalkJogRun, extending the distance weekly by about half a mile. He believes tracking his training on WalkJogRun has really helped with his fitness goals.

Niall says, "WalkJogRun.net has helped [me] immensely...I have used a pedometer which is not as accurate when switching between running and power walking. I often get varying results for the same route. So WJR gives me accurate mileage and route planning without the need to run with a pedometer."

Niall's story proves that becoming a runner is a goal anyone can achieve. Niall is a testimony to the fact that not everyone starts running to work towards a race goal. Niall decided to start a get fit campaign for his own fitness and to gain the benefits that come from better health. Those who don't know where to start on their weight-loss journey can start with a small goal of a 5K or one mile run. These are small goals to keep your running and motivated towards your weight-loss goal. The WalkJogRun app features many training plans to provide a detailed outline of where to start. What's holding you back from reaching your own fitness goals today?

Congratulations to Niall on his weight-loss and fitness goals! We are excited to see what's in store for him in the future of his health and fitness! Has anyone else experienced weight-loss from starting an exercise regime? We'd love to hear about it!