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When Is the Best Time to Work Out?

September 24, 2012 by 1 Comment

Here’s your new interview with one of the contestants from the 5th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Today John talks to  Teresa Shaner finished forth in the contest and earned herself a spot on Venus Index Calendar.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Teresa lost 13lbs and 2 inches off her waist!

While most people chose to submit their transformation pictures at the 20 week contest deadline, Teresa decided to take her pictures after only 12 weeks.

This decision has now motivated  Teresa to push through the full 20 week transformation.  She’s “All-In” and ready to take it to next level!

Prior to  this contest, Teresa had difficulty gaining momentum needed for her to finish a transformation contest.

One obstacle she and several mothers encountered is that once she had done everything for her kids, she had very little energy and time for herself.

However, as we’ve seen before with our previous Venus winners, if you want to take care of other people you need to take care of yourself first.

Teresa wanted to feel  better and live a healthier lifestyle. Having a history of family health issues made her even more determined to start focusing on this. She didn’t want be placed in that risk category as she grew older.

Before she would always try to do the workouts in the evenings, which has a lot of disadvantages.

She made the decision to perform her workouts and cardio in the the morning.

The turning point came one day when she woke up and wasn’t  feeling dizzy. She decided to do her workout early in the day, which was a brand new experience.

When she got home later that day she didn’t have the stress to push herself to do the workout, because she’s already done it.

Working out in the morning is not only beneficial in terms of more energy throughout the day, but it also removes the pressure to do the workout and eliminates the opportunity to skip the training.

The longer you wait to do the workout, the greater your chances are of not going.

After two weeks Teresa realized that working out in the morning was the best thing to do.

Why?

Because the last time she missed a workout was 4 weeks ago, and that way only because she was out the night before.

She thought she would end up with less energy, but the opposite came true.

 

Pick the Smartest Diet Approach for Successful Weight Loss

For the diet we usually don’t give any specific rules, just one rule – you gotta eat less calories than you burn in order to lose fat.

However, there are a few things that can help you with it.

One of those is making smarter choices that have fewer calories – fruits and vegetables. Especially vegetables are very dense and filling and have almost no calories at all and if you are a good cook you can make some tasty meals.

That’s what Teresa did, she chose a diet that consisted mostly of vegetables and lean protein rather than burgers and refined products.

There is really nothing wrong with eating “processed” stuff, but they aren’t volume food, they have a lot of calories and won’t satisfy a lot.

Food Is Just Like Alcohol, It Connects People…

In times past Teresa weighed 118 pounds, then she got married and had her first child.

She started getting away from the health and lean ideal and began to gain a couple of pounds.

She gained 69 pounds after her first child and never lost it all.

She also revealed to us that it was very uncomfortable and that there was a lot of pressure on the back.

After a second child she gained 72 pounds and again, never lost it all.

When she started the VI contest she was already dieting for the past 4 years, but just like she said, she was never truly focused on getting it off, she had some progress and then was stuck at 170 for a really long time.

The contest helped her focus, she had a deadline to shoot for, it’s more serious when you take pictures, and compete. It’s no longer just dieting for the sake of dieting and maybe losing some weight, this is why our contestants are more successful with Venus program and contest than they have ever been before.

Before the contest Teresa understood the concept of calories, but would always give up and was yo-yo dieting for most of her life.

Sadly, this is a recurring theme, without a goal and a deadline it’s just really hard to lose fat and especially if you want to do it as painlessly as possible like our Venuses’.

Also if you are in the community and are listening to the interviews you can learn from the mistakes and experience of other Venuses’.

Teresa admitted that the desire to eat was sometimes really strong, almost like it wasn’t her, almost like she was possessed.

She’s correct… The drive to eat is really strong so it’s hard (but not impossible if you know how) to actively restrict yourself for any length of time, there is a lot so structure that needs to be in place.

It’s important to note that food connects people. Food is involved in almost any type of social gathering or event. It’s part of our culture, part of our lives, and it always will be.

Trying to diet is almost like saying you are going to socially disconnect.

Dieting is already difficult and to socially disconnect from others makes it even harder. This is why Teresa decided to follow the Anything Goes Diet principles and enjoy all the social life.

More tips from Teresa:

  • Get an iPod and create a good music list, it may seem non-important, but music really helps with training, especially if you are not feeling like working out that day
  • I can’t believe I didn’t started before, start now you will regret it if you don’t
  • Morning workouts are awesome, you will have more energy, there won’t be any pressure throughout a day and no one will be bothering you, because everyone will be still sleeping
  • If it was easy everyone would do it, there is no magical formula to it
  • Shift your schedule, do whatever it takes, just make that hour for the workout. If it’s the first thing in the morning you won’t have worry about get putting it done.

Links from the interview:

  • Venus Index Phase 1 and Phase 2 – Original Venus Index workouts
  • Anything Goes Diet – Diet that lets you eat the foods you like
  • Eat Stop Eat – Diet Lifestyle protocol designed to help you to lose fat and regain freedom in your food choices
  • Reverse Taper Diet – Stop with the yo-yo dieting once and for all

Read what Teresa wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

I am a wife of 14½ years to my high school sweetheart and a mother of two active boys ages 10 and 14. At the age of 35, a history of health issues incurred by my mother and siblings made me realize I needed to get… Continue reading here

Listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: change, Contest, Interview, Podcast, transformation Tagged With: , ,

Falling Forward: Turning Mistakes into Success

September 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer. -Denis Waitley

The hardest part about mistakes is to keep moving forward but that is what you must do.  Everyone makes mistakes but if you keep moving forward the mistake will soon be behind you.  Have you ever made a mistake at a new job?

I currently work as a volunteer patrol deputy for our local Sheriff’s department.  I had spent 25 years prior working for a corporate high tech company and then decided to go through the police academy and volunteer for the community in a unique way.

The environment at a law enforcement agency is vastly different from the corporate company I was used to.  Yes, I made mistakes.  It’s hard on the ego when you get called on the pad and into the Lieutenant’s office.  Part of me wanted to quit and say this is just not for me.  But when you keep moving forward you can sometimes become better for having made the mistake.  The best thing to do is own up to it and face whatever consequences come with it and continue to do your best.

Because of what I learned from that mistake I’m now in a position to help coach others on how to avoid that particular mistake should the opportunity arise.  Can you think of ways that you became better because of mistakes you have made?

