I have them.
In a bad bad way.
I’m home now after 3 days of nothing short of pure awesomeness. I woke up yesterday a little confused. I wasn’t skyping with a friend at 5am. I wasn’t frantically trying to decide what shirt I was going to wear (“insert hug here” or “I’m a prior fat girl, what are you”). I wasn’t contemplating whether to wear my panda hat. I wasn’t thinking about who was going to be the first person in my target to hug. I wasn’t thinking about how I was finally physically surrounded by those that I’ve loved and admired since the onset of this journey only through words.
Fitbloggin 11 is over
But it’s changed my life forever.
If you’ve ever considered attending let me just leave you with one piece of advice: Get your ass there. I don’t care what it takes or what kind of fears you are overcoming, you belong there. Don’t worry about the “big names”. Don’t worry about “whether people will know me”. Don’t worry about “I haven’t lost that much weight”. Don’t worry about “no one will like me”.
Fuck all that worry shit.
Let me tell you something. I will be there in 2012. I don’t care what it takes. And when you are there and we meet for the first time I promise to look you in the eyes and say “Welcome to Fitbloggin, let’s hug!” I promise it’s going to be awesome.
Highlights
- Meeting everyone on my “must meet list”
- Adding a shit ton of people to that “must meet list” while there.
- Crying with Robby (Fatgirlvsworld) when we met
- Literally jumping on Ryan (NoMoreBacon) and having his wife (MsNoMo) approve.
- Wearing my panda hat and having everyone understand that was secret code for “Need more hugs” (though not really secret since I did tweet “If you see the girl in the panda hat, give her a hug”)
- Wine drinking with Jen and Mara (Jeninreallife / Medicinal Marzipan) and wondering if Doug found love.
- Dinner with the amazing Susan (FoodieMcBody) and knowing we’re going to be life long friends.
This picture with Jess (Toobig)
- Movie night with Cynthia (ItAllChanges)
- Hanging out with Jack (JackSh*t) early Sunday morning while waiting for shuttle
- Implementing Girl Crush with Sue (MrsFatAss)
- Meeting Colleen and Carla at the airport (TheFitBee / MizfitOnline)
- Spending time with Karen (KCLanderson) and getting the much needed nudge to do what I need to do.
- Every second from the time I arrived to the time I left…
Please tell me I’ll see you there in 2012?
Not sure how I found my way to your blog yesterday but I will be reading from now on 🙂 So you will see me at Fitbloggin 2012 🙂
I’ve really enjoyed all of your tweets, pictures and videos from Fitbloggin11. I hope I see you there next year and get to give you a great big hug!
I wish I spent more time with you. Next year!
I’ll be honest that I never read your blog until today. I had seen tweets about you and communicated very little, but new you through other blogging friends…
…The fact that I never KNEW you before Fitbloggin (via your blog) is my fault.
I believe that the reason we all connect with some of those people at Fitbloggin is cause we hear their intimate details of their lives and then meeting face to face there’s no bullshit.
“Hey, I’ve seen you with your emotional shell down, don’t try to pull that confident crap on me!” 😉
But i guess i hadn’t “seen” you until now. Until I read your incredible posts. Until I saw you with your shell down.
Added you to my reader, so that i won’t make that mistake next year 🙂
Much love.
Is there any doubt…
“Fuck all that worry shit.”
I love that so so very much! And it is beyond true! I can’t wait for next year!
Oh yes, you will see me there, even without the promise you made me about your girl parts. You hotass, you.
I’m so glad you had such an amazing experience Tara. I really would like to go to something like this but honestly? for me it’s an overseas flight, the hotel, the days off because of travel time AND the cost of the conference. I could not justify it without either winning the lottery or fundraising/ begging for the cash. Next year I may have you give out ADDITIONAL hugs from me. xx
I would feel uncomfortable unless I was near my goal weight. Being around a lot of slim, in-shape women would be unbearable. I would feel like I’d be ruining the party.
Very glad you had a great time, you deserve it!!!
Oh Rachel!!
Believe me, we’re not all “slim and in-shape” many, if not most, of us are still on this journey. I’m 260lbs (a good 100+ away from goal) and didn’t feel akward for one moment. Everyone is so welcoming and full of love. I totally understand your aprihension, because I did feel the same way.
Love to you – wherever you are on your journey!
I was there and definitely not a skinny chick. I confidently shook my azz in Zumba and walked a 5K while many ran. At first I was a little mad at myself for not being the spectacular success story from last year’s Fitbloggin but I was 20 pounds lighter and that was good enough for me!
Please go next year — it’s a blast and a half.
