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See How Easily Valerie Got The Same Shape She Had In Her 20’s

April 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment

 

Valerie was shocked when she realized she got to the same shape as her 20's. You can do this too!

Valerie was shocked when she realized she got to the
same shape as in her 20’s.   You can do this too!

 

 

Valerie Mainridge placed Fifth in our VT-9 Venus Transformation Contest.

 

Here is what Valerie had to say about how the Venus Factor program worked for her, in her own words:

Since starting the VI 9 transformation contest, I have been on quite the journey.  I started strong in September by sticking to the diet and the workouts.  But, by the middle of September my father-in-law passed away which meant we had to fly back home for a week.  There were many temptations around, but I tried to stick to my calorie allotment and I found creative ways to get my VI workouts done while staying at a hotel.  By the end of September, I came down with a terrible sinus infection that had me out of commission for 15 days.  I briefly considered dropping out of the contest, but I had seen very positive results with the first month so I decided to continue on and make up the workouts I missed while being sick.

I have tried so many diets over the past 15 years and I did initially lose weight on them, but I would get to a certain point to where I would stop losing weight and eventually the weight came back on.  With the Venus Index, I finally can see my body changing shape, getting stronger, and feeling healthy.  Now that I am at the end of the contest, I can truthfully say that I feel like I finally have control over my body to shape it through a sensible diet and exercise program.

 

Starting metrics:

Height 68”

Weight 153 pounds

Shoulders 40”

Waist 32”

Hips 39”

 

Ending metrics:

Weight 135 pounds

Shoulders 41 “

Waist 27 “

Hips 36”

 

Valerie was shocked that she got the same shape she had in her 20's! Awesome job Valerie!

Awesome job Valerie!

 

Congratulations on your success Valerie.  We at the Venus Factor wish you all the best, we hope you are proud of your success, and we are very happy for you!

 

You can find Valerie’s blog in our online Venus community for inspiration.

Listen to Valerie’s interview with John here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: Diet, Exercise, fat loss, Muscle Growth, transformation, Uncategorized, Weight training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Do you make this obvious mistake when measuring your fat loss progress?

April 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment

 

Comparing your rate of fat loss change to another is like comparing apples to oranges.

Comparing your rate of fat loss change to another is like
comparing apples to oranges.

 

Do you compare your rate of change to another person?

It is like comparing apples to oranges.  All of us come into the process with a different genetics, age, height, body fat percentage, health, physical conditioning, history of dieting, and the list goes on.

Fat loss does not happen linearly, it happens in random chunks.  We all have some periods of time where it appears that nothing is happening.  People call it a plateau but it is not really a plateau.  It’s just that the body weight scale can’t tell you what is happening. Water alone can fluctuate several pounds within any given day!

There are far to many factors that the scale can’t show:

  • allergies
  • muscle soreness
  • inflamation
  • muscle building
  • water retenion
  • food allergies
  • sodium
  • water loss
  • hormone fluctuations
  • food digestion
  • food allergies

And many more…

 

Water in the body can fluctuate several pounds on any given day

The body weight scale is really only good as a trend over time, sometimes months.  It took me two years to lose 60 pounds; think about that, it’s not very fast (probably because I’m very tiny and short;  it included large chunks of times where it appeared no change was taking place.  But I stuck with the process and didn’t worry about it and finally something kicked loose.  It happened in random chunks like that the whole time.  It’s a good thing I didn’t get discouraged and give up or I would never have achieved my goal and I wouldn’t have the new life I have right now.

Sometimes people give up and if they would have waited just a week longer they might have gotten their random “whoosh”.  That whoosh is sometimes just what you need to keep you going again through the next apparent plateau (which really is not a plateau).

New people come in all the time and complain that nothing has happened for 3 weeks!  

Three weeks is not very long at all.

Most of us do see results in 3 weeks but it really depends on the randomness that your body decides to drop it.  Usually those that have their big “losses” in the beginning will eventually also have some slow down and chunkiness in progress.

This is exactly why Jake protected his wife from seeing the scale when she was in the last contest.  Michelle talked about how that worked for her and then John explained why that was such a clever idea!  It’s probably a big reason she stayed motivated and came in first place.  It is also exactly what I did in VT4 where I got first place.

 

Be encouraged by users in the community who sometimes had to wait 6 weeks to see results!

Here’s a list of ladies in the forum who had to be very patient and some of them waited 6 weeks before they saw a change. These ladies are always encouraging others and have great stories and words of wisdom.

Read their blogs and be encouraged and inspired.

nfaith

Valerie in MT

Living vintageously in a modern world

triggs

SteelerMom

Susie

heatherb

heavenlymercy

Andrea

Lou Ann Tigergal

kellydunwell

melindaworland

tracylys

april

angels1chance

lisa32

 

Here’s some words of wisdom from John Barban on the subject:

The terms ‘fat loss’ and ‘weight loss’ often get used interchangeably, but they shouldn’t.

 If you lose a pound of fat, then technically you should weigh a pound less. This however is hard to detect if your daily water fluctuation and the amount of food and drinks you have in your body can be as much as 5-7lbs in any given day. If you just drink a few glasses of water you will easily be a pound heavier due to the extra water weight added to your body. Eating a big meal can easily add 3-5 pounds of weight to your body while you’re digesting and assimilating the food. These are temporary gains in body weight and do not necessarily mean you’ve gained body mass be it fat or muscle. It’s really just food in your gut.

