She is a Hmong-American from Saint Paul, Minnesota, the eldest daughter of refugee parents. She is a proud public speaker, the host of Your Winning Journey Podcast with over 13,000+ downloads, and has a combined social media following of 40,000+ on Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube.
Prior to her being a full-time weight loss coach in 2021, Samantha worked in the information technology industry with a bachelor's and master's degree in Management of Information Systems and minor in Marketing. However, in pursuit of her passion, she redirected her skills of breaking down technical complex processes to simplifying exercise and nutrition for women of color.
Sam was pressured to conform to Westernized standards of healthy and avoided Hmong food for a long time as Asian foods were seen "unhealthy" to lose weight in mass media.
She stripped her cultural identity to eat the American diet only to find that it wasn't sustainable. It didn't allow her to eat her momma's cooking without guilt.
After healing her relationship with food, her mission is to voice the cultural differences in the weight loss industry to empower women of color (WOC) to reclaim control over their bodies, encourage them to embrace foods from their cultural backgrounds without shame.
As a health advocate for her community, Samantha has accrued over 1000+ coaching hours, guiding numerous clients to transform their relationship with food rooted in their culture, boost confidence, reduce stress, and enhance their overall well-being by improving blood work during their annual physical exams.
Sam struggled with body dysmorphia after years of body shaming from family members. She had a hard time understanding what she really looked like in the mirror. Her weight loss journey was driven by achieving her "dream" body like getting abs, showing hip bones and having thigh gap to prove to others SHE CAN LOSE WEIGHT and LOOK BETTER.
While pursuing these physical goals, Sam spent 3 years hardcore dieting eating 1200 calories a day. She's done keto, intermittent fasting, whole 30, military diet, took weight loss pills, use stomach wraps, count calories/macros and drank skinny tea.
Along the way, Sam achieved her "dream" body but she didn't like how she got there. It was unsustainable thinking about food 24/7. It all felt restricting to the point where Sam had to step away from the body and food obsession because she was no longer able to lose more weight since it was unhealthy for her health.
In late 2015-2018, Sam realized that in order to lift more, she had to eat more. Although she was still restricting, this was the first time Sam saw food as energy/fuel instead of calories in/out, which helped her heal her relationship with food and exercise.
With strength training, she stopped labeling food as "good" or "bad", and gave herself permission to eat what she wanted without feeling guilty. She stopped tracking calories and practiced mindful eating. Sam eventually went on and lost body fat with strength training. She became more confident in her skin and detached from the scale. After years of lifting, she was able to walk away from dieting for good because she saw that dieting ISN'T required to lose weight. It is all about listening to your body and honoring your health.
"Without my long dieting journey, I don't think I would've appreciated my body this much. I always know exactly what it needs. Working out doesn't feel like a chore, but a self-care. Feeding myself feels amazing because I am not thinking about calories and I am confident in the amount I eat without pulling up MyFitnessPal.
I've come to realize that our weight loss journey is allowed to evolve with us as we go through different life transitions, interests and schedules. That's why when we work together in 6 months 1:1 coaching, your weight loss plan is always evolving with your life changes.
Today, you can find me strength training at the gym, running 10Ks and Half-Marathons, and taking fitness classes while enjoying Beef Pho and Mangonada drinks. Choosing to stop dieting, restricting and starving myself changed my life and now I help dozens of women do it." - Sam
Find your eating archetype to help you be in control of food again and get back on track without counting calories, restricting or starving yourself.
Take up space in the gym because you BELONG there. You will leave stronger than you were after a 60-minute group class with Coach Sam and other women of color in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Say bye to gym intimidation and meet your body where it's and see it transform.
Be supported every step of the way to lose 20 pounds and keep it off with weekly mindset coaching, customized nutrition and workout plan made for your body and schedule. This time your weight loss plan evolves with your life. No cookie cutter BS that works only when you're home.
Diet Culture Rules Doesn't Work for Women Of Color
What To Do When It Taste SO GOOD
Why You Don't Follow Through With Losing Weight
The Exact Steps To Lose 20 Pounds This Year
You don't need another diet, you can trust your body. This podcast is dedicated to help women of color like you win in your weight loss journey for once. Coach Sam teaches you how to make losing weight a lifestyle without stripping your cultural identity
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