Sage and Savvy Spotlight: Bookieboo

Welcome to a brand new feature on Sage and Savvy—the Sage and Savvy Spotlight! The Sage and Savvy Spotlight will shine on cool people, companies, and sites that I've come across since I started Sage and Savvy.

My first Sage and Savvy Spotlight features Bookieboo, a “Fitness Hangout for Moms.”

I first came across Bookieboo through Entrecard. I was pregnant at the time, and I remember seeing a lot of interesting posts about pregnancy and exercise.

Then, several months later, I found out that I had a lot in common with Bookieboo’s “Chief Mom of Operations,” Leah Segedie. We both have infant and toddler boys, we’re both nursing moms, we’re both Trojans (Fight On!), and we’re both trying to lose weight after recently giving birth.

I am proud to say I have been a member of Bookieboo since February and have connected with so many other wonderful moms who help motivate me to lose weight and get fit. My favorite groups are Organic Moms, Recipe Swappers, and Lose Weight with Leah.

Leah’s own weight loss journey was her inspiration to start Bookieboo.

What is Bookieboo?

Bookieboo is a social network and online magazine for moms into fitness, weight loss and healthy living. There you will find fitness professionals giving free advice, plenty of groups to stay motivated, forums with everyday moms, and all sorts of other tools to help you stay fit.

When and why did you start Bookieboo?
I started Bookieboo in January of 2008. It was a way for me to connect with other moms that were going through the same struggles as me. I had just recently lost over 100 lbs. and did it naturally with diet and exercise. At the time, there were no social networks for moms into fitness dealing with the unique challenges that moms encounter trying to stay in shape, so I decided to create one. Since then it’s grown into an awesome site!

What are some of the most popular groups and/or discussions right now on Bookieboo?
I have one group called Losing Weight with Leah which is really popular. I just had a baby 11 weeks ago, and I’m in the process of getting rid of the baby weight again. A lot of the moms on my site have pledged to do the same, so we’ve all joined together on the site.

The forums are really popular. They are mostly mom or fitness related, but do range on several topics. The topics range from fitness during pregnancy, to naptime behavior & tips, to info on blisters and soreness, etc. And not only are they just moms posting, we also have fitness professionals and child development professionals chiming in too.

We also have a lot of support for pregnant moms. There are several articles about staying fit while pregnant, how hard you are allowed to work, what you should be eating, etc. Then when the baby is finally born, how to get back into shape.

What do you enjoy most about running Bookieboo?
I’m a social butterfly in real life and making friends is easy, but since I’ve had children, getting out is harder. I love meeting moms online and making friends because it fills that need for me to socialize. Plus, I’ve been able to help other moms get back into shape and regain that confidence they used to have by proxy. That is awesome!

What are the challenges of running and maintaining Bookieboo?
One of the challenges is keeping the content fresh and relevant to moms. I’m always on the lookout for great contributors to add to the site. So it’s a matter of creating relationships with contributors and then managing posting schedules with 40 some odd people.

Also, I try and keep my site spam free, so every once in a while I have to delete a member. I hate having to do that.

But mostly the hardest part is finding the time to do everything. I have a baby and a 3-year-old, so it’s 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there. Somehow it all gets done.

Oh, and typing while breastfeeding...

Many moms, including myself, feel like they just don’t have the time to start exercising. How do you manage to find time to exercise with everything that you do?
I ask for help. That’s been the best solution for me since the baby was born. When it was just one child, I could do a Tae Bo workout during naptime, but now that I have two, things get more complicated. I either have my husband watch the baby at 7pm or so while I’m exercising and other son is asleep OR I team up with my cousin and we switch off watching each other’s kids OR I have my mom come up and watch my kids while I go to a class. And if I’m really lucky, both of the kids will be sleeping at the same time and I can workout. The business gets done a little bit at a time throughout the day and then at night.

What’s in store for Bookieboo in the near future (events, promotions, etc.)?
We have our first Twitter Party coming up on April 16th, 2009. Click here for details.

I’m really excited about it. I’m going to have a ton of giveaways to do that night and we have about 12 special guests. The topic is simple: staying fit as a mom. Come join us!

Where else can we find you (other blogs, social networks, etc.)?
Bookieboo Rave Reviews & Giveaways was a product of necessity. It was getting really complicated doing the giveaways on Bookieboo. There were so many and I was getting overwhelmed for an easier way, so I decided to create a blog so I could use the comments as entries instead of emails. Now it’s so much easier!

Serenity Now is my own personal blog. You can get to know a little more about me there. I just started it up about a month ago.

What’s your favorite food/snack/drink to indulge in (a cheat treat)?
If I’m cheating, I’m eating Doritos. I mostly try to eat a clean diet free from preservatives and additives, so packaged cheese and enriched flour are the devil.

What’s your favorite healthy meal to prepare for your family?
One of my favs is fish. I love to cook salmon, tilapia or halibut. Everyone loves fish here and it is sooo good for you as long as you don’t smother it in butter. So maybe Salmon, brown rice and asparagus.

Another one is taco night. We do turkey or chicken tacos with bell peppers, light sour cream, whole wheat tortillas and onions. Then vegetarian refried beans and tomatoes on the side.

My husband’s favorite meal is chicken & steak kabobs. He does the cooking that night and uses a special ginger dressing from Whole Foods with bell peppers, onions, pineapple, chicken and steak. It’s yummy.

What are your goals for Bookieboo?
What I’m really working on right now is branding. The most important thing for me is to become the go-to place for moms into fitness and I’ve done a pretty good job of that in the past year. So far the site has gotten a lot of attention and members. But I won’t be completely happy until the site has over 10,000 members.

Finally, Sage and Savvy features information on products, services, and websites, primarily those that are sage (wise/eco-friendly) and/or savvy (practical/innovative). What is one sage and/or savvy product that you can’t live without?
I love inexpensive eco-friendly products from Trader Joe’s. I use their dishwashing powder and laundry detergent for several reasons. Besides the fact that they are very affordable, they also lack all the toxins & chemicals I’m scared to expose my family to.

Thank you Leah for sharing your story, creating Bookieboo, and being an inspiration to so many!

Whether you want to lose weight, get great exercise tips, or simply connect with other moms, don’t hesitate to join Bookieboo.

Let's help Leah and Bookieboo reach over 10,000 members!

And don’t forget the Twitter Party on April 16th! I’ll be there!

Posted in: Bookieboo,Spotlight,websites