 Understanding that your daily body ‘weight’ can fluctuate 3-5 pounds just from the weight of the food you have eaten it’s not surprising that you may not really be able to detect a 1 pound decrease in fat mass. At least not detectably on a scale.

 Also when you have a significant amount of fat to lose (in excess of 40lbs) you’re body will be carrying excess water along with the excess fat. This means that if and when you decide to start cutting fat you will experience a ‘weight’ loss that exceeds your actual ‘fat’ loss. As you lose body fat you will also lose a certain amount of excess water retention. This is a good thing as excess water makes you look smooth and bloated and it takes away from your muscular definition.

 It’s typical for someone to lose twice as much ‘weight’ as ‘fat’ in the initial stages of a fat loss cut down. Someone who needs to drop 40lbs will likely see a big weight loss at the beginning. It’s a good bet that in the first 2-4 weeks at least 50% of the ‘weight’ that is coming off is water, the rest is actual fat. This higher ratio of weight loss to fat loss starts to drop as you get to lower body fat percentages.

 It seems that as you drop below approx 25% body fat you can assume that most of the actual weight you lose is due purely to fat loss.

 Finally when you’re close to or below 20% body fat or lower you may notice that you get visibly leaner and can lose fat without seeing your bodyweight change much at all. At this final stage you will be lean enough that even minor changes in fat levels will make a difference on your visible definition. These changes will be proportionally small when it comes to measurable weight, however the changes they make to your visible definition will be big.

 It’s true that losing 1 pound of fat when you’re body fat is 30% will not even be noticeable, however losing a full pound of fat when your body fat is 20% will make a dramatic difference in your look even if the scale doesn’t budge.

 Finally your muscle hydration and weight training status will also change how full and heavy your muscles are on a day to day basis. Having fully hydrated and glycogen loaded muscles can dramatically increase your bodyweight, even if it only lasts for a day or two. This ability of your muscles to swell with water, nutrients and glycogen can also throw off your measurement of fat loss vs weight loss. When you’re very lean you can actually lose fat, and even gain weight at the same time. These likely won’t be huge swings but it’s definitely possible.

 In summary:

 You can you lose fat without losing weight.

 You can even gain weight while losing fat.

 If you have lots of fat to lose, you’ll start out by losing significantly more weight than is accounted for by fat due to a reduction in water retention…this is a good thing.

 When you’re approaching 20% body fat and attempting to cut even lower you will likely get leaner without seeing much of a change in body weight. (this odd effect is partly why people think the last 10 pounds are harder to lose.)

 In reality they’re still losing fat but the total amount of weight that is coming off starts to slow down.

 John

 

User quotes show how wildly the rate of change varies for each person

I went through the blogs today for a couple of hours and collected various progress report quotes from the top of blogs (you might see some of your own words here).  They are in chronological order from the last couple of weeks.  I was actually happy to see that most were happy posts, but some were frustration.

Besides the fact that the rate of change varies quite wildly from one person to the next, so does the mindset.  Some people were happy with just a few pounds where others had lost more than that and were unhappy and frustrated.  Mindset is EVERYTHING!

 

 

It was my weigh-in day this morning, and no movement, same as last week. BUT, I lost an inch off my bust, from 37″ to 36″, which I am hoping is my back bacon, and not my boobs! HA! Hey, a loss is a loss, am I right?

 

Week 10 and I lost another pound. My official weigh in days are Thursdays, but I couldn’t wait this morning. I had to see. Last week 158.6, this week 157.6. WHOA! This is weird to me because I lost close to 5 pounds the first 2 weeks on this program, then is slowed to about a half pound/week after that. It was slow going. I was starting to get frustrated, but I promised myself I wouldn’t quit.

 

Week 6 almost finished. The inches are coming off, but extremely slow!! I’ve only lost one inch in the waist, one inch in the shoulders, and 1/2 inch in the hips in the last three weeks!!! I guess it’s better than nothing.

 

It’s a lifetime of habit; but it was worth it. I am down 9 lbs. in 11 days.

 

The first week on this I only lose 2 pounds…..I hoped that by the end of week 2 I would have lost alot more, because I really tried hard this week. I didn’t lose any pounds…I’m very discouraged. I have 105 pounds to lose and I am tired of trying. I always hope but it seems like those dreams are always dashed….not sure what to do right now..any help?

 

I have lost 7 1/2 lbs to date and I have lost a total of 4.5 inches off my body. Things are changing, at a pace I can manage 🙂

 

I’m feeling so good about myself I’m down 5lbs in the first week. I’ve done a ton of reading and making sure that I’m active everyday.

 

Well I completed my first two weeks.
I am only down 4 pds overall….just yesterday I was down 5pds…lol
Trying not to get discouraged after listening to some people who have lost 9 pds in first week…….everyone’s different

 

I’ve determined that even though the scale as not even budged a 1/10 since March 7th, that I still must be doing something right. I lose anywhere from a 1/4″ to 1/2″ varying from every spot I measure (upper arm, shoulders, waist, hips, upper thigh). My muscle is getting better; I see some serious arm muscle when I flex. I REALLY wish the scale would keep going down, though. I’m going into my 10th week and I’ve only lost 13 pounds or so I dunno…. I’m sort of frustrated. It’d be great if I at least went down a size… what gives?

 

Well, i officially ended week 1 and could NOT be happier with my results! I am down 8.2 pounds in 7 days, which is more than I lost in 2.5 months on Weight Watchers this year!

 

Well I’m slowing down. The first 2 weeks that I was on the program (2 weigh in but only 11 days) I lost 3.5 lbs each time. The following 2 weigh in were 1.5 lbs each and now today’s was only half a pound!