As I lost 60 pounds I chose to move forward even when I made mistakes at work as well as on my weight loss journey.

The Sheriff gives a speech every year at our official swearing in ceremony.  Because consequences can be severe for mistakes made in law enforcement he always talks about the concept of owning up to mistakes and moving on.  He has an awesome sense of humor and a fun personality, but he shows us his serious side when he talks about consequences in our work mistakes.

The other option is to stop, freeze, or quit.  If you stop moving forward and are worried about making more mistakes you will never progress.  Every successful person has made mistakes and know they will make mistakes again.  They don’t live in fear of mistakes.

My friend April and I share some of the exact same mistakes regarding motherhood.  Sometimes this gives us a special bond with a friend and helps us deal with residual guilt and healing.  For women especially there is a certain amount of guilt we all feel about not being perfect mothers for our kids.   Whether it is simply a matter of raising the children, sharing custody, adoption, congenital medical issues or children’s health issues, whatever is the circumstance these all cause very deep emotional issues for women.

Because of what happened in April’s situation she lost a lot of weight and became very thin, then did the yo-yo in the opposite direction and gained a lot of weight and started down the path of an emotional eating disorder.

April believes that the reeling torment on the inside was being reflected on the outside (manifested in her yo-yo body weight), and that she was punishing herself for the guilt she felt.

April finally decided to take a step forward when she joined the Venus Index Community.  She owned up to her mistakes with eating along with the other mistakes.  She allowed herself to be accepted into a community of women who understood and treated her warmly and with respect.  April said this has helped her get her body right and get through some rough times.  This is helping her get her mind right as well. April learned that sometimes getting support means you have to give it order to get it.

April wants to learn to forgive herself for not being perfect for her son.  She shares a unique story where she is the birth mother and she shares a special bond with Rebecca Bennett.  April wants to be a Venus both inside and out.  I think she is well on her way and moving forward now.

As we start out on our weight loss journey full of hope, new tools, new books to read, and new workouts we must remember to forgive ourselves from the mistakes that we will make.  We must learn to keep moving forward, or falling forward, or leaping forward, anything but staying frozen in fear of mistakes.

Whether the mistakes are at a job or school, or on your weight loss journey you can move forward and learn to overcome adversity.   Do you have trouble getting over a sabotage point; have anxiety with food choices, or food addictions?  These can all be overcome; you can learn a new way to eat regardless of your situation.  Are you afraid of the gym or are you afraid to lift heavy?  This too can be overcome with a winning mindset.

 

April chooses to leap forward from her mistakes. You can make this choice too.

What about you? Will you learn from your mistakes and keep moving, or will you let mistakes control you?

It is your choice.

-Ro

Filed Under: change, Diet, Exercise, Food, Health, Shape, stress, Uncategorized, weight loss Tagged With: , ,

Can There Be a Simple Way to Lose 100 Pounds?

September 17, 2012 by 2 Comments

Here’s your new interview with one of the contestants from the 5th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Today John talks to  Suzy Johnston who finished third in the contest and earned herself a spot on Venus Index Calendar.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Suzy’s results from the mid-term contest.

What’s even more amazing is Suzy’s overall transformation with Venus Index.

Check out her whole progress pictures here:

Suzy’s whole progress.

Suzy started at 240 pounds (she is 5’7”) and gradually over 16 months she lost exactly 100 pounds.

Very impressive results!

It’s always interesting to hear where it all started, what was the trigger point for gaining weight, because truth to be told no one is born overweight, there is always something external that trigger’s overeating and thus weight gain.

For Suzy it was moving away from her sister. No one was looking over her shoulder, she could eat fast food all the time and binge on it whenever she wanted.

Some days, it got really bad.

One day Suzy decided to buy a scale and was in shock once she saw that she weighed 240 pounds. This was a turning point for her and she made the DECISION TO CHANGE.

She began educating herself about fitness and searched online for weight-loss solutions.

However, she had trouble finding the truth.  It was hard to distinguish who was right and who was wrong, everybody seemed to contradict one another.

Nevertheless, Suzy decided to keep it simple. She started running, lifting weights and eating less.

She found success in her approach for weight loss but was completely blown when away she discovered the Venus Index and the concept of  “body metrics.”

It was at this point Suzy realized that it’s more important to focus on her “ideal” Venus metrics rather than her weight.

 

Losing Weight Is an Incomplete Goal

Is just losing the weight the ultimate goal?

You need to think about where you want to be and what you are going to do once you achieve your desired goal.

You will always need some kind of goal to keep pushing you forward, otherwise you will stagnate with your progress or even worse, revert back to your old self – this is what’s called yo-yo dieting.

So what is your goal? What will you do once you cross the finish line?

Sad yet true, most people who lose weight can’t keep it off, they go back to their old self and gain it all back.

Figure out your goals in advance and you won’t lose momentum.

 

Expect People’s Negative Reactions and Keep It to Yourself

Be aware that some people treat nutrition as if it were a religion, so it’s better to add this topic to your “do not discuss” list.

Some people will label their fitness approach, believe it to be the  “best and only” way and then identify themselves with it – e.g. Paleo people.

Not only do they think they know better, but they also don’t believe that it’s possible for it to be simple and done without suffering.

They will argue with you that it’s very complex, and you have to forego  eating foods you like.

However, once you get in shape and are the road to improvement they will try to stop you.

Now  they will question why you want to lose more fat and accuse you of being obsessive-compulsive.

Save yourself the hassle and choose wisely who you share your fitness goals with.  Many Venus Lifestyle  followers choose this “undercover” approach.

Suzy finally achieved a healthy body weight and is happy with the amazing progress she has made. For her, it’s just further improvement and she’s already taking it to the next level. What about you?

