FitBloggin 2014 Recap (FINALLY)

photo courtesy of Carrie D Photography

Friday

I was so bummed that I could not participate in the workouts this year, but I am hoping to be able to next year when FitBloggin is in Denver!!!  All of the sessions were live blogged so I will link that up so you can get more details if you are interested.

The first session I attended was called The Introvert's Guide to Blogging, led by Jessica Humphrey.  I am definitely an introvert in real life.  I really enjoyed this session.  It was nice to be around other people like me who share their whole life on a blog, but are introverts outside of the internet.  (live blog)

Break time was sponsored by Ninja.  They were demonstrating their new NutriNinja (which is AWESOME and now I want one).  They had samples of different smoothies they had made.  One of them was a sweet potato with turmeric, sounds odd, but it was very good.  Click here for the recipe if you are interested! 

California almonds also provided a trail mix bar throughout the day both Friday and Saturday! This made for some awesome snacks!

And the California Avocado Commission provided some treats too.  My favorite were these blueberry-avocado muffins.

The second session I attended was Weight Loss: Maintain the Mojo! led by DubyaWife andKatrina Pilkington.  This session was great.  There were some really good ideas on how to keep going even when we feel stuck.  (live blog)

Next I attended Use Your Words to Change Your Life, led byAlexandra Williams.  I really liked this session.  Positive self-talk and learning how to change the automatic negative responses were covered during this session.  Definitely something I need! (live blog)

Lunch was sponsored by Run Disney and we even had a special guest:

The food was GREAT.  My favorite was the gazpacho soup!  

After lunch I attended Working With Brands on Google+, led byRebecca Stifter.  This was VERY informative for me as I am just starting to delve into using Google+. (live blog)

I played hooky on the next session.  My foot was really hurting and I needed some rest before the night activities.  

Friday evening was the Ignite.  This is where the speakers had 5 minutes to present their topics. Topics ranged everywhere from weight loss to how to make a cup of tea.  This was SO much fun! I left there really inspired to keep going in my journey!

Saturday

Here are the sessions I attended on Saturday:

• Fitblogger Tough Love, led by Steve Gray and Sue O'Lear - this session was good because it really talked about how we can sometimes be too supportive of each other instead of giving each other the gentle push we need to get off our butts and achieve our goals. (live blog)
• HIIT Chat, led by Larissa Q. Brown - This was interesting for me as I know almost nothing about HIIT. (live blog)
• OPTIMIZING RECOVERY: Maximizing Post-Exercise Nutrition with Dr. Wendy Bazilian - Very interesting discussion sponsored by Chocolate Milk (live blog)
• Make Wearable Fitness Devices Work for You: Reach your Fitness Goals and Maximize Your Healthy Choices, led by Drew Edmonds - This was a good session and I was a little starstruck by Drew Edmonds.  He trained Ruby (which if you have read my blog for awhile, you will know how much I loved that show) (live blog)
  
• DIY Success: The Tech Tools (And Free Plugins!) You Need To Build Your Blog To The Next Level led by Shannyn Allan (live blog)

I also made a visit to the Walgreen's bus.  They were providing free health screenings.  I was not able to climb onto the bus for the complete assessment, but they were so sweet and came outside to do the ones they could complete.  I was a little nervous, but I was pleased with my results.  My blood pressure was normal and my cholesterol and glucose levels were well within the normal ranges.  

That night we were surprised with a visit from Arian Foster from the Houston Texans.  He was there promoting Health Warriors and their Chia Bars (which by the way are one of my new favorite snacks)

The topic for Saturday night was a pro-blogger panel.  It was very informative, but a little over my head.  These people are making a living off of their blogs and I am nowhere near that stage.  I just write for fun! (and hopefully to inspire someone once in awhile).

Sunday morning was the goodbye breakfast!  I met some amazing people over the weekend and I am so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and attended.  It was not easy getting around the town with my knee scooter, but I did it.

I even snuck in a few treats:

Monday morning, Robbie and I had one last breakfast before flying back home to Indiana.  We had an amazing view:

I could probably write for another hour about this amazing weekend, but I think I have touched on the highlights.  I am already excited about next year in Denver.  And some of us are even going to attempt this:

The Manitou Incline! Guess I better start training, huh???

Sorry for the lengthiness, just so much to share.  Sending you all love and healthy wishes!