 

Can I just say how excited I am? I started out at 188 pounds, and weighed in this am at 176. I am down 9.3 inches, too.

 

So, this morning when I weighed myself I was 174.2 Yippee!
It seems like so long ago, but last year before getting pregnant I weighed over 200 pounds.

 

Ok so I’m almost 2 weeks in and have only dropped 3 lbs, but not seeing any significant change. I’m kinda thinking the amount of carbs is a bit high on the meal plans. I see loads of post of women that are dropping weight like crazy. Any suggestions as to what has helped make significant changes in other people?

 

I’m going to start week 5 and I’m stuck in -4 pounds. I don’t know what happens. I don’t have any problem with the calorie intake and also I’m doing 3-4 times exercise per week I believe in the program but, something is wrong with me.

 

In that three weeks I lost 2 lbs….. but it was 2lbs of FAT, I am positive there was no water loss this time. I can fit into a size 4 jeans still 7 lbs from my ideal weight range and 21 lbs from my target weight! Soooooo cool! And here I was thinking I was sabotaging myself…. silly me….

 

I started on week 5. I did finally weigh myself – 11 lbs down since the end of week 1. My work belt and pants are definitely looser. I haven’t done any measuring lately.

 

Was 78.6kg (2 weeks ago) Now 73.9kg I just wanted to scream it out loud LOL

 

Yay down 5.6 lbs!!! Started at 196lbs and now 190.4lbs. Love that I can still eat what I want as long as I am still within calories. Workouts are going well too as I have lost inches too.

 

I lost another two pounds, one inch off my hips and two inches off my waist. This is awesome.
For me I can tell that shoulders and thighs are going to be the slow ones.

 

Okay week one weigh in. I lost 1 pound and 1 inch. Hopeful to lose more. My son been great. We been doing Zumba together.

 

I have had a moderate start to Venus. I had a little over 60lbs to lose. So far I am down 14!

 

I was surprised to see that I am down 9 lbs. woohoo
145 to 136. I’m getting my fit on. I am really liking the results!

 

I am coming to the end of week 10 and I am happy that I have reached my Venus goals for my hips and shoulders, but my stomach is 3 or 4 inches away. My progress has been slow, but I am almost there. I am 9 lbs and 3 inches always from reaching my Venus goal. I don’t think that I will do it in the next 2 weeks. but I will get there. I hear the last 10 lbs are the hardest to lose.

 

So here are the results for my first 12 weeks.

Started at 92kg or 202.5lbs now 79.8kg or 175.7lbs with a loss this week of 1.7kg or 3.7lbs, total lost of 12.2kg or 26.8lbs.

Shoulders total loss of 14cm or 5.6 inch
Bust total loss of 14.5cm or 5.8 inch
Arms total loss of 5cm or 2 inch each
Waist total loss of 14cm or 5.6 inch
Hips total loss of 21.5 cm or 8.6 inch
Legs total loss of 8cm or 3.2 inch each

Grant total of 90cm or 36 inch

I have been on the program for one week. I am down one pound.

 

Definitely feeling smaller all over and clothes looser. Weight is down 16 lbs and waist is 2″ smaller.

 

Well, finishing up week 3 and enjoying the diet.
Its not as hard as i thought it would be. I didn’t lose any weight again though. That is very frustrating. I saw 169.2 once and then the next day right back up over 170 again.
So very frustrating!!

 

Down to 145 this morning!! Hello size 10! (Down from 13) can’t wait to buy a pair of size 8 jeans….hopefully soon!

 

This week I managed to be 1 pound lighter and remove .5 cm from my waist.  Total of 7.6 pounds in 3 weeks.

 

Well, I am simply AMAZED to find that I am not only loosing weight but also loosing inches everywhere… Down to 9 pounds of weight loss & more than 12 inches here and there after 3 weeks.

 

I just finished week 12 on the program and I feel fantastic! I lost 3 more pounds this week for a total loss of 22 pounds since the beginning of January!

 

Start date: 30/12/2013 Waist: 81 cm Shoulder 110cm and weight 63 kilos
Today: Waist 74cm Shoulder 102cm weight 56.3 kilos
Total Lost to date Waist -7.0cm Shoulder-8.0cm weight -6.7cm
So in just over 3 months I am nearly 7 kilos lighter, which is fantastic.

 

So after my first week I am down 5 lbs.

 

It’s the end of my fourth week and NOTHING is happening! I waffle between 209 and 208. My measurements are exactly the same….I am soo frustrated!

 

 

Wow, that sure is a lot of variety.  So what will you do next time you start to get discouraged?

I hope you come back and look at some of the community blogs for encouragement, read John’s words of wisdom, or just focus on the process.

Have a great weekend!

-Ro

You can find me in the Venus online community as RobertaSaum.

Filed Under: fat loss, Uncategorized, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Successfully Maintain your New Shape; Uncensored Podcast

April 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment
What are the tools and tricks of the trade used by successful Adonis and Venus members?

What are the tools, tips and tricks of the trade, and strategies used by successful Adonis and Venus members?

 

In today’s uncensored podcast John and Brad will speak to us about the tried and true strategies used by successful Venus and Adonis members:

 

What are the tips and tricks used that actually work?

What is the mental mindset?

What about workouts and exercise?

What is most important regarding awareness about eating?

What do you have to admit to yourself?

What makes the lifestyle sustainable?

What foods are most important to focus on?

What about food intake is considered a win?

