We are halfway through the VT-13 Contest – it ends on Monday April 13th

I’m still a Venus through and through five years into the program and YES I LOVE FOOD TOO!

We are now at the half way point through the Venus Transformation Contest VT-13 and we at Venus thought you could use some motivation and tips.

Any Venus client is welcome to enter. There is no fee. The schedule and how to enter is HERE.  When you finish on April 13th please feel free to enter extra pictures both before and after in a dress, suit, skirt, workout outfits, yoga pants, cute jeans, and anything classy that shows your beautiful new shape.  We also always love a before Venus “before picture” that shows other that the 12 weeks is just a small snapshot in time.

It’s a long journey for all of us.  It’s a life long journey to health.

But my problem is that I LOVE food!

Do you ever say “My problem is that I LOVE food!” when you talk about diet and fitness?

Actually most people will say this. Of course you love food! We all love food. We are human and we need it to survive.

Stress makes us hungry.

We as humans were designed to eat when food is available, especially when stressed.

The problem is that it is always available and we are almost always stressed.

So the trick is to reduce stress and attempt to make it “not so available”. This is done by changing your habits.

Changing habits happen slowly over time.

• We call this “setting up your environment for success”.
• Forgive yourself for being human. Of course you love food!
• You can’t count on willpower, so set up your environment for success.
• Allow your body to adapt to the changes you need to make.
• Take it in smaller steps sometimes if you need to.
• Learn to reduce stress.
• Get trigger foods out of the house.
• Focus on protein and veggies first along with calories and the diet falls into place.
• Package up foods in appropriate sizes (don’t do this when you are super hungry)
• Place motivational posters or symbols any place that will help you make the “right choice” (a mnemonic).
• Never give up.
• Get those workouts in and remember they don’t have to be ALL or NOTHING.
• Use the online community for support.
• Get your family involved, if you can.
• Have a plan but learn to be flexible.
• If you have Immersion LISTEN TO THOSE UNCENSORED PODCASTS.
• Listen to the contest interviews

Have a plan but be flexible

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make with diet and fitness is taking a good thing and running it into the ground until it’s not good anymore.

Just because fasted workouts are good some days does not mean it’s good EVERY DAY.

Just because fasting or the calorie deficit really works does not mean it is good EVERY DAY.

Routines and rituals are GOOD and those certainly help build good habits. It is what has helped me through some seasons in my journey.

But at the same time it’s not the end of the world if you change things up ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUR BODY GIVES YOU WARNING SIGNS.

Have a plan. But learn to roll with it a bit when your body clearly says the plan might not be the best.

If you are used to delaying your first meal of the day until noon, it’s not going to ruin the day if you have something at 10am instead.

In the end it always comes down to total calories at the end of the day, and even then, it’s really not the one day, it’s the rolling daily average over time that matters.

I like to look at the 30-90 day average more than the day or even the week. Our mind tends to forget the peaks (because those are easy like spending with a credit card). But we always remember those HARD days where we were “GOOD”.  It’s that negative dominance thing again I wrote about recently.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking “But I’m doing so good and IT’S NOT WORKING” and “There must be something wrong with my metabolism”. But all you have to do is take a look at the facts to see that is not true. Time and time again our emotions get in the way of the facts.

I’d say stress and lack of sleep are the biggest hindrance to success. When things are not working balancing those should move up to first priority.

Plan for your final pictures

Now is the time to start planning your final pictures.

Preparing For Your Contest Photo Shoot – Part 1: Posing Practice

Preparing For Your Contest Photo Shoot – Part 2: Photography And Lighting

Preparing For Your Contest Photo Shoot – Part 3: The Final Week

PS: Here’s a tip I learned at the recent magazine photo shoot. I learned it from the high fashion models who were there with me that day. When a picture of you is being taken sitting with your legs crossed like I am in today’s picture – don’t rest the top leg all the way down. Kinda hold it up. Try it and see the difference. You might have already known this tip, but I learned it the day of that picture. Good thing I had those other ladies helping me!

Credit for the picture goes to:

Victoria Napolitano, owner of Hopelessly Romantic Media Productions, San Francisco, California.

Make-up and hair by Shiree Collier – Makeup and Hair Artist.

Shirt and Skirt by Navins in Sacramento, California:

PSS I wrote a fun story in my Venus blog about this very suit when I was going through my Venus journey, and blogging like many of you are now.

The VT-13 Contest ends on Monday April 13th.

Keep up the great work out there!

See you on the inside,

-Coach Roberta