Links from the interview:

  • Eat Stop Eat – Diet Lifestyle protocol designed to help you to lose fat and regain freedom in your food choices
  • Original Venus Index Workout – Workout program for women that’s responsible for the most amazing transformations online
  • Venus Index Community – Friendliest and most supportive women’s only fitness community on the Internet

Advice from Suzy to someone who has 100 pounds to go:

  • Don’t wait, I wish I would have started earlier (and started with Venus Index earlier as well)
  • It can be simple, if you make it that way
  • Figure out how many calories you need and go from there
  • For some girls in the forum, it will take more patience  because you have farther to go, so prepare yourself for that
  • Better late than never, the time to start is right now

Read what Suzy wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

In May 2011, I looked down at my newly-purchased scale and saw a frightening number staring back at me: 240 lbs. I had been a yo-yo dieter since high school, with many more ups than downs on the scale, but the shock that number sent through my system was the impetus I needed to commit to working towards being the best me that I can possibly be. I took the…Continue reading here

Listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: change, Contest, Interview, Podcast, transformation Tagged With: , ,

Say NO to Yo-Yo Diets and Dump Fat Clothes For Good

September 10, 2012 by 2 Comments

Here’s your new interview with one of the contestants from the 5th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Today John talks to Liss Graham who finished second in the contest and earned herself a spot on Venus Index Calendar.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Say “no” to yo-yo diets with the Venus Index.

When Liss pulled out the pictures on her PC she couldn’t believe this was really her and her husband had a pretty similar reaction.

The Day-to-day changes are almost unnoticeable and when you look at yourself in the mirror you usually see only the flaws.

When looking at the pictures though you can be more objective and if you have both before and after photos than you can truly see your progress not the skewed version in a mirror.

…And don’t worry about getting good pictures.

Liss took some advice from her friend Alisha (previous VI winner) from the VI community about taking pictures and setting up lights.

She went through a couple magazines, pinned a couple pictures, set up a mirror, her sister in law helped her with the lighting and taking pictures. Then she got babysitting for the evening, took a couple pictures for each pose and that was it, nothing complicated.

Here is one more picture from the shoot:

Liss, one of the recent Venus winners.

Liss always felt like a giant kid. She told us that compared to other girls she wasn’t that tiny and cute like others, she was big and a bit overweight for her age. She didn’t feel pretty.

In her freshmen year she weighed 140 pounds.

She started playing tennis and lifting weights, but throughout the years her weight often fluctuated up and down, which was quite exhausting.

She would work hard  to lose the weight, only to relapse and gain it right back.

She was a victim of what’s called the “yo-yo diet”.

It was because her diet was very low in calories and highly restrictive – high protein, low carb and only certain food.

This type of diet wasn’t sustainable so she would fall off here and there often resulting in binging.

It All Starts with the Decision to Get Better

Liss decided to make a change.

She began first by researching how much celebrities weigh;  she looked up Julia Roberts and a few others.

It was here when she realized that while those women are lean and in shape it’s not what you would call the “ideal” shape for women.  Nevertheless,  she began searching for more of a  “fitness look“.

This search is what ultimately lead her to the Venus Index.

VI offered her a set of metrics, a goal to shoot for–an  ideal shape, all while being able to measure the progress without having to do a fancy DEXA analysis every month just to know if she was on track.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt Liss was happy to have found Venus Index!

She could go to all the social eating events, throw away the “fat clothes” and put an end to the crappy approach of yo-yo dieting.

If she didn’t feel like working out, her kids would constantly ask her if she was going to the gym or her friends would text her asking where she is – her accountability to fitness was at the highest it had ever been, which set her up for success.

Having these systems in place, a proven workout program, and help from the VI community she was destined to succeed and she did, just scroll back up and look at the pictures.

Now, if you wanna hear more about her journey, psychological barriers she had to overcome, what worked for her and what didn’t, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and hit the play button to listen to the interview.

Tips from Liss:

  • Track your strength and try to improve every time you hit the gym, even if it’s just for one more rep
  • Don’t argue with people about it, if they wanna know what you are doing
  • I post every little chart, weight, and measurements on my blog in the community
  • When you finally get fit everything becomes so much easier 
  • Avoid destructive behavior patterns, one thing leads into other – couch potato, bad food, no workout, no results
  • Remember to encourage yourself, embrace the support from those you trust
  • Before this contest I chose to set weight goals and I focused on things I could control – how many workouts, how many calories a week
  • You can’t control the rate you lose weight at
  • The body changes slower than the mind, patience is important – The good things come to those who wait
  • Listen to every VI (if possible AI) podcast in the archive for example when driving to work or whatever and make notes and try every advice

Read what Liss wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

7 short months ago, I was sick of rebounding again after all the effort I had put into losing weight, AGAIN, in 2011. You see, in January of 2011, I was at one of my highest weights in my life, 185. I worked really hard to diet and work out through…Continue reading here

Listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: change, Contest, Interview, Podcast, transformation Tagged With: , , ,

From Fragile to Venus

September 3, 2012 by 3 Comments

Here’s your new interview with one of the contestants from the 5th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Today John talks to April who finished first in the contest and earned herself a spot on Venus Index Calendar.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Amazing transformation in just 12 weeks, what do you think?

Here’s some good news.

You can change the way you look. No matter what others are saying, no matter if they tell you it’s stupid, pointless or call you names.

You really can and it’s the best way to increase your happiness and self-esteem.

Today you will get a chance to listen to something pretty deep. April opens herself up and reveals some secrets about how she was being treated when she was younger, how she felt about it, how it affected her confidence and ultimately lead her to join the army, yes the army!

April was always told that she had no butt and was always bit self-conscious about that area of her body.

For example she would not take back shots, ever, even when taking after photos for the contest she was refusing to take the back shot. Familiar feeling?

It’s really hard to get over your insecurities, especially when other people keep talking you down, in this case it was April’s sister who was commenting on how flat her butt looks. Sometimes family members can be the worst enemies on your path to success. If they are not, good for you.

Start Talking to Your Muscles (For Real)

No, we haven’t gotten crazy (yet), you should really start talking to your muscles, or at least begin focusing on feeling them and activating them in the right way.

The best way to build great butt is to do all those lunges and step ups you see in the Venus Index workouts (don’t you dare skip those!).

However here is something new, your body will activate the muscles it finds are most efficient to perform the movement, for example squat can be done in different muscle patterns – you have to put your mind into, otherwise your body will default to what’s most efficient – for most people it’s their quads and not hamstrings and butt. In simple terms, if you want certain area of your body to improve, you need to train in a way your body understands.

Most people are just throwing up weights, not really training and forcing the body to work properly during the movement.

A good idea as John likes to say is to start thinking from the muscle rather than from the weight. Guys have a big issue with this, simply because their ego is preventing them from using the lighter weights they should be training with.

Women usually tend to have an opposite issue – lifting too light. So once you correct that and start using more challenging weights, you have to learn the other side of the coin which is muscle activation.