Will you ever go back?

What about fluctuating weight?

 

Listen to what John and Brad have to say about successful maintenance strategies here:

 

IMMERSION Clients May Login and Download Podcast Here

(If you are using Venus Index Mobile, go to the left menu -> My products -> right menu -> Uncensored Season 3 -> enjoy, you can assign star to add it into Favorites for easier access next time, if you don’t have access to Uncensored Podcasts you can purchase Immersion Package inside the App Shop)

Not a Venus Index IMMERSION client? Click here to find out more…

 

 

 

Filed Under: Podcast, Uncategorized, Uncensored Podcasts S03 Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Get Rid of Weight Loss Fallacies Once and For All!

March 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Melissa BnA

“I now weigh 142 pounds and it just keeps coming off! The compliments come from people every day. I am a more confident and outgoing woman now. I do not want this journey to end! I will continue to strive toward my Venus Index Measurements. I love the Venus Factor program! Anybody can do this! Thank you for changing my life forever!”

 

Melissa Drachenberg placed Ninth in our VT-9 Venus Transformation Contest.

 

 

Melissa is very busy with her exciting and successful life, but she had a lot to say about how the Venus Factor program worked for her, in her own words:

The twelve-week contest was beginning and I felt confident enough to join. Just four weeks prior to the contest, I became a Venus member. I was 170 pounds when I joined. By the time the contest began, I had already lost eleven pounds and I could see a big difference in the way my clothes fit. I was still very uncomfortable taking pictures and knowing other people would be looking at them for this contest. I was wearing a size 12-14 pants at the time. The excuses of, “weight comes with age” and “it’s a lot harder to lose weight now that I’m in my 40’s,” had to stop!!!!!

It is important to know that this twelve week contest was a contest I did for me and not for anyone else. I didn’t join to win or impress other people. I joined to see my very own progress and change in twelve weeks. Every week I lost about two pounds and if I didn’t lose pounds, I lost inches. I faithfully counted calories, ate two meals a day, and did my three workouts a week. For the longest time I did not buy new clothes because I knew I wouldn’t be in that size for long and I didn’t have the money to waste. Belts became my best friend. Just recently, I finally went and bought clothes because I felt I looked frumpy with my baggy clothes. I am now into a size 6-8 pants. Never have I been this size! The measurement change has been just as amazing!

I now weigh 142 pounds and it just keeps coming off! The compliments come from people every day. I am a more confident and outgoing woman now. I do not want this journey to end! I will continue to strive toward my Venus Index Measurements. I love the Venus Factor program! Anybody can do this! Thank you for changing my life forever! 🙂

Height 63”

Start:  Weight 159 pounds, Shoulders 44”, Waist 33”, Hips 43”

End:  Weight 142 pounds, Shoulders 39”, Waist 29”, Hips 37”

 

Congratulations on your success Melissa.  We at the Venus Factor wish you all the best, we hope you are proud of your success, and we are very happy for you!

 

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Filed Under: transformation, Uncategorized, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Avoid Discouragement and Gain Your Best Physique Ever

March 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Jenny Weaks and John Barban

Jenny Weaks and John Barban

 

As we move into the final stretch of the Venus Transformation Contest VT-10 some of you have probably learned a few things; such as we are all human, we all stumble forward, and the results of our work dramatically delay the consistent daily efforts.

John talks about the delayed rewards in his interview with our VT-9 first place winner Michelle Hahn.  The interview is motivating and well worth the listen.

Here are some tips for staying on track during the final home stretch as well as life long strategies to keep your shape:

 

  •       Remember what it feels like to eat too much food.
  •       Remember what it feels like to eat at a deficit.
  •       Remember what it feels like to eat just the right amount.
  •       Admit that you must stay aware of food intake for life if you want to keep your shape.  It doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself, just stay aware.
  •       Not gaining weight for a period of time is always a WIN.
  •      With exercise it’s okay to make a grand final push during the last stretch, but after that keep workouts fun and sustainable to avoid burnout.
  •       Focus on eating vegetables; lean protein, and then carbs and fat will generally fall into place.
  •      Treat your food intake like a financial budget.  When we store extra fat it’s like a mortgage debt, it will stay there and it will accumulate unless we make payments.
  •      Don’t fall pray to “hormone mania” and broken metabolism theories (if you are in doubt make a visit to your doctor). For the most part we gain fat as we get older because we have more time to accumulate “debt” without realizing we need to take action.
  •        Exercise does very little to lose fat.  Of course we burn some, but it’s not significant except for very lean athletes (especially males).
  •        It’s okay to skip any meal you want, even breakfast. There is no scientific evidence to prove you need breakfast. Breakfast food companies mainly propagate the myth that you need breakfast.  Breakfast can be whatever food you want, at whatever time you want, sometime after waking.
  •        Even if exercise doesn’t burn as much as everyone thought, of course it improves your health.  Just a little every day is beneficial, even just 20 minutes.
  •        Too much strenuous exercise is counter productive to fat loss because it makes you fatigued, lethargic, and extra hungry due to the stress it’s placed on your body.  Small bursts of any activity you enjoy is great, and just enough resistance training to maintain health and bone density.
  •        Everyone does a “fast” when they sleep at night. So a trick to eating a bit less is to prolong the nightly fast either by eating dinner early then no snacking or no more eating in the evening, or skipping breakfast and just having some coffee instead.  This creates a shorter sort of “eating window” which helps many people stay in budget.
  •       Fasting isn’t for everyone, but if it works for you that is okay too. People have been fasting since the beginning of human kind, for spiritual and religious purposes and also for survival when we were merely hunter/gatherers.
  •        It’s okay to feel hungry sometimes when you are attempting to lose fat, it won’t kill you, and in fact it may be a necessary part of “paying off the fat debt”.
  •        It doesn’t matter when you eat or don’t eat; all that matters is the cumulative daily calories over time.