Keep Losing,

Kari

Day 602 - Thursday at Fitbloggin 14

Robbie and I woke up early this morning and ordered room service for breakfast ( which he just thought was awesome). I had a nice big bowl of oatmeal. I had signed up for the pre-conference session called Color Accounting. I was the only person in the class!

I really enjoyed the session and I learned a lot. We had an hour break for lunch so Robbie and I walked to the Olympia Cafe (I had read about it and really wanted to try it) 

I ordered the Gyro dinner. The gyro meat was so good and served over a bed of lettuce with tomatoes  and feta cheese. 

I gave Robbie my fries because I really don't like fried foods anymore, which is a huge change. After not having anything fried for so long it all tastes like grease to me now. I also couldn't eat all the pita and only had half but I was stuffed.

My session ended early so we went up to the rooftop deck and enjoyed the view. 

I was still pretty tired from yesterday so I went up to the room and propped my foot up for a bit before all the fun started. L

At 5:00 it wad time to go to registration and to see the sponsor tables. I received an awesome swag bag ( I'll share those contents in a later post when I get home).

I will admit that at first I was not having a lot of fun. I felt lost and out of place. I was ready to leave. I'm such an introvert that the thought of just going up and introducing myself to others causes panic! And then I saw someone who has made a HUGE impact on me. Angela from We Beat Fat. I don't know how to link since I'm on my ipad, but her and her husband's story of weight loss really inspired me! I was brave and went up and talked to her. She was so sweet and even took a picture with me!

After that, things just got better. I met so many awesome, loving, friendly people. It truly is like one big happy family. 

They had some yummy food set up for us and my favorite was the avocado salsa. OMB it was delicious. I heard there was a recipe floating around so I'm going to hunt that down tomorrow!

Then there were some ice breaker activities. I didn't participate in the first one. Everyone threw their shoes in the middle and then randomly grabbed one and found the owner. My left shoe is a boot cast, so no mystery there. But I did participate in the rest of the fun!

I came back to the room around 9:00. Getting ready for bed to rest up for another awesome day tomorrow!

Sending you all love and healthy wishes!

Keep Losing,

Kari

Days 600-601 On My Way to Fitbloggin 14

The day has finally come to head to Savannah for my first ever Fitbloggin conference.  I am so excited and so nervous at the same time.  I cannot wait to meet so many people that I have only met online! I am also a little nervous about traveling while still non weight bearing on this foot.  

We managed to arrive at the airport early, YAY! Check in was a breeze and I opted to use my knee scooter through the airport rather than use a wheelchair. 

Security was real fun.  I had to have a full pat down and be scanned for chemicals since I couldn't go through the regular detector thingy. But it really wasn't bad, especially since the lady frisking me was a former Weight Watcher and we got to talk about that and the conference I'm attending. 

We managed to make it to our gate rather quickly, considering I am rolling along.

So glad I brought a personal assistant (my son Robbie) along to help me.  

And of course, we had to get a Starbucks!

Getting on and off the plane with my knee scooter was quite interesting, but I did it and ALL the people I encountered with Delta airlines were awesome and helpful. We had a layover in Atlanta, which is a huge airport.  We landed on Concourse C and our flight was leaving from Councourse A, so we had quite a walk/roll and a train ride, but we did it.  AND EVEN BETTER I DIDN'T NEED A SEATBELT EXTENDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We made it to Savannah and had no trouble getting a taxi to the hotel. No trouble checking in at the Hyatt Regency.  Our room is lovely and I am so happy with the handicap access in my room. A walk in shower with a seat in it and a raised toilet with bars!!!

Of course, Robbie wanted to go explore so we went for a walk along the river.  It is beautiful here, but very difficult to get around on a knee scooter. The roads are cobblestone and the sidewalks are brick. Very uneven, but we managed to walk about a mile.

We had dinner at a restaurant called Rocks.  I had this dish that was homemade dumplings, roasted chicken, spinach, and Parmesan.  It was DELICIOUS

While we were eating we saw a huge cargo ship go by. Robbie thought it was awesome and had or run out of the restaurant to take a picture. 

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and now I am resting in my room.  I am exhausted, but so happy to be here. 

Can't wait for tomorrow! Sending you all love and healthy wishes!

Keep Losing,

Kari