The better you are able activate your muscles results in more contractions towards the area targeted for muscle growth.

A popular way to activate your muscles is by looking in the mirror while you are working out.

Yep, they aren’t there just for vanity and ego, you don’t have to be scared of looking into them, use them to your advantage. Even more, there is actually research that suggests you will develop more the muscles you can see – this is why it’s harder to work on the muscle groups you can’t see like muscles on your back.

This Industry Can Really Mess You Up If You Aren’t Careful

April experienced this at first hand.

In the interview she talks a lot about her past and how it made her very self-conscious about her looks, she discusses how she improved her training by focusing more on the mind-muscle connection, but also reveals her story of how she tried pretty much every approach there is in the fitness industry.

She tried bootcamps, running and marathons, various personal trainers, cardio and so on.

Nothing worked.

Until the Venus Index and it’s diet protocols.

To hear the full story of how she came around finding VI and why she decided to stick to it, scroll down and listen to the interview.

Tips from April:

  • Working out smarter is better than working out longer
  • Don’t be afraid of looking at yourself in a mirror
  • Make sure you are “communicating” with your muscles
  • Get your mind right, the body will follow
  • Don’t kill yourself in a gym
  • Treating fitness like a job is a fail

Links from the interview:

  • Anything Goes Diet – Diet that lets you eat your favorite food
  • Eat Stop Eat – Flexible lifestyle protocol based around the idea of intermittent fasting

Read April’s experience with Venus Index in her own words:

Most likely to be successful. Best dressed. Prettiest. Those were the categories the senior class of 1994 was voting on. I was none of these. Continue reading here

If you want to hear how April originally didn’t trust us and wanted to prove us wrong by getting into the contest, listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: change, Contest, Interview, Podcast, transformation Tagged With: , ,

Stop Wasting Your Time: How Women Shortchange Themselves at the Gym

August 31, 2012 by 5 Comments

Anyone who has spent any amount of time in gyms over the years has seen the same patterns repeated over and over again.

I’ve been training since the Nixon administration and I’ve seen  every diet/exercise craze, new fad and latest greatest equipment/program that has rolled down the pike since the 70’s.

I’ve even tried a few of them too.

The natural human proclivity for novelty makes us all suckers for the next new thing.

What really works to produce results seems to be a mystery to many women, even though they crowd the gym in droves.

Escape the Average Treadmill Physique

Because there are so many choices and so many people marketing their various programs/diets/workouts like religious cults, it leads to confusion for the average woman.

The bigger  problem is that most women  have no clue what they want out of their workouts and are scared to venture into the  free weight area of the gym. They listen to conventional  fitness wisdom peddled by the media and spend endless hours at the gym plodding away at steppers, treadmills and bikes.

They crowd in the studios doing zumba, pilates, yoga, bootcamp and all kinds of other “fun” activities. They think this will produce “visible results”.

Occasionally, they may see some random improvement.  I  plead guilty to falling into this trap in the past. Cardio has it’s place and purpose from a point of  health but endless cardio does not equal weight loss and a better body.

Next time you are at the gym take a look at  the women and men slogging away on the stairmaster or bikes and ask yourself if they have a body you would want.

Chances are the answer is no.

Big Fat Lie: “I Have these Arms from Lifting Itty Bitty Girly Weights”

Another thing I’ve seen at the gym is women piddling around the weight machines with no real purpose or program. Paraphrasing Martin Berkhan, this is a bad case of Fart-around-itis  (the original term is not appropriate for family publications).

I occasionally see women in the free weights area doing a few sets of flies, presses or rows with 5 & 10 lb weights. Occasionally,  I will see a  woman lifting  heavier weights. Usually a college athlete.  It’s so uncommon, I take notice.

Woman Lifting Heavy

Do you want to get in shape? You have to lift heavy, period.

Which brings me to my big question.

Why do women shortchange themselves in the gym?

Why are so few lifting weights that can actually give them results and a body that people would envy?

There are a lot of cultural issues that come in to play here.

I suspect that most women are afraid to go beyond their comfort zone and have preconceived ideas about weight training and femininity. I also think that women have no clue how strong they really can get and lack the self confidence to find out.

Have a Clear Measurable Goal

So we get to the heart of the problem.

Ask yourself this question: What is my goal?

If it not something that is clear and measurable you will be wasting your time.

Things like  “getting in shape” getting “fit” or losing a few pounds seem like goals, but they are really pretty nebulous and hard to define. It’s like people saying they want to be healthier. The definitions of “health”  being “in shape” or being more “toned” are varied and subjective.

Even losing  scale weight,  while measurable does not always yield a more attractive  body.

Many women are in a “normal” BMI range, yet over fat and under muscled. Losing 10 lbs will not really help if you do not work on increasing or maintaining muscle mass.

If you have small underdeveloped muscles and you  lose 10 or 15 lbs you will  be smaller but still look soft and undefined. Muscle creates shape.

That’s what separates “hot” from NOT.

Do What Produces the Best Results for the Time You Put In

This is where women shortchange themselves and fail.

They do endless cardio and fitness classes thinking that it will “tone” them and make them look “hot”. They go and do  a couple of  light sets on weight machines. Or they pick up some 5 or 10 lb dumbbells and do some kind of weight training without a clue of what they are doing and  are clearly NOT challenging themselves in anyway at all.

Result is: no noticeable results!

Challenge Yourself and Use Heavier Weights

pudgy stockton pressing overhead

Look, Ma: Big Weights & No Bulking.
Great Results: Old School Style.

Big news flash: Women will not get big and bulky using heavier weights. You do not have a Y chromosome and lots of circulating testosterone, so you will not build huge muscles. Not now, not ever.

The women and men you see in bodybuilder magazines and competitions use  anabolic steroids and lots of other drugs you’ve never heard of to look the way they do. Lifting heavier weights will NOT make you look like that.

“But I get bulky if I lift something bigger than a  pink barbie bell” you cry.

Reality check: bulk is fat.

That blanket of adipose that covers your  scrawny little muscles is the source of the “bulk”. Lose the fat  and there is no “ bulk”. Losing fat is a question of  appropriate caloric intake for your height. You need a lot fewer calories than you think. If you are not losing fat you are eating too much.

Yes, I know, not what you want to hear.

Apparently most of people I see in public are not eating less. Which explains the expanding pant sizes and need for bigger hospital gurneys.