 

One key thing to remember is that your day-to-day work, effort, and choices are not very exciting at all.  The excitement comes much later, it’s very delayed, and there is not much instant gratification in the actual process.  If you can’t be patient and just keep going you will get discouraged.

To avoid discouragement focus on the process and not the results.  Rejoice in healthy new eating habits that stick, healthy new workout habits that stick, enjoyment of your new healthier lifestyle, and all the other positive things that come along in the process (there are many!)

Before you know it the results will be there and will catch you by surprise and you will have the best physique ever.

It will be just like Jenny who is happy with her physique now in her 40’s compared to any other time in her life. She also learned that you can’t out work too much food. She learned to be patient and she got what she always wanted, in fact even in her 40’s she’s got a physique a teenager would die for.

Jenny is one of our Venus coaches.  She answers questions in the forum and she is our expert on exercise form all keeps all of our exercise documentation up to date.  We will all see and hear more about Jenny very soon. There are new and exciting developments in the works.  It’s something we can all look forward to.

And of course we all very much look forward to seeing the results of VT-10 in just a few short weeks.

The deadline for VT-10 final entries will be April 14, 2014.  There will be more updates on this in email soon.

Keep your eye on the prize.

-Ro

You can find me inside the community here:  RobertaSaum

Filed Under: Shape, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

How Rhea went from Emotional Eating to Total Confidence in Mid Life

March 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Rhea conquered emotional eating with the Venus Factor program and Dr. Nicola Bird

Rhea conquered emotional eating with the Venus Factor program, support from family and friends, and listening to Dr. Nicola Bird

 

Rhea placed Tenth in our VT-9 Transformation contest

 

Rhea has been so active and busy enjoying life with her husband, family, and new grandchildren that she never got a chance to interview with John.  But she wanted to share her story and her pictures.  We are very happy for Rhea and her new confidence and new life.  Congratulations Rhea and well done!

Rhea said a key to her success and overcoming emotional issues were the Dr. Nicola Bird podcasts.

 

Dr. Nicola and John talk about many of the issues that are important to start working on right away, before you reach your fitness goals:

 

Dr. Nicola Bird

Nicola’s Online Program

 

Here is what Rhea has to say in her own words:

At 54 and four kids later, I decided I wanted to actually complete one full 12-week program. The “nutritional piece” of most programs I own (30) have too many rules. Being a recovering bulimic, rules can trigger my perfectionism. It wasn’t worth giving up my recovery to lose those last few pounds. Then when I read the VF material, I decided I would give it a try. I felt the VF philosophy gave me the freedom to make my own rules within broader guidelines without guilt. So, I entered a contest to make myself accountable to finish.

My husband was a great encourager, but the blog threads gave me specific help related to the program. Another amazing help was the emails. It seemed that both John’s knew exactly what I was struggling with at certain weeks! Nicole’s conversations about body image, perfectionism and emotional eating were on target to what I personally struggle with.

Now I’m the size I was in college, pre-marriage and pre-children! I never thought I could do it without being active in my disease. Amazingly, I feel sexier than I ever have, which my husband is thrilled about. I have experience lots of “firsts” along the journey. This is my first time to finish a program, my first spray tan, first time to own 5” heels, first bikini in 35 years and most certainly my first photos in one! Thrilled with my results and the program.

The most vital thing to me was the support of others. First was my husband who ate lean meals with me and worked around my “feeding up” days to go out for meals. He never complained and often asked what he could do to help me. He frequently reminded me that he loved me just as I was, but he sure liked the end result! I have to admit I bought a dvd to learn pole dancing. Can I say that? That’s how much more confident I feel about my body.

Second was Carol my exercise partner of seven years. She went through all the routines with me enduring every reverse lung and step up combo. We had some good laughs on first attempts at T-bends and step-up/presses. People at the gym jokingly call us the two women who are training for the Olympics in “synchronized weight lifting” because we do everything at the same time with the same counts.

Third would be my faith and hope in Christ. I know,  that may sound odd, unrelated and counter cultural. However, my struggle with perfectionism and shame resulted in the slow death of an eating disorder. Learning that my worth is not defined by my weight or body shape was a hard journey. I am learning that my worth comes only from how God created me and the freedom I have in Christ. Knowing these truths is the only way I could set out on this journey and not let the scale determine who I was or let it steal my joy.

Forth was the podcasts and articles which were so timely. They only reinforced so much of the truths I am trying to live out in my life. The Venus Factor is the best whole package I have run across, and it works.

My husband and I have always longed to go to Australia and New Zealand and this January we were able to go. We enjoyed the beauty and uniqueness of the land, flora and animals. I have enclosed three pictures. One is of us with a Koala Bear (which sleep 18-22 hours a day), us at Hobbiton (the Shire) where they filmed the Hobbit and us climbing the Sydney Bridge. It was wonderful to feel great and have the energy to hike up mountains and chase a few wallabies 🙂

Age 54

Height 69”

Start Weight 139 pounds, End Weight 131 pounds

Start Shoulders 46”, End Shoulders 43”

Start Waist 29”, End Waist 27”

 

Rhea has total confidence and renewed passion even in Mid Life. It's something most of us women in mid life dream of.

