Mama Laughlin

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 07:19 AM PDT

Today I'm going to hand the reigns over to Jen J., one of my Camp Counselors from the Mama Laughlin's Fit Camp Facebook group. If you haven't yet joined this group, you are missing out! It's been a great motivational tool for so many women, myself included!

Without further adieu, here is Jen J.

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Hi, I'm Jen J. and I'm one of the Camp Counselors from Mama Laughlin's Fit Camp, a closed Facebook group, for women to provide and seek nonjudgmental support during their pursuit of fitness. The group morphed from all the motivation provided by Mama Laughlin and the words she writes on this very blog. Since it's launch in July of this year, the group has grown to over 5,200 Fit Campers and continues to grow everyday.

The group means many things to many people. But, I would like to start off by saying what this whole Fit Camp shenanigans has meant to me. From the selfish perspective, I am using each and every one of the 5,200+ members to motivate my dimpled ass to finally do something about the extra weight I've been carrying around for far too long. As one of the Camp Counselors, I feel like I should practice what I preach. No one likes a hypocrite and this thought is usually enough to motivate me to make good decisions. Now, I am not claiming to be perfect and I have certainly had my slip-ups - which for me typically means over indulging in booze. Specifically, giant fishbowl sized margaritas complimented by an entire basket (or two) of tortilla chips and guacamole. But I am here to tell you that it is so much easier to get back on track the next day knowing all the Fit Campers are right there to support me.

Since becoming part of this network, I've had a few personal noteworthy accomplishments:
I have completed the 30 Day Shred and am halfway through Ripped in 30 and have the pictures to prove it. Ahhh, deep breath, because I can not believe I am about to share this picture on a blog with so many followers. Eff me.

I ran a 5k in 27:52!

I've lost 7 pounds (down 25 total since January) and I have come out of the fat girl closet and have publicly announced my weight. Hello! World! I am Jen J. and I weight 174.8 pounds. This is huge for me, prior to this new attitude, my weight was something only known by me and my doctor. And I certainly always fudged it a wee bit when I had to provide it for something like my license or ski rentals.

Bottom line, I feel liberated. I effing sweated my tits off to get to 174.8 and I own that number. I am proud of that number. And as much as I am proud of how far I have come, I can not wait to pass that number up.

In addition to the selfish self-motivating shit there are so many unselfish reasons why I am here. I love to see people succeed! It has made me so elated to hear that people are losing weight, running their first 5ks, and even having more/better sex because of their weight loss. Bible. I swear, I am so truly proud of each and every Fit Camper and love hearing about their journeys.

I will tell you something else that is happening over at Mama Laughlin's Fit Camp - people are connecting. I know I am not just speaking for myself when I say virtual friendships are being made or as we like to say in Fit Camp, "girl crushes". I've been absolutely floored on a couple of occasions when one of the group "regulars" goes missing for a few days and people start asking about them to make sure they are okay. That said, I really cannot wait to meet you guys! Yes, you have read that correctly, we are working on organizing a Mama Laughlin's Fit Camp convention to be held in Dallas in May of 2013. The planning is just in the infancy stages but details will be forthcoming.

Fit Camp also has a few other awesome things in the works. On October 1st we are kicking off a 31-day Jillian Michaels fitness challenge and on October 17th we will be kicking off our second weight loss challenge. In addition, Fit Camp has launched a collaborative blog called Fitness Unscripted where Fit Campers' share words about their journeys and the motivation they have derived from Mama.

To those of you reading this, I invite you to join us for friendship and encouragement on your path to fitness. You do not have to sweat and work your ass off alone. To Mama, thank you for this opportunity and for being Mama to us all. Your words literally "move" us.

~ Jen J.