Define your goals.

Let’s face it, unless you are a competitive athlete,  your goal  is probably to  look better in a bathing suit. Your definition of better. If you need to lose fat, you will have to control your calories and eat less. Doing an hour of stair stepper and then drinking a 600 calorie juice smoothie will not lead to fat loss unless you are 6’4”.

Use cardio to condition your  cardiovascular system, not to burn excess calories. The actual caloric burn from most exercise is rather modest. Not the 900 calories the stairstepper/treadmill/ machine thingie says. Those are fantasy numbers.

Lift heavier weights.

Preferably  free weights, not machines.

You will build muscle by repeatedly creating strong contraction against greater resistance.

So use enough weight to create that required resistance.

At the minimum you need to lift at a threshold of 40-50% of your one rep max on any given exercise. This will vary but chances are if you have not gotten good results in the past with weight training you are not lifting enough weight.  3 sets of 10 reps with 5 or 10 lbs will not produce any results unless you just stepped out of a prison camp or famine or you are 90 years old and in a walker.

You  also need  a good program that gives proven physique results.

Venus Index is designed to give you a balanced symmetrical shape that is  universally attractive and healthy looking. It works for all figure types because it is based on the  universal proportion found in nature   (fibonacci’s number). Every woman wants to have a balanced hour glass shape. That is considered attractive in all cultures and throughout history.

It is a prime indicator of youth, health and vitality.

Even if you are not 18 years old, you can have a great body at any age if you do the necessary work in the gym.

If you are over 40, 50 or even 60, a youthful, lean strong body makes you younger and healthier.  And another news flash: It does not require hours a day in the gym or on a treadmill.

Working out longer is not necessarily better. You can do marathons and spin classes ‘til hell freezes over and not look good in a swimsuit.

More is NOT always better. Better is better.

Lifting ‘til you puke or working out ’til you drop does not equal great results.

Targeted programs give real results with no photoshopping needed. Just real results for real women with busy lives who are willing to do the work.

The Cliff Notes:

  1. Have a clear measurable workout  goal
  2. Consider what gives the best results for the time put in. More is not better. Better is better.
  3. Challenge yourself with heavier weights
  4. Choose a good program that will give real results. Venus Index fits that bill.

 

Filed Under: Bodyfat, cardio, change, Exercise, fat loss, Health, Shape, transformation, Uncategorized, weight loss, Weight training Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Ten Thousand Ways that Won’t Work

August 10, 2012 by 1 Comment

“Ten Thousand Ways that Won’t Work…”

As I finally started finding success with my weight loss I exclaimed to my husband Randy “I can’t believe how simple this is yet I failed at it for at least 15 years!”

So Randy reminded me of the quote Thomas Edison made regarding his process for inventing the light bulb:

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” ― Thomas A. Edison

Randy and I both laughed at how I found probably the 10,000 ways how not to lose weight!   Although the victory is still sweet for me, you don’t have to take 15 years and wait until you are 50 years old like I did.

Lifelong Eating Habits Engrained

As a young child I grew up in a poor family with four siblings and a single mom who tried her hardest to care for us under extreme adversity.  This was in the 1960’s and although we lived in the land of abundance it did not always make it to our table.

This was back when bringing food stamps to the store felt shameful yet my mom held her head high and did what she could to provide for us.  I remember how she treated all the food in the refrigerator as a precious commodity.

Circa 1969, I am on the far left and that is my identical twin on the far right.

We didn’t go out to eat much and she prepared healthy meals for us and packed our school lunches.  She would get mad if we tried to skip breakfast and she was always there in the morning to cook something simple like one fried egg and a piece of toast with butter.

We didn’t have a lot of snacks.  On occasion we might get a treat and go to taco bell.  I laugh at the memory of it because there were 5 or 6 menu items to choose from, all pictured up on the overhead wall.  Looking back, I think she had it right back then.

But I also remember her making us popcorn and placing it in a big bowl in the middle of a round table. All of us kids sat around the table and scarfed it down as quickly as we could afraid that others would get more.

Overall I think this season of my life taught me to appreciate the food we had and to not mindlessly eat.

The next season of learning about food happened for me in the foster homes I lived in after that.  I was fortunate to live with a Filipino family and an Italian family who both taught me how to cook their ethnic foods.

I was always ambitious and loved to be the one who cooked dinner and receive the praise for the meal.  We prepared our food at home and going out to eat was a rare treat.   At this point I started eating more and eating seconds was encouraged in both families, but I was young enough and luckily wasn’t too chubby (yet).

This was probably where learning about food portions started becoming distorted for me.

Me at California International Marathon a while back.

Learning to Love Exercise

My first high school job was as a summer camp counselor and I decided then that I loved the outdoors and being physically active.

I started my first full time job at a high tech company during my senior year of high school. The company I worked for encouraged physical activity and the work environment was like a college campus.  There was a par course and running trail, gyms, locker rooms, showers, basketball and volley ball courts, and even a softball park.

I took an aerobics class in the campus gym when I was 19 years old and that is when I met a 50 year old instructor who had the body of a teenager.

The image of her always stuck in my mind and I decided I wanted to be like her when I was 50.

I didn’t stick with the aerobics class because it didn’t fit my schedule but I learned that music made exercise more fun.

I started running outside and lifting weights at the gym and bought my first Walkman.  Walkman’s were expensive and it was a big clunky thing that used cassette tapes and ran on double A batteries but it was well worth the investment.  It helped me look forward to exercise (If you are not feeling like working out, music will always give you that needed pump).

If you are like me then you may also hate running and even weight lifting. However, if you stick to it for some time, you will start seeing some amazing results and the positive effect exercise can have on your mood and life in general, and you WILL LOVE IT.

The Slow Weight Gain Creeping up, Sounds Familiar?

The fact that I spent my lunch hour exercising meant I had to pack my food rather than go to lunch with other employees.

For years I packed my food and ate when I could during breaks.  These were habits that serve me well today.  What I didn’t realize was that my portions were still too big and I ate too much.

I exercised hard and at one point realized I had run six miles a day, six days a week for 10 years, along with weight lifting and other physical activities.

This was in the 1980’s when eating fat free and high carb was the in thing and so I did this for many years.  The memory makes me cringe now.  All the running made me hungry and I ate too much.