Like most of us women in mid life dream of;
Rhea has total confidence and renewed passion in her relationship with her husband.

 

Filed Under: Contest, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Dark Side of Workouts; Uncensored podcast

March 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment
John and Brad are talking about Exercise-Induced Rhabdomyolysis

John and Brad speak to us about Exercise-Induced Rhabdomyolysis

 

In today’s uncensored podcast John and Brad will speak to us about Exercise-Induced Rhabdomyolysis.

 

General adaptation response is a normal part of working out, but if exercise is taken to the extreme you can go into Rhabdomyolysis. Normal exercise is just enough to have general adaptation response. It’s important to realize that muscle building and fat loss happens in short consistency over time. It can’t be done too fast.

There is some glorification regarding extreme exercise exertion and exhaustion and even Rhabdomyolysis, but this is a serious condition that can be fatal.

When I listened to this podcast it suddenly dawned on me that I’ve most likely experienced Rhabdomyolysis and didn’t know it.  I’ve always talked about my ultra running experiences and the fact that I got sick and the doctor prescribed antibiotics each time I ran more than 40 miles in one day.  At the time the doctor didn’t know what was wrong, just that my white blood cell count was high.  I’d never thought to tell him that I had recently run more than 40 miles in a day.  The doctor didn’t ask if I’d done any strenuous exercise and I’m willing to bet at 5’1″ and 150 pounds I really didn’t look like much of an athlete.

The third time this condition happened I’d called it quits.  I realized that this wasn’t healthy for me.  I didn’t know what was happening or why, but it became clear to me that ultra running wasn’t healthy for me.  I’d completed the “Run on the Sly” 50 mile race on Sept 6, 1998 at the age of 37 and that was my last ultra run ever. The 26.2 mile marathons didn’t give me this problem, but certainly there was a pattern for me when I went over 40 miles (over 26.2 miles is considered “ultra running”).  I had wanted to train for the “Western States 100” race but it was time to put that on hold.

The Western States 100 is a popular ultra endurance race held annually in California.  Having been a long time runner it was my dream to complete it as it’s almost literally in my back yard. I’d always thought I’d come back to it someday, but now I know that I won’t.

 

It's difficult 50 mile ultra run, quite hilly, and it was hot and humid when I ran it in September of 1998. I'd earned my shiny brass belt buckle by completing it and I'd always been proud of the accomplishment.

“Run on the Sly” is a difficult 50 mile ultra run, quite hilly, and it was hot and humid when I ran it in September of 1998. I’d earned my shiny brass belt buckle by completing it and I’d always been proud of the accomplishment.

 

The “Run on the Sly” is a 50 mile run is also in the mountains in California and is a qualifying race for the Western States 100. It’s difficult run, quite hilly, and it was hot and humid when I ran it in September of 1998.  I’d earned my shiny brass belt buckle by completing it and I’d always been proud of the accomplishment.  I used to always tell people when life got rough or when I was having a bad day that it could never be worse than getting up at 3am (and dragging along a grumpy husband who thought I was nuts) and running up and down hills for 11 hours and 40 minutes.

That was my bench mark for a rough day.  I still remember how much I hurt when it was over and I needed Randy’s help getting into the passenger seat of our lifted Toyota 4×4 pick up truck, literally in tears, and I had said “I’m never going to do this again!” Ultra runners will say you should never make a decision about running after a race like that, but now 16 years later I know it’s really true, I never will.

Since I’ve been a part of the Venus community and lifestyle I realize you don’t have to exercise to an extreme to lose fat or to get whatever physique you want.  With much less effort I now look like a fitness competitor when I’m actually not.

At the Venus Factor we believe exercise should be fun and enjoyable.  There is no need get extreme.  In fact too much strenuous exercise can decrease your leptin, increase your hunger, make you fatigued and lethargic, and hinder your ability to lose fat.  Our workout and nutrition programs are designed to help you keep your leptin level up and to be a sustainable lifestyle long term.  Of course you will have days you don’t feel like working out and have to push through, all of us have those days, but there is no need to beat yourself into the ground with exercise.

-Ro

 

Listen to what John and Brad have to say about Exercise-Induced Rhabdomyolysis here:

 

IMMERSION Clients May Login and Download Podcast Here

(If you are using Venus Index Mobile, go to the left menu -> My products -> right menu -> Uncensored Season 3 -> enjoy, you can assign star to add it into Favorites for easier access next time, if you don’t have access to Uncensored Podcasts you can purchase Immersion Package inside the App Shop)

Not a Venus Index IMMERSION client? Click here to find out more…

 

Filed Under: stress, Uncategorized, Uncensored Podcasts S03 Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Danielle found fat loss success using freedom of choice with food

March 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I found the key to my success this time was John's secret of "never let them see you sweat". I never complained about dieting or bragged about hitting the gym 5-6 days/week. Instead I made it a personal journey and made sure to still enjoy social eating with my friends (within reason).

I found the key to my success this time was John’s secret of “never let them see you sweat”. I never complained about dieting or bragged about hitting the gym 5-6 days/week. Instead I made it a personal journey and made sure to still enjoy social eating with my friends (within reason).

 

Danielle placed Fourth in our VT-9 Transformation contest.

 

Here is what she has to say in her own words:

“Wow, I can’t believe I made it through the 12 week challenge! I entered the contest late (on a Thursday instead of Monday), so technically my last day is Thanksgiving. I’m really proud of myself for making it all 12 weeks because I usually lose resolve around week 4 of any other diet plan.

