The Fat Camp Chronicles

July 23, 2009 2:30 pm     Posted in Body, Reality  Amanda - Reed g+ page

fat camp


By Amanda

All my life, I’ve been heavy. When I was younger I was ridiculed and bullied constantly about my weight problem, so I was always fairly depressed. Sure, I ate a lot (…of pastries), but my eating never warranted the amount of weight I would actually gain. It was strange – I went to camp one summer and came back 30 pounds heavier even though I barely ate the slop I was served the two months I was away.

At my heaviest (which was in eighth grade), I weighed 230 pounds. I had been to a fat farm (fat camp, weight loss summer program, what have you) for two weeks before entering my last year of middle school but I had gained everything I lost back. My parents and I realized it was time for more drastic action, and with that I was enrolled at Camp Pocono Trails for eight weeks.

The entire experience was beyond difficult. I hate physical activity (hence my choice of college, known for less than athletic students), and here we were forced to exercise all day and eat absurdly small portions of food (although there was unlimited salad and jello, which was of no comfort to myself, who hates both). I’m not going to get started on everything that happened there or my feelings about the institution (in one word: hellhole), but it served its purpose: I lost 30 pounds that summer. Miraculously and unlike most of my fellow campers, I was able to keep off the weight after I left camp.

A year or so later, after I came back from a summer program in Spain, my mother noticed my hair was noticeably short and thought I had been cutting it while I was gone. I hadn’t been doing so at all, especially since I look like crap with short hair, and this was when we knew I had a serious problem. The fact that my hair was falling out was not normal. I started seeing a specialist in New York City who specializes in female hormonal issues and he diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. It’s a hormonal disorder that was causing my hair loss and less noticeable things as well, such as the darkening of skin in my armpits (a symptom of insulin resistance), the concentration of fat to my stomach, my insane weight gain and my extreme difficulty with weight loss.

When I started all my meds I began to lose tons of weight by doing absolutely nothing and continuing to eat the same crap I did before, and it was amazing! I started getting attention from guys for the first time in my life and I felt GREAT. But, like all good things, it had to come to an end. So this year I finally started gaining weight again.

Because I will be starting college in the fall I figured heading back to fat camp would be a great way to get in shape and feel better about myself. So, on Sunday I will be attending a new weight loss camp in Upstate New York that has a program specifically directed for young women ages 18-24. Because I plan to be fairly candid in my upcoming posts about my experiences there, I will not use its name. I want to share my laughter, my tears, my extreme pangs of hunger and my cravings for Popeyes (don’t hate, it’s delightful) with all of you guys.

As my departure for camp approaches, do any of you CC readers have advice for me? Words of wisdom? Weight loss secrets? Share ‘em!

18 Comments on "The Fat Camp Chronicles"

  1. Casey says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 20099:47 am 

    I don't really have any advice, but I do wish you good luck! And I think it's great that you're going to be taking action against your weight gain. I also wanted to thank you for posting about your disease because I have the same problem with my armpits which I didn't even realize was abnormal, but recently I have started to notice all of the weird problems that I have could be signs of diabetes and the fact that you mentioned the insulin issue involved with the darkening of the skin gives me one more thing to talk to my doctor about when I go on Friday.

    But good luck with camp! I hope you reach all of your goals.

  2. Leigh says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 200910:33 am 

    I feel for you! I really hope you get to where you wanna be. :)

    The only advice I can give you is… lots of fruit and vegetables, small portions, lots of water, no fast food and fizzy drink crap, and a lot of cardio exercise (treadmill, skipping, swimming, pilates,. I guess you probably knew all that already, but I just wanted to say, since they all contributed toward when I lost about 30 pounds in ninth grade. Good luck! :)

  3. Jenny says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 200910:51 am 

    Best of luck to you! My best advice is to make sure you don't overexert yourself while exercising or limit yourself while eating, as it might lead to unhealthy habits which can contribute to a possible eating disorder. I know that sounds very extreme, but it's happened to me and a few friends I know, and I worry that others may end up on that path as well. Just stay healthy and motivated, and you'll lose that weight for sure! :)

    By the way, I share your love of Popeyes. ;) IT'S SO GOOD <3

  4. maggie says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 200910:51 am 

    i just want to say good luck and good for you! it's great that you want to take care of yourself and feel good about yourself. i don't have any tips, since you already know how difficult it is, except stick with it! i'm sure it will be a little easier with all the support around you, so i hope you get to where you want to be :)

    can't wait to hear the updates!

  5. Tammy says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 200910:53 am 

    I have this syndrome, and my mom does too.

    In the 7th grade, I gained A LOT of weight and shortly after, I stopped having periods, for three years. Needless to say, it freaked me out, and I'd lied to my doctors about it. I finally told one of them, and they about had a heart attack.

    I'm soooo glad i read this article.

    I'm attending college in the fall, I've looked everywhere for fat camps that took those over 17 and I couldn't find any!

    Thanks, though! This article hits home.

