My name is Leah Segedie, Creator of Bookieboo & Mamavation and this is my story.
Years ago I was a mess. My BMI was 40.8, which is obese to say the least. I hid from people. I hid from the outside world. I hid from life. My father was dying of cancer, I had a newborn baby, and I ate myself into oblivion. That was how I dealt with stress.
It wasn’t until my father died that I finally woke up to what I was doing to myself. I didn’t want to be ashamed anymore about who I was. I didn’t want my children to learn my bad habits. I didn’t want to be the fat mom that couldn’t keep up with her kids. I didn’t want to be overweight anymore. I had been overweight my entire life, but obese after giving birth. I had NEVER been successful losing weight in the past and fitness people annoyed the you-know-what out of me. They always seemed so chipper and perfect and that was NOT me.
The one thing my father taught me was to solve problems instead of thinking too much. I said to myself, “get up off 
your butt and STOP victimizing yourself!” and that is what I did. I got up and started walking with the baby every day. I cut out the soda, even though all I drank was Diet Coke. And that was my beginning. Small steps. Those small steps turned into bigger ones and slowly the weight came off.
Over the period of almost four years, I have lost over 160 lbs. Wow, can I say that again? I’ve lost over 160 lbs! Sometimes that number is unbelievable even to me. After my first child, I lost 104 lbs. and then had to do it all over again with my second having lost over 60 lbs. But I NEVER concentrated on the big numbers and that is why I think I was so successful.
How did I do this? Well, you aren’t going to like my response, but it’s the truth. I changed my lifestyle. I went from sitting on my bum everyday to being more active. I went from eating processed junk everyday to a cleaner diet with fresh fruits and vegetables. I changed my outlook on food and on life. My soul is different.
I’m still not perfect. (And thank God!…perfection is BORING!) I’m misunderstood at times, but I’ve been given the opportunity now to support and inspire other moms to change their lives. When they say do what you love to do and it will never feel like work, they are right. I’m the creator of the Mamavation campaign. And Mamavation is my way of helping other moms take back their life like I did.