I ate this way for years while running marathons and couldn’t figure out why I was not the athlete that I wanted to be.

As time went on my weight kept doing the slow creep up so I tried several popular diets which only worked temporarily and some didn’t work at all.

These were the diets I tried (if you been in involved in this industry for a while chances are you’ve tried them too):

  • Low fat high carb
  • Slim-Fast
  • Weight Watchers
  • Atkins
  • Organic
  • Weston Price Diet
  • The Schwarzbein Principle
  • Eat Fat Lose Fat
  •  The Ultimate PH Solution
  • The Makers Diet
  • A  friends diet from a personal trainer/dietician

I finally just got sick of it all and made up my own diet with healthy foods I enjoy and smaller portions.

I ate my meals from small desert plates and bowls.  I stopped eating in the evenings.  I started calling what I did mini-meals and mini-fasts and I lost 40 lbs.  Then I found Eat Stop Eat, The Venus Index Workout, and the Venus Index Community.

I recently read the Anything Goes Diet.  I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in losing weight or maintaining fitness.  I found this book to be amazingly insightful and John Barban covers all bases.  Honestly the book is so good that I can’t see how you wouldn’t succeed if you actually read the book and followed the principles.  It gave me some new ideas for my own maintenance plan.

Even though we still have so much diet confusion and conflicting advice in the media it seems like the simple truth is buried there, eat less, move more.

Here are some examples where the truth does exist in sometimes humorous ways.  I do not necessarily agree with everything in these articles but you can see some points of truth:

After attempting various diets and eating restrictions over the years I have learned to cherry pick from them and found what works for me.  Some days I temporarily change things up and eat low carb or try something different.

Still, my all-time favorite books about thinking of successful ways to eat are John Barban’s Anything Goes Diet, Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat, and Bethenny Frankel’s “Naturally Thin”.

 

Before and After. The slowly the weight crept up year after year, but the Venus Factor gives you hope.

Before and After.  Slowly the weight crept up year after year, but the Venus Factor gives you hope.

Don’t get Discouraged by Failures

Don’t get discouraged by failures.

Every successful person has failures and part of why they are successful is that they learn from their mistakes.

It is just like Thomas Edison inventing the light bulb.  You don’t have to reinvent the light bulb or the wheel.

The tools are right here right now.  Using the available tools may not stop you from all your mistakes, but you can keep your chin up and learn from them.  Most likely these tools will prevent some wasted effort and you won’t have to wait until you are 50 years old to achieve your dream.

If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.

Thomas A. Edison, Encyclopedia Britannica

US inventor (1847 – 1931)

Since you don’t have to learn the 10,000 ways how not to lose weight like I did, what are you waiting for?

It is never too late to follow your dreams!

-Ro

Filed Under: Bodyfat, calories, cardio, change, Diet, Exercise, fat loss, Food, Health, Shape, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

What If You Have Never Lifted Weights, Can You Still Do This?

August 6, 2012 by 1 Comment

Today we have an interview with Heidi Fletcher who placed 5th in the Open Level 1 in our latest Venus Index Contest.

Check out her pictures:

Heidi’s after pictures from this Venus Index Contest.

What’s amazing about this transformation is that Heidi didn’t do it alone. She did the contest with her boyfriend Adam, who placed in the latest Adonis Index contest.

Heidi never lifted weights before and she watched Adam when he was following the Adonis Index workouts.

Then finally she decided to jump in and not only do the Venus workouts, but also join the contest as well.

Adam started coaching her on how to lift the weights, how to improve her form and he was encouraging her to challenge herself more with her training.

Starting out, Heidi  wasn’t sure how much to lift for each exercise. She never trained at the gym, prior to Venus, running was her  sole form of cardio training and exercise.

Heidi was always in a pretty good shape, outside of her baby weight, she naturally ate at maintenance and kept her waist line slim.

She never did anything specifically to lose weight, because she never had to.

However, when she saw Adam getting into shape she recalled from her background in the  medical field the many benefits of lifting weights to improve overall health.  More importantly the impact weightlifting had on improving bone density, especially for  women.   This made her even more eager to get started.

Heidi with her boyfriend Adam.

 Heidi mentioned several times what a joy it was to workout with Adam, who operated as her trainer and was able to  coach her on how to lift properly.

He trained her to know what it feels like to  pushing the weights and how to safely challenge herself.

Heidi experienced a different type of exhaustion from lifting weights as opposed to just running.

This provided a learning curve until her body was able to acclimate to the training and she had a better understanding of how to test her limits.

It’s normal if you  experience these similar feelings, because it takes years to know what it takes to be exhausted at each rep range.

Heidi still has some mental barriers like fear of falling over with heavy weights, but this is something that she will overcome with time invested in the Venus workouts.

Weight Lifting Will Not Turn You Into a Green Big Monster

Most women think that weight lifting is stupid or that it will somehow turn into a big green hulk. Well, that’s not true, those muscle ladies you see on stage of Mrs. Olympia are always on massive amounts of steroids and testosterone, you will never look like that, ever, even if you lift the heaviest dumbbells in the gym.

What actually happens as a response to weight lifting is that your body tightens up and your curves will come up, which at a low body fat creates that desired attractive hourglass look.

You need to lift weights to look good, feel healthy and to become a stronger woman, there is no other way around it.

The only issue is that we don’t have enough role models for this, so the general assumption is lifting weights = big bulky muscles = unattractive.

Right now the only way to see what looks good is to look at certain movie stars, natural fitness models or even certain fashion models and see the real results from intense training.

What you can also do, is go here into our transformation database and take a look at what our ladies have achieved with the intense Venus Index workouts.

More tips from Heidi:

  • Photoshoots are not just standing there and taking a snap shot, it’s hard work and you should be prepared to take hundreds of pictures to pick one or two good ones
  • When you are lean your look will change depending on what you eat and how much you move
  • When you are lean you might consider fasting just for 16-18 instead of 24, and maybe more often
  • When you get to the last 5 pounds of fat, it gets harder and even though it’s still only about calories, your approach will have to change a bit
  • Trust the VI numbers
  • Everybody will look different at the same metrics
  • Get to the point where you like what you are seeing in a mirror
  • Your running will improve as you follow along with the Venus Index workouts, because stronger muscles take longer to fatigue
  • Don’t be afraid of weight lifting
  • You can lift and run at a same time
  • Watch yourself in a mirror
  • Have someone there to correct your form

Links from the interview:

Read Heidi’s experience with Venus Index in her own words:

I have never done a dieting plan before or even really focused on working out. I have been a runner on and off and have generally eaten healthy. While doing this program, though, I learned that eating is so much more than just healthy food and that exercise is so much more than just having a fast heart rate. I learned that my body can function on foods I choose to put into it and that I get to choose what my body looks like…Continue reading here

Listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: change, Contest, Interview, Podcast, transformation Tagged With: , ,

Transformation Is a Family Affair! Part 2

August 3, 2012 by 5 Comments
My gorgeous tween daughter today
My gorgeous tween daughter today

This is the conclusion of a blog post from last week. If you haven’t already read Part 1, please catch up here: Transformation is a Family Affair!