I found the key to my success this time was John’s secret of “never let them see you sweat”. I never complained about dieting or bragged about hitting the gym 5-6 days/week. Instead I made it a personal journey and made sure to still enjoy social eating with my friends (within reason).

I realized that in the past social pressure from friends (“you don’t need to lose weight; you’re fine the way you are”) has really steered me off course. I know they love me and mean well, but my fitness and health goals are important to me. Both my jobs are in healthcare and it’s very hard for me to encourage good diet choices and daily exercise to my patients and students when I know I’m not doing the same in my daily life.

Beginning stats:

Weight- 182.4lb

Arms- 13″

Thighs-24.75″

Waist-34″

Hips-44″

Shoulders-45″

 

Ending Stats:

Weight-164.6lb (-17.8lb)

Arms-12″ (-1″)

Thighs-23.2″ (-1.55″)

Waist-32.3″ (-1.7″)

Hips-40.3″ (-3.7″)

Shoulders-42″ (-2″)

I’ve still got a way to go, but I’m on the right path!”

I started the Venus program in September 2013 at the urging of my mom. She said “This is it! We’ll never have to try a yo-yo diet again!” Of course I was skeptical having been through the rigors of numerous diet and/or exercise programs that promised the “perfect” body over the years, but I figured I hadn’t seen a program quite like this before so why not give it a try? Plus, the VT-9 contest was gearing up and I love a good competition 🙂

I found that even though I was stressed out with being a full time nursing student, working part time, and being a new wife the Venus program was simple to follow and fit very naturally into my lifestyle. I was worried that I would lose my resolve around week 4, as that was what usually happened with past diets, but I just kept telling myself that I would be so happy at the end of the contest, not because I thought I’d place, but because I figured the new body at the end of the experience would be totally worth a few hunger pangs along the way.

Being a nursing student at the time, all I did was study the body and disease processes all day long. I think that most people acknowledge the role of lifestyle choices (namely food and exercise) in preventing disease…but that doesn’t prevent most of us from indulging more than we should. A lot of the patient education we do is coaching our patients on healthy eating choices and increasing their weekly exercise totals no matter what disease process they are working through.

I felt like at the end of the day I didn’t want to be a hypocrite! How can I know the “right “way to eat and exercise, teach this to others daily, and then not be an example of it myself? On top of that, me and my husband wanted to start a family in the near future and I did not want to increase my chances of having birth complications or adverse health complications for my future children by being overweight during pregnancy. Also, I want my future children to have a happy, confident, healthy mother who doesn’t model yo-yo dieting as the “norm”, but models balanced eating to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The Venus program has given me the confidence that I can do that! 🙂

I’m happy to report that I’m 30lbs lighter…and pregnant with our first child! I miss my Venus sisters on the blog, but I know they will be excited when they hear the news!

-Dani

 

You can find Dani’s blog in our online Venus community for inspiration.

Listen to Dani’s interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done: But banks seem to plan your online and you or not? Our mission is a loan for some time. You already have a loan company that trip you need a quick cash loan any day, any day, any time. We don’t require fax, scan or not? Our mission is most convenient for some . payday loans australia Out staff will go beyond standard mortgages, car loans and individual’s financial service being so that banks introduced concept of So what you or even today! How to buy your need can afford it and get the process takes no time period for a good income, it’s so popular, many people .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: Contest, Diet, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What equipment do you need for the Venus Factor Workout?

March 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment

 

Shannon is a young mom who lost 50 pounds and is in the best shape of her life.

Shannon is a young mom who lost 50 pounds
and is in the best shape of her life.

The Venus Factor workout can be done at home, or at a gym

 

 

The workout is designed for all levels; beginners to advanced

The beginner workout is one hour for three days a week.

If you are a beginner and new to exercise you can break up the sessions.  For example you can do one set of everything and that would take 20 minutes a day.

Everyone starts somewhere. All that matters is that you start and then build up your strength from there.  You can also modify exercises to your own level, you can do pushups against a counter until you build strength, or start them on your knees.

No matter what your level you use the correct size dumbbell weights for you and then work your way up.  It does not matter what weights someone else uses.  All that matters is that you start at your own level and build your own body and your own strength.

Sometimes when you are just starting you can do the exercises with no weights, and you can hang onto something to help keep your balance if you need to until you build up strength.

What you will need:

  • Dumbbells; 1 pound up to 25 pounds
  • Stability ball
  • Sturdy step up block
  • Sturdy flat bench

Optional:

  • Kettle bells
  • Ab wheel
  • Barbell
  • E-Z curl bar

 

Shannon is one of our veteran Venuses who has lost weight and also maintained her new shape with the Venus Factor for several years now.  She recently started a thread in our online community explaining the workout equipment she purchased for her home.

Here is more information regarding our workouts:

What about doing other workouts along with the Venus workouts?

We encourage you to do all the exercise you enjoy.  The three day a week Venus workouts are perfect cross training for many activities.  I have found that the Venus workouts improved my running performance.  Recently I found that my strength gained with the Venus Factor workouts were put to the test.

The Venus workout is designed for women to improve the female physique. It also has the added benefit (like any other lifting routine) to improve bone density, health, strength, endurance, and functionality.  For many women other more cardio intense workouts might cause extra fatigue, stress, and hunger.

I described a recent workout experience where I experienced increased hunger and inflammation, and I’ve also experienced “compensating for the increased energy expenditure by being less active throughout the rest of the day” when I was training for marathons and ultra marathons.

