Every summer, until I was 14, I would beg my parents to send me to sleepaway camp. I would promise I wouldn’t call home and told them I could handle being in the woods for a couple of weeks. And every summer I got the same answer, no. So I did what any other pre-teen would do, hung out at the mall, hit up the beach, and watched movies that made me feel like I was at summer camp.

Now before I go on, I should tell you I finally got my experience at sleepaway camp, I worked as a Unit Leader for an entire summer at a girl scout camp in Virgina. And can I just say, what a rip off! Besides having the exact cabins as Parent Trap (we almost put one of the counselors furniture on the roof just because) it was NOTHING like the movies. So if you missed out, don’t worry…you didn’t miss much.

Still, every time I see camp rock (my sister’s 12, she watches it..I just happen to be in the same room), or any other crazy camp movie I can’t help but wish I was 10 again so I could have my very own camp adventure.  So, since it’s almost that time of year again, here are 6 movies that made me want to go to camp:

"Just smile through the pain. Smile. Through. The. Pain."

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it here another two weeks. I may kill myself. Or someone else.

I say this because yesterday I was forced to do a mini-triathalon. I’m not sure if I’ve ever endured greater agony than what I just experienced. Alright, that’s sort of an overstatement, but it really was incredibly effing hard. I could use a nap right about now. Until next Tuesday.

Since my last post (and weigh-in) I’ve lost at least 7 pounds. A couple nights ago I looked at a picture taken of me the night before I came here and one taken the other day and I saw really exciting results. I’ve definitely halved myself (at least in the stomach area).

Other discoveries since this last weigh-in: Read More »

Having now survived a full week of fat camp, I think I can safely say that I probably have never worked as hard in my life as I have since I got here. I’m incredibly out of shape (which adds to the difficulty), and it’s been a big change for me. It’s been a good change, however; I needed to get out of my comfort zone.

Prior to this, my comfort zone entailed usually half-heartedly participating in team sports and eating bad food. Here I cannot and do not get to do either of these things. The biggest issue for me has probably been waking up early to do a three mile walk each morning. Considering that, if left alone, I can sleep until 8 PM, getting up to do such an activity is a big thing for me.

I’ve really learned how to let myself go a little however, which I definitely needed to do. All my life, I have had no athletic ability and try to hide it at any cost. But for the first time, I now play sports such as soccer and basketball with enthusiasm (meaning I actually run instead of walk), which makes me feel great. I’m forcing myself to take full advantage of this experience (except for when I did a boxing class, taught by a former bodybuilder, and broke down and cried in the middle) and my body is constantly reminding me of that by keeping me sore all the time .

But it’s good sore, right?

Read More »

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. Read More »

Yes, season 4 of the Simple Life will stoop to a new low: Putting Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie in the role of counselors at a fat camp. Just imagine how they will be shape the health ideals of youngsters.

Page Six reports, “The E! series isn’t calling it a “fat camp” – reps for the show say it’s a “wellness camp focused on eating right, yoga, nutrition and exercise.” If the producers of this show think that Paris and Nicole strutting around in tiny shorts are going to make the fat campers want to do anything but go vomit and use illegal substances to shed some weight, they are severely mistaken.

I have to admit that it’s a brilliant marketing ploy by the creators of the show because nothing could be more ironic than these two actually attempting to give advice on how to live a healthy lifestyle.