For those of you who have Venus Index Community access, there are quite a few comments being shared about Part 1 as well as some blog posts where members delve into their relationship with their mother while growing up as it pertains to the topics of body image, self-esteem, and transformation.

Here Are Some Highlights of the Ongoing Discussion:

  • We face new challenges in this modern age, some of which our own experience did not prepare us for.
  • The media plays a key role in developing body image, especially teen, fitness and fashion magazines.
  • Many kids use food to self soothe and/or eat mindlessly.
  • Anything can set a child off on a possible path to disordered eating. It might just be a passing comment. This is more true for girls but applies to boys as well.
  • Addressing a child’s body weight issue is a difficult conversation which some parents are unwilling or unable to take on, even if the child repeatedly asked for help.
  • Some difficult topics can be made less uncomfortable by doing things such as discussing while driving or doing the dishes.
  • Beginning these conversations is important so underlying issues can be allowed to surface. It is a process.
  • While we know there is a genetic ideal for adults, we are not so clear on what the truth of the matter is for children. How do we even know for sure if our child has an issue that needs to be addressed?
  • Simply telling a child that they are fat or eat too much is not helpful. Adults barely understand how to work through the process of reducing body fat in a safe manner. A child needs patient guidance and ongoing support given in a loving and non-critical manner.
  • Women who grew up during the 1970s and before remember a time when it was “normal” to constantly “diet”. Perhaps some of the methods were not ideal but there is a lesson in there; we were indeed thinner. If periodically dieting is what it takes to maintain that for some of us, what could possibly be wrong with that? Ideally, learning to minimize periods of weight gain is the ultimate goal but until that is mastered, getting back on course through a mini-diet as soon as required is a healthy approach to maintaining an ideal weight.
  • With the bulk of adults now overweight or obese, guiding our children has become quite the challenge. How can we teach what we do not ourselves know?
  • Some of us come through childhood with the disadvantage of having been led astray by parents who just didn’t have emotional maturity about their own self-image and, intentionally or not, did emotional damage to their kids. Be kind to yourself if you find you need to overcome and heal childhood wounds. That may be a lifelong process but it does not mean you need to repeat the same mistakes that were made. Also, as above, simply communicating with your children even about your mistakes goes a long way.
  • Be careful using food as a manipulator/drug/healer/reward! Yes, we do sometimes all need to sit down to a big old tub of ice cream or plate of cookies or know we’re loved because we got lasagna on our birthday, but just think carefully when you are dealing with a developing child who is developing associations.
  • When judging your parents, know that they had their own issues with their parents. Know too that you won’t possibly do everything perfectly. Forgiveness and compassion go a long way, especially towards yourself!
  • Children do not get the same portion size as adults! (This was a big eye-opener for me!)
  • Other cultures do still nip the problem in the bud by having children diet, something that has come to be considered dangerous in North America.

Last week, I was discussing how my older daughter came to my husband and me asking for help getting leaner. She had begun to perceive herself as fat. At the same time, my younger daughter who has always been very lean has some issues we need to guide her through including being willing to try more foods, eat a balanced diet, and eat enough around activities such as socializing and gymnastics.

My husband and I have stayed up into the wee hours discussing how to preserve and nurture our older daughter’s delicate self-esteem while empowering her to gently shift her ways of eating and moving her body towards a life-long habit of both physical and emotional health.

We have been forthcoming with her about the methods we used to achieve our results and also open about our ignorance of what she as a child should safely do.

Lifting weights?

Perhaps not yet.

Caloric restriction?

Perhaps minimal.

The goal has never been a 12 week transformation. The most important goal has always been education and safe, gradual improvement both internally and externally. Physical and emotional health are what parents want for their children.

But is it taboo to say we’d be happy to help take it further if and when she is interested?

The bottom line is we are in charge of her health and she is in charge of her body.

The VI and AI ratios have helped us to finally understand not only what look is most attractive, it’s also the genetic ideal. In other words, if the body is used and treated ideally, this is the shape it takes on.

So part of our education process can be helping her understand what she is capable of and helping her understand why she is still unsatisfied with what she has achieved to date. Just as I am teaching my daughters how to work with their hair (curly hair has a steep learning curve) and how to put together flattering outfits, I am also there to help them understand how to achieve their most flattering figure.

The difference here is she leads, we follow. Because she is now feeling very proud of the progress she has made in the last few years, we are careful not to jeopardize her developing self-confidence. If and when she wants to take it further, we are there to help explain the concepts.

One day last week was very hectic so a pizza on the run was the plan for dinner. My older daughter said to her dad, “Hey, we’d better eat a very light breakfast and lunch since we’re having pizza later.” How cool that she has begun to responsibility for how much she eats while still checking in and continuing to learn.

You Are Both the Parent and the Coach

When did it become taboo to tell a child not to eat right before dinner, that vegetables are as critical to health as is sufficient protein or that perhaps cheese is not the best snack but rather something that should be enjoyed in limited quantities?

Without controlling what she chooses to eat, we have regular discussions about nutrition and let her make her own choices.

My gorgeous tween daughter today

My gorgeous tween daughter today

Over time, her choices constantly improve.

The flip-side of this is we don’t force our girls to choke down meals we decided they should eat. Everyone has their own tastes and we honor this and play to their strengths without capitulating to a junk food diet.

If it’s not in the house, it’s not going to be eaten all the time.

If they want an occasional treat, we’re usually up for going out and getting it.

The thing is, now that we’re not bringing multiple pints of ice cream and take out pizzas into the house so often, they gradually stopped asking so much. We did at first explain that we needed to have less of these things as we were cutting down.