If your goal is to lose fat, the longer more intense cardio workouts might contradict that goal.

 

Shannon’s in-home gym setup

1.Dumbbells-Some people like adjustable ones. I do too, but I prefer something like a PowerBlock or Bowflex adjustable DB set because I don’t like changing weights on and off a bar with clips when super-setting two exercises back to back. If you want to make it easiest without any need to switch, get solid dumbbells of varying sizes. I would not buy anything smaller than a 5 unless you are totally new to working out. You will outgrow 2’s and 3’s very quickly.

Hopefully you have some idea where to start. If you are totally new, maybe 5’s, 8’s, 10’s, 12’s? For back and chest exercises, you may need to go heavier. As you need more, you can buy heavier DB sets. If you have a husband who also works out, you may end up with quite a lot of DBs. We eventually bought a rack ($200) after keeping them on an old coffee table for years! This is in no way required but if you end up buying a set off craigslist, I’ve noticed people selling sets with racks included, it’s a nice to have for organization.

Shannon's at home dumbbell rack

Shannon’s in-home dumbbell rack 

 

Some kind of step or bench for step-ups. An aerobic bench step, or a basic but stable weight bench. The bench will also be useful for chest presses and one-arm rows and other exercises. If you don’t have a bench, you can step up onto something stable like a bottom stair, use a yoga mat for chest presses, and rest your hand on a chair for one-arm rows. Keep in mind at the highest, the highest step you use should probably be about knee height for you (I remember Denise saying that at one point and it definitely works much better for me not to try to step too high.) So while my husband uses the flat bench we have, I use a shorter bench for step-ups.

3. Stability ball. These are pretty cheap and around new years you can pick one up for under $10. They look to be around $20 on Amazon. Read reviews as I’ve found some of the pumps can be less than durable. Be sure to get one that is appropriate for your height, they will say a certain size “For heights 5′ to 5’5”, etc. And never stand on one. One of our stability balls is blue and visible in one of the pictures.

If you are getting into the work out at home thing, as we have been doing over the past 13 years, you can accumulate quite a bit of stuff making your home workout area just as good as any gym. Mind you, we haven’t paid for a gym membership in over 13 years…nor have we used this equipment consistently all the time we’ve had it, but have been using most of it very consistently for about 4 years now.

We have a half cage squat rack, which my husband Brian is using for floor bench presses in this picture. It cost us maybe $400 for the cage + barbell weights over 10 years ago. It has a pulldown attachment and seated row attachment and you can use it for barbell squats, bench presses with a bench, use the bar for inverted rows or elevated push-ups, bent over rows, and various other barbell exercises.

We have a half cage squat rack, which my husband Brian is using for floor bench presses

We have a half cage squat rack, which my husband Brian is using for floor bench presses.

To the right of the cage, you can see the PowerBlock adjustable dumbbells on a stand that we picked up used off Craigslist for a total of $150 (new PowerBlock DBs + stand are $800 total on Amazon).

In the following picture you can see our poor neglected elliptical and upright bike. They don’t get a lot of use…To the right is a blue incline bench we picked up off Craigslist for $75. It goes from sitting straight up (I use it for step-ups at this height as it’s perfect for me at 5’4.5″) to pretty far inclined for seated incline presses, curls, etc.

Our poor neglected elliptical and upright bike. They don't get a lot of use...To the right is a blue incline bench.

Our poor neglected elliptical and upright bike. They don’t get a lot of use…To the right is a blue incline bench.

Finally, a flat bench we picked up for $50. Technically it’s an ab bench but we just use it as a flat bench for various exercises. Brian uses it for step-ups as he’s taller than me (5’10”).

Technically it's an ab bench but we just use it as a flat bench for various exercises..

Technically it’s an ab bench but we just use it as a flat bench for various exercises.

We also have a doorway pull-up bar with resistance bands I’ve used for assistance when working up to these. Bands called FitCords (you can get them on Amazon) work well, and you can search band assisted pull-up on Youtube for a video of how to do pull-ups with bands. We also have a TRX which I use occasionally for push-ups and inverted rows and a kettlestack handle which allows you to use standard weight plates to make kettlebells of various sizes depending on your needs. I don’t do much with those right now but they’re good for variety.

Anyhow, hope that is helpful to give you a vision of what you can do at home given some space and investment! Gym memberships vary it seems from $10 a month to higher. If you prefer working out at home and have a room or half a large room to dedicate to it, you can definitely apply that membership money instead to giving yourself a nice workout area. The mirrors we have are inexpensive ones we bought and mounted, and some are mirrored plastic film stretched on frames. I like having plenty of mirrors around for checking my form and admiring my Venus body.

Happy workouts, all!

-Shannon

Shannon’s Venus online profile

 

About her home gym Shannon says “Working out at home can provide you great flexibility, especially if you have kids. For me, the barrier of getting to the gym was just too high when I started back to working out regularly in mid-2009, and I was pretty unhappy with my body such that I would not have felt good about getting into workout clothes in a new gym environment. With my home gym, I could get up early, grab some coffee, stumble down the hall and get going without the need to pack or get into a car, etc. It’s been a life saver for me!”

I’ve found I mostly like to go to a gym but I’m also setup to workout at home.  Sometimes we get snowed in and it’s nice to have both options.

So what about you? Do you workout at home are at the gym?  There are pro’s and con’s.  We would love to hear your comments.

-Ro

Filed Under: Exercise, Shape, Uncategorized, Weight training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

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March 3, 2014 by

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Filed Under: Uncategorized
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