45 Pounds Down...*Drop Mic*

178 days ago I decided to change my life and lose weight. A lot of weight; 45 pounds to be exact. This now seems minimal as I watch others around me achieving losses more than 100 pounds; but for me losing ONE POUND was a big deal. I didn't WANT to lose weight. I liked my life full of pizza, beer and fun. But something changed in July 2014 when photo after photo was added to Facebook and I couldn't stand to look at myself! I stopped sharing photos of my fun and dreaded the notification that someone had tagged me.

I used to be hot... what the hell happened? I don't have an answer to that...yet. I am still learning something new about myself every day and to be honest, I'm not sure I want to know why I let myself get to a point where I literally didn't think about a single thing I put in my mouth.

June 2014 (BEFORE)

January 2015 (AFTER)

The good news, and what I am focusing on the most, is that I have lost 45 pounds since August 1, 2014. In four short month (easier to say now that I'm almost done.. ha!) I changed my world. The program I chose and stuck to is called SlimGenics.

SlimGenics is a customized program that takes into account how much weight you want to lose and the level of physical activity you normally engage in. I don't have to purchase pre-packaged food with this program and I buy all items for my meals at my local grocery store. I do purchase snacks through SlimGenics, but they are yummy AND I know they are better for me. I meet with a counselor in-person about three times a week to discuss struggles, review what I have eaten, and how I feel.

The program is all about portion control, natural food, timing of eating
and covers all of the food groups with select foods in each category. I eat a TON - no more not eating all day and eating a crappy dinner "because I deserve it after working so hard."

When I started, I lost about three pounds a week. I have slowed down my weight loss with a few "cheats" on vacation and with the holidays, but am averaging two pounds a week now. I hit my goal of 45 pounds a few weeks ago, but... decided now that I was there I would go another 10-13 pounds! By my birthday, March 4, I should be itty bitty and back to being the hottie I used to be! :)

My motivation has been the money I have invested in the program - it wasn't outrageous, but it wasn't cheap and for those of you who know me or work with me... I am driven by anything $$$. In addition to the investment, I am also getting married in seven months (YAAHHHOOO!!!!!!) and have my bachelorette party in 3 1/2 months and I plan on reppin' a bikini the WHOLE TIME!

If you are interested in learning more about the program, let me know. I am convinced it is the motivation and dedication that makes a diet work. This one was structured enough for me and my HUGE type A personality.

-B

The Joy Is In The Journey

This month marks the six-month mark of our engagement and while I am ready to marry my man, I have LOVED every minute of the planning. I said to Tommy the other day, "There's not much left to do, let's move the date up!" He quickly replied with, "Just enjoy the moment, it will be here and gone before you know it." And he is right - I want to savor every step of this journey and we still have 234 days of engagement fun.

Maybe it's because I've lost 45 pounds since the engagement... (blog post on that to come) but the engagement photos have been by far my favorite thing so far. (Choosing flowers is a close second!) Now that I actually don't mind look at a photo of myself, I can't get enough of the photos from Audrey Brooks, our wedding photographer.

We actually did two sessions because the sun decided to hide during our first photo shoot, but even then we received excellent photos. So now we have double the images and I love every one of them!

Take a peak!

My Faves of the Week

Whoa... it's been more than a year since I last posted, yet I think about it often. How can that be?! I think it's time for a fresh start.

Writing/blogging is just like working out - attempting to start where you left off will be tough... slowly weasel your way back in to the groove - which is how I will start. Just a "quicky". 

Being an internet marketer, I am constantly reading about new trends, services, etc. While I have a really great Pinterest board bookmarking my favorite articles, some of things I read, especially articles that effect both my work and personal life, need to be called out.

Week of June 16, 2014
10 Habits of Happy Couples
I would definitely consider my boyfriend and I to be a very happy couple, but we all find it tough to remember to compliment the small things. See #5. Focus more on what your partner does right more than what he or she does wrong. So true! And my second favorite was to hug when we get home from work. I can't think of a single day a hug after work wouldn't be the best part of my day :)

Ted Talk: How to start a movement
After watching the top 5 Ted Talks a Marketer should watch, I found this talk to be the most memorable. It's very short, 3 minutes!
Derek Sivers says, a leader needs the guts to stand out and be ridiculed. I think we can all agree with that. Mostly they just don't give a damn...! But after that leader gets their first follower, the leader treats the new follower as an equal - it becomes about "them" and not just the leader. Then the follower invites more friends and it grows to a crowd. Interesting to think that the first follower is just as important as the leader....

Check these two out and let me know what you think!

Positive accountability, is there such a thing?

Accountability. Most people cringe at the word. Defined as "subject to having to report, explain or justify responsibility" it's not not rainbows and ponies. It's a word that follows you throughout many different sectors of your life. It's not a job thing... or a home thing... It's a YOU thing. But, what most don't realize is that it doesn't have to be a bad thing.


During our monthly departmental meeting yesterday, we watched a webinar on The Oz Principles which is a must read for individuals who are compelled to improve their performance.  They refer to accountability in two ways; above the line and below the line.

If you are above the line, you ask "What more can I do?" whereas if you are below the line you think "There's no solution" and feel victimized and stressed. It's o.k. to be below the line, for a minute or two, but it's ineffective to live there. Everyone feels stress or needs to complain every once in awhile. But once you get it out of your system, move back up!

It's a personal choice to rise above ones circumstances and demonstrate the ownership necessary for achieving key results.

The Blame Game:

• ignore or deny
• finger pointing
• cover your ass
• wait and see mentality
• confusion
• not my job

People below the line stop playing to win and
start playing not to lose. 

Accountable people seek feedback. They see the bigger picture. Your employees are motivated by money. They are even more motivated by good leaders. But... they are most motivated by being part of a cause. 

I will continue to blog on additional information I learn. The Oz Principles seems to be a very powerful tool to continued positive development and building of winning teams and individuals.

-Brooke

Big changes are sometimes easier than you think.

Week 1, day 3 at Page 1 Solutions. After 7 1/2 years at Armada Medical Marketing, I made the leap and switched companies. Given that I was focusing most of my spare time learning more about search engine optimization (SEO), I reasoned I may as well be making money doing it! 

During my time at Armada Medical, I wore a lot of hats. I worked in every department but design (we are all thankful for that, trust me.) That job provided me with experience, the ability to build a reputation within the marketing world and give me the confidence that I needed to move on (and up).

Page 1 Solutions is a full-service SEO and internet marketing agency for for Attorneys & Lawyers, Dentists, Plastic Surgery and Ophthalmology. With my new position focusing more on client interactions and less focus on the project management, I will have around 35 clients instead of five. With 50 percent of my day at Armada Medical going to administrative work around keeping an account clean, active and healthy- I am not going to miss invoicing!

I'm excited for my new journey and know it will be a great new family.

-Brooke

Thought of the day | What makes a place beautiful?

Make something beautiful today.

Throughout the last few years I have taken up DIY crafts, knitting and anything else to add beauty to our house. Beauty is something that comes from within, not just the granite counter tops. While I don't consider myself an artist, my creations define me. 

Make your space (whether it be your house or your office) beautiful by creating something and showcasing it. At work, it's a large poster with my favorite photo of my dog, Goose. At my house it may be a new framed image, plants I grew from a seed or a headboard made from scratch. Those are the things that make a house a home and a place beautiful.

What does beauty mean to you? Share your creations, definitions and photos with me :)
-BabblingBrooke