Now that we have let these foods back into our life on a more regular basis, we are all more in control. Friday night tends to be treat night around here and that feels fun.

You Must Parent Each Child Uniquely

Although I attempt to get my younger daughter to try new things, I understand that it is not always possible for her to eat food items that she finds abhorrent. I still remember simply not being able to choke down most of what was served to me during my childhood. The difference is I was expected to eat what I was served and was made to feel wrong for not liking it. While it’s easy sometimes to understand this pattern of thinking, especially when the meal really is quite delicious, I have to respect her tastes.

I have invested significant time and effort into trying to get her to be honest about her current likes and dislikes and we talk about being willing to taste new things more than once to be sure that she truly doesn’t care for the item right now.

We also talk about not dismissing a plate based upon looks.

I do strive to add visual appeal for her sake, something I’d never bothered with before. And I don’t hop up and fix a whole new meal.

She knows that if she rejects what I’m serving, I’m going to sit and enjoy the meal I’ve lovingly prepared and she can either wait or fix herself a healthy snack.

We also don’t try to control her small appetite which used to cause us such concern.

We have grown to love that she knows when to stop eating.

Sort of…

She will actually eat far more than her share of treats! Luckily, access to unlimited treats is pretty rare.

We do not ever demand she finish what I arbitrarily portioned onto her plate. We also sometimes need to make certain she actually does eat, like before gymnastics which she does 3 days a week for 3 hours at a time. And we have to jump through a few hoops to get her to eat enough protein.

Her tastes are a moving target and while I do not want to coddle her, I also don’t want to have a resentful atmosphere. Also, I trust that as she matures, so will her tastes.

We notice her attitude and strength are affected when she goes without food for too long.

So for the sake of our sanity, sometimes we simply must insist she eat!

We try to keep that to a minimum and we always explain the circumstances.

On her rest days, she can do without food for hours.

It’s all good.

How refreshing to have let this battle of wills go!

What issues are you dealing with?

Because I have not been free to discuss this taboo subject openly, finding my way has been an iterative process of learning about how healthy adult human bodies work, mostly from the Venus Index Uncensored Podcasts, and then relying heavily on intuition when applying these teachings to my children.

Does anything in this resonate with you?

Or irk you?

Let’s hear it!

Filed Under: Bodyfat, calories, change, Diet, Exercise, fat loss, Food, transformation, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , ,

You Can Change the Way You Look

July 30, 2012 by 2 Comments

Today we have an interview with Ioana Tarce who placed 2nd in our  latest Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Check out her pictures:

Ioana is happy with her after pictures, what about you?

Ioana never felt bad in her own skin and she never worked out or followed any type of diet.

She was always pretty satisfied with her body, living her regular lifestyle and not trying to change it.

She told us that she thought it was actually impossible to change her body. She thought working out was stupid and she didn’t want anyone to tell her what to eat and what not to eat, so she just dismissed training and nutrition completely.

She took some aerobic classes and Pilates to stay active, but she got bored really quickly, so she never stuck to it. Sounds familiar?

Then…

Her Boyfriend Introduced Her to the Venus Index

She saw other women that have gotten amazing results and she wanted to achieve that figure too.

She decided why not give it a shot and see what it can do for her.

She went to the gym and did the first workout, which wasn’t exactly easy. Truth be told,  if you have never worked out then your muscles are weak and you have to expect some resistance and possible soreness at the  beginning of your fitness journey.   The GOOD NEWS is that beginners adapt quickly and the results in strength and muscle gains are really fast compared to women who train often.

At first Ioana couldn’t even do a pushup, now here she is:

If you are doing a photoshoot, apart from some usual posses, why not take a few fun ones?

After a few weeks Ioana started feeling muscles she never thought she had. She was also pretty surprised at how quickly she adapted to the physical stress of weight training.

After a few weeks her clothes started feeling a bit loose, more proof that what she was doing was working.

The biggest benefit was that Ioana started enjoying her workouts, which was a tremendous attitude adjustment compared to a few months prior when she believed the concept of working out to be just plain stupid.

Is Hard Dieting & Cardio Necessary for Fat Loss?

For the diet part of the transformation Ioana didn’t do anything special. She didn’t obsess herself over macronutrients, she wasn’t preparing meals every three hours nor did she follow any type of the mainstream nutrition approach.

She kept it simple, she threw in a couple of fasts, she kept it light during the day by cooking low calorie meals like salads and soups and watched the portions in the restaurants she went to on regular basis.

She wasn’t doing traditional cardio either. She didn’t do two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon on a treadmill, she just went jogging when she felt like going and that was it.

No stress or obsession about cardio or diet, just an easy and simple approach that was flexible enough for her to sustain for the whole 12 week transformation.

Tips from Ioana:
  • “I was working out in hotel rooms when I was on the road, it’s important to  improvise to get the workouts done”
  • “You don’t need a professional photoshoot, my boyfriend took the pictures with a borrowed camera on the balcony of our appartment”
  • “Don’t stress yourself over little details at the beginning, you will figure things out on the road”
  • “I no longer believe that working out is dumb, actually I think it’s amazing and everyone should do it”
  • “If you are getting bored with your regular routines, try the Venus Index Workout, there are no traditional exercises and it’s fun every time”
  • “Get into the contests, it’s great motivation, because submitting your pictures will make you wanna work harder on yourself”
  • “Even if the journey is not perfect, you will still see some difference in your physique, every step forward counts”
  • “The first few hours of the fast are the worst, but after that it’s pretty easy”
  • “The last week of the contest is when you will see what body shape you have actually built, it’s weird, but it gets revealed in that last week”

Links from the interview:

  • Main VI Workout – Workout program that’s focused on building your naturally attractive ideal body shape – hourglass shape
  • Eat Stop Eat – Lifestyle base around the beauty of intermittent fasting
  • Adonis Index – Lifestyle and training approach that’s focused on building ideal metrics for men

Read Ioana’s experience with Venus Index in her own words:

My VI experience started when my boyfriend, whom is an AI program user introduced me the idea of body index. It seemed logical for a person who is an engineer although at the time I didn’t believe body building was for girls…nevertheless, I got the program. I was out of shape and I started the VI program to get back in shape, to be fit and toned. I thought it would be hard. Especially…Continue reading here

Listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: change, Contest, Interview, Podcast, transformation Tagged With: , ,
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