    :)

  6. jennifer says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 200911:07 am 

    I would love to go to a camp to lose weight, but the "fat camp" stigma is too much. I'd be mortified if anyone in my social circle found out!

  7. Christina says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 200911:14 am 

    Thanks for posting about this. I haven't been in similar situations before but it must take a lot of courage to openly write about this, considering the stigma that fat camps (going off of an article i read a while back in some magazine) and in general being overweight has. Thanks for sharing.

  8. Rachel says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 200911:17 am 

    I JUST came back from the exact place you're going (99% sure based on the info you wrote about it) and it's really great. I was only there for a short period of time but I lost 8 pounds. The food is definitely small and there's no "unlimited foods" except for water here. But the workouts are hard and the people are extremely welcoming. I made some friends I'll stay in contact with. Overall, it's a good program and I can't wait to read your posts on it. Good luck!!!

  9. Erin says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 200911:52 am 

    I hope you loose some weight, but in all seriousness I hope that you also come to love your larger body. As an adult with ADHD, my major problem, because i can no longer afford my own medication and no longer take it, is eating, I do it when i'm bored, when I'm not hungry and when ever I have a feeling to. I have gained back the 35 pounds I lost running, while on my meds, I almost got fired from a job till I had to confess to having this disorder from shame and not wanting to lose my job, and every day when I look in the mirror I see the 185 pound body I saw ten years ago when I was in middle school. But I bought new clothes and realized that I'm luck, and someday when I can afford it I will go back on the meds and be hot and skinny again. Till then I will love my curvy body. I hope that you can come to love your body to since it was made fairly clear in your article you will always big larger unless you are on those meds you took. I think it's time you get a make over and start loving your body, but losing a little weight won't hurt either.

  10. Stevani says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 200912:16 pm 

    Good luck! Even though you hate physical activity I hope you find something you enjoy :D

  11. Robero says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 20094:38 pm 

    when you get back, hit up that coke zero and sushi, killer combo, and low on the calories

  12. sarah says:
    Thu, 23rd Jul 20098:27 pm 

    hey, i was just diagnosed with PCOS too and i was wondering, which medication were you taking?

  13. Broken says:
    Fri, 24th Jul 20096:15 am 

    I just don't like he term "fat camp". "Weight loss retreat" sounds better doesn't it? I don't have too many weight issues myself but I struggle with other things suck as bipolar disorder. I don't know how I would feel about a place using the most derogatory term possible.

    It would be like this "Welcome to the colleagues of mental illness awareness camp! Even going we're gonna pigeon hole you but hey, at least we got cheese n crackers!"

    However I am glad that these programs work for you. Being healthy is paramount and improving your appearance can be a major confidence booster.

    It's pretty brave to talk about this, especially considering we live in an age in which people are diluted into believing appearance is everything.

    We all cannot help having personal preferences but there is a difference between moderation and excess.

  14. beth says:
    Fri, 24th Jul 20098:05 pm 

    Thanks for sharing! I look forward to reading your future posts. Best of luck to you girl!

  15. Heather says:
    Fri, 24th Jul 200911:01 pm 

    Wish you luck! definitly looking forward to future articles!

  16. horizontalgirl says:
    Mon, 27th Jul 200910:57 pm 

    hey.. I totally wish you luck! my only advice is drink water by the horse trough and realize that if the weight doesn’t come off immediately don’t give up! We live in such an overly material world thats based sooo much on looks.. its ridiculous, but what really matters are the bigger things in life.. you are young, we all are.. we are all still learning to live.. you have a long time to grow and develop into the person who you will be most comfortable with.. I know it sounds dumb and totally cliche, but just trust me. I’ve been your age and unhappy with my looks.. I’m 21 now and life has changed a million percent since I first started college..I LOVE IT! Guys in college are bigger dicks (and wish they had them), and girls are bigger bitches than they were in highschool, but that also means that its because there are more fish out there and that there will be more people to accept you for you and however you look.. the kind of people who have friends for the way they look don’t really have friends.. I’ve learned that the hard way.. and in college your personality and self confidence are what make you or break you.. Some of the prettiest girls in my sorority go unnoticed because guys get tired of their shit. They have the looks but nothing else. They are attractive in the beginning, but after the dazzle drown out, not even beer goggles can fix these girls.. Its really not about what you look like and as you get older you realize that.. The guys that care only about looks only care about looks so much because they aren’t capable of wanting anything more. We all get fat and ugly.. Take a look at the dirty old men who whistle and flirt.. Those are the guys who were so damned shallow they never found anyone.. They drink and move from girl to girl and before they know it, life is.. well.. life is fat.. just like the girls they didn’t want.. what goes around comes around.. I don’t know if that makes sense (I’ve had one to few mimosas tonight).. but hopefully it does.. please just realize that you ARE a pretty person.. it just takes the right kind of people to see that.. the ones who can’t aren’t worth your time. When you look for beauty you will always find it. (ex.. the smile on the faces of children in Africa; they are poor as dirt but they have such beauty in their smiles) People who are too shallow to see beauty are those who are truly lacking it themselves.. .

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