I totally agree with Emily and Gail. There were definitely a lot of us there who still have a long way to go on our journey. Like Emily, I’m still 100+ pounds away from my goal and no one attending FitBloggin’ made me feel uncomfortable or out of place in ANY way! Please come join us all next year. 🙂
[…] this afternoon I was going through my google reader and read this post by @DubyaWife and then this post by @tidbits_of_tara. I felt better in some ways. I felt less alone. No I didn’t go to […]
You are so emo in the very best of ways! I am glad we got a long hug in while the keynote was going on – you are a magnificent hugger. I didn’t know you before fitbloggin but read your story since I have been home and am blown away by your hard work and support for the fitbloggin community. I am glad to have met you if only very briefly.
I’ll be there next year for sure. In the few months I’ve been blogging and seriously working towards my goal of being healthy I have found so much inspiration on twitter and via blogs. I cannot wait to really meet the people who are supporting me.
Meeting you was one of my major highlights. I’ve been bumming out a lot since leaving Baltimore.. first I though (with good reason) that I was just hungover and tired, but it really was a life changing experience hanging with all of you guys.. I am so so grateful that I got the opportunity.
What a great post! I sooooo wanted to be at Fitbloggin this year and was sad it couldn’t happen. Timing. But I *will* most surely be there in 2012. I will find a way!
I think it goes without saying that I will be there next year fore sure, Tara! I have to go because to be honest, I feel kind of “left behind” in the pack that I started this journey with due to not going.
I’m ready to finally meet you in 2012! It’s been too long.
I just posted yesterday that I plan on being there next year. You, my friend, are at the top of my MUST MEET/ HUG list!!!
I can’t wait!!
<3 you Tara!! And can relate to the post-Fitbloggin blues…and to the "Fuck all that worry shit." As much as I told myself not to worry, I was worried but wasn't acknowledging it until now…
I will be there next year for sure!!
So glad you had a great time!
Ahhhhh – so much to take in – give me a minute….
OK – so I didn’t know you before and we barely crossed paths at Fitbloggin – but I’m very fond of panda hats, expletives, and tattoos – not to mention honesty – and not the kind that comes with words, but with expressions and the like. And everything about you shouts “real”.
I was struck by how the real people (behind the avatar and 140 characters) were SO MUCH LIKE I EXPECTED! How’s that for authentic?
I also loved how this event was the great equalizer – I really didn’t sense that anyone felt any better than anyone else – all shapes and sizes – all different stories – but we were all connected through our various paths towards caring for ourselves a little bit better.
Our hug was wonderful, and I have a funny suspicion that we have a lot in common…. I will read on to confirm…. Until next time – more hugs for you in the panda hat 😀
SO glad i fucked all that worry shit 🙂 You are honkin amazing! Loved our meet in the pull in parking at the hotel! Love you!
I wanted to be there so bad considering it was only 2hrs from me, but alas scheduling problems, money & only a one car family prevented me from coming. I am going to try to be there next year. I had followed you on Twitter for a while and while following you doing fitbloggin I was drawn into your excitement and warmth. A girl crush some might say LOL. You were so full of awesome and so very excited to see everyone. I wanted to be there just for one of your hugs 🙂 The photo fo you and Colleen showing your guns is one of my favorite pictures, because at the very moment I saw it I said, I am GOING to look like that one day! Thank you for that! You gave me the inspiration I needed.
I’m starting to think that @MrsNoMo is the heroine of the conference…I screamed “RYYYYYYAAAANNNN” from across the hall during hotel check-in and she never batted an eye. I jumped on him, too, but after meeting her, I’m thinking that she’s the cool one in the relationship 🙂
Lucky man. And lucky us to have met so many of our “must meet” listees!
I was worried that people were going to like me too much, but turns out that I didn’t have anything to worry about… 😉
While we hung in the same space (including sitting next to each other at breakfast on Saturday), I don’t think we ever chatted. My fault. I’m shy and retiring -which does not match that conference at all.
I shall be there if the budget and the health allows. And if there is a regional west coast one day event I shall probably be there with bells on. (maybe literally)
I think I need to start a freaking fitness blog just so I can go next year! I joined Twitter years ago because I love the idea of using it as a microblog, and that’s what I do. Hmm, I wonder if that counts?
Anyhow, so glad it was such an incredible experience for you, Tara, and everyone else! I enjoyed following vicariously through everyone’s tweets & posts.
It sounds like a blast.. but I can’t run a 5k and I don’t have a blog or anything and I’ve only lost like 55 lbs. I might look out of place …
So glad I fucked that worry shit and got my Fitblog on!
Tweeting you from the same room and then meeting you after the session was a total highlight! You give awesome hugs girl!!
I hope so.
[…] Tara and Julie, my movie buddies to escape crowds when anxiety hit. “I have a bear sandwich.” “I don’t know who is more dumb.” These are movie quotes not statements about my movie buddies. […]
So glad you were one of the first people I got to meet at FitBloggin’. I still crack up watching the video you recorded of us sitting on the couch in the lobby. I’ll definitely be back next year! 🙂
I’m sorry I never had the chance to introduce myself at Fitbloggin – we were all just running around like crazy, fit folks to slow down! Looks like we’ll just have to meet at the one in 2012 🙂