If you missed my first FitBloggin’ recap, find it here. The second installment of my recap is here. This is my final recap for the conference. For those who are wondering what the hell FitBloggin’ is, it’s a conference for health and fitness bloggers. It was this past weekend in Baltimore, and was ridiculously amazing.
Day 2 started soooo early after only getting about 3 hours of sleep the night before. My alarm didn't go off, so at 7:53am, I jumped out of bed and ran to the first session which I liveblogged: Branding: Not Just For the Big Dogs presented by @kwidrick and @jessruns. I'm a brand marketer by trade, so I enjoyed the session very much. There were a lot of action items included, which I always appreciate. What good are big ideas without ways to execute?!
For the courtesy of the other FitBloggin' attendees, I ran off to get a quick shower before going to the 10:45am session: Ditch the Diet: Eat Intuitively (link to recap). This was a panel featuring some of my favorites: Karen C.L. Anderson, Katie Heddleston, Christie Inge and Shauna Reid.
As a former binge eater/food addict, eating intuitively is so interesting to me, as evidenced by the tweets that came from the session:
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Next up was lunch, featuring products from WP Rawl and Tasteful Selections. I must find the recipe for that salad we had that day. It was ridiculously good. The little potatoes were great also!
After lunch, I headed to a session on SEO for Fitness Bloggers led by @nomeatathlete. Some stuff I knew, but some was new, and Matt presented it in an easy-to-understand manner that I know many appreciated! The liveblog recap of the session is here.
Next was a session on Blogger Responsibility, something I was interested in because I don't want to ever mislead or misguide anyone who reads my blog with incorrect fitness or eating information. I also get a few emails that I'm not sure how to responsibly respond to while not getting over-involved (such as ones about eating disorders). The great panel consisted of@carrotsncake @mizfitonline and @lisajohnson. Here is the liveblog recap of the session.
Finally, the last session was the keynote by Dr. Fitness and the Fat Guy, where they discussed how they got their radio show, interview great people, and got a book deal using social media. They reminded me of Click and Clack from Car Talk, LOL.
After the sessions were over, we got dressed and went to dinner. Little Italy in Baltimore is so cute:
After eating the most AMAZING baked gnocchi ever, we headed back to the hotel where an impromptu meet up with wine was held, and then a small pool party. After that the rest of the night was spent in the hotel bar, admiring people who had come from The Preakness earlier in the day, as well as the firefighters/HAZMAT conference workers who were still around that weekend. Of course most importantly, we savored every last minute we had together (so much so that I only got 30 minutes of sleep before having to get up to catch my airport shuttle the next morning).
Yes, the content was fantastic. Yes, the food was great. But the people? I cannot adequately express my complete adoration of this community. We were all different shapes, sizes, fitness levels and blogging expertise, but we were all the same. Same struggles and emotions. It was like being wrapped in a warm hug all weekend where there was no judgement, no fear of being alone, no isolation. I met amazing friends for life. If you didn't experience this and think I'm going a little overboard with my description, I beg you to attend next year to see what I mean.
When I got on the airplane for the flight home, I sat next to someone who seemed grossed out by me. I sat there for nearly 2 hours completely forgetting that place from which I had just come – where I was accepted completely with faults and all. As we started to descend for landing, I finally realized that I need to accept myself as I am – flaws AND accomplishments – and not let others outside judgements dictate my emotions.
Here are a few more photos of my new friends. Totally didn't get enough pictures with everyone.
Disclosure: My FitBloggin' experience was sponsored by ENELL, maker of performance apparel for well-endowed women. While ENELL is my FitBloggin’ sponsor, all gushy outpourings of love I give to their products is solely a representation of my own opinions. ENELL is a maker of performance apparel for well-endowed women, and was recently featured on Oprah for the second time. Follow ENELL on Facebook, Twitter, or their blog. I endorse Blog With Integrity.
