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Ever feel like your self esteem is in the trash can?

June 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Do you ever need to pick your self esteem up out of the trash can? This is our kitty Briquette.

Do you ever need to pick your self esteem up out of the trash can?
This is our kitty Briquette, she liked to play there. 🙂

 

The perfectionist mindset; a lesson from a selfie picture

Like most of us Venus women my life is very busy and I sometimes feel I’m running on empty. A couple of weeks ago I had a busy crazy day away from home. When I got home I made Randy laugh so hard at how silly I am:

I showed him the cute selfies on my phone (not me it’s the T-shirts that are cute). I pointed out look at this and that with my arms and shape.  He was very perplexed. He said “Why do you tell me and show me the selfie? I am looking at you for real, the most beautiful woman I know, right there as you hold the phone!!”

 

I showed him the cute selfies (not me it's the T-shirts that are cute). I pointed out look at this and that with my arms and shape and he said "Why do you tell me and show me the selfie? I am looking at you for real, the most beautiful woman I know, right there as you hold the phone!!"

I showed Randy the pictures on the phone and I pointed out what I saw.  He said “Why do you tell me and show me the selfie? I am looking at you for real,
the most beautiful woman I know, right there as you hold the phone!!”

 

I pondered that. Most of us women don’t view ourselves as others do. Even after we reach our goals. It’s been three years since I reached my goal and my mind still hasn’t caught up. I seemed to spend most of last year attempting to feel good about myself and my body and all I could see were my own flaws.  It makes me sad that I wasted so much happiness doing that.  I want to stop doing that.

We ALL have to work on self image issues for life (especially all of us girls). I used to not like selfies much but now I see some value in them as long as they are not the same thing over and over.

As we reach our goals we tend to move the bar, which is not such a bad thing. But we move from a big picture view and narrow down with a microscope view and nit pic ourselves to death.

 

We all think “we will be happy when…”

We all have this thought that “If I could only get to such and such a size, or weight, or whatever measurement you choose, I will be happy“. But the reality is that when you get there the internal issues are still there.

I have found that the internal issues are intensified and “right in your face” because all of the relationships around you change as your physical appearance changes.

 

Start building your emotional stronghold

People become jealous and mean (even if they don’t mean to be) the more successful you become. They won’t consider your feelings even when they take “righteous actions” that would obviously hurt anyone in your place. It really doesn’t really matter why people do it.  Sometimes they don’t even know they are doing it, or they don’t know why they do it. Sometimes it is intentional and you will never know why because you are not them. It will happen and it does hurt.  Your insecurities intensify.  Then you need to learn to build an emotional stronghold.

Sometimes you reach a point where you have to work on internal things that you may have put off for a long time. It becomes a matter of emotional survival. I’ve had some real breakthroughs in this area recently and it’s such freedom. Especially when you realize people who you thought were your friends are not really your friends, and they never were.  Once you realize that, then you know that you have nothing to lose. There is freedom in knowing that since you have nothing to lose, you don’t have to let them hold you back. Nothing they think, say, or do matters anymore. That is tremendous freedom for yourself right there.

Since you are successful, and you are becoming even more successful, you don’t have time for negative and mean people to matter. Brush them off and focus on something positive, like helping out a friend who really does want your help.

 

Here’s what John has to say about the perfectionist mindset:

Weight loss isn’t easy, if it were nobody would have a weight problem. The process takes work, discipline and dedication which is hard enough on it’s own…but if you also beat yourself up during the process it’s almost impossible.

We all struggle with our body image and our appraisal of ourselves on a daily basis, and in most cases (and especially with women) you are usually your own worst and unforgiving critic.

Through all the interviews I’ve done and clients I have coached I have learned that women are typically the hardest on themselves when it comes to evaluating their body and their progress in weight loss.

If you lose 1 pound this week it’s not good enough because the goal was 2 pounds. If you lose 2 pounds it’s not good enough because your thighs still don’t quite look the way you want them too. If you made improvements in your arms and butt you start focusing on your stomach instead.

This self criticism has to be put in check for your own sake. You are much more than the sum of your parts or the most recent diet success or failure.

Taking a broader view of who you are and appreciating where you came from and where you’re going will help reduce the volume of your inner self critic.

Quieting that inner critic is easier said than done and I’m not an expert at it…I get help from a secret weapon…that secret weapon is my therapist Dr. Nicola Bird.

I don’t really know how to describe her besides that she is amazing and her techniques work!

I do a regular podcast with her about the mental and emotional game of weight loss and you can listen to the podcast we did on quieting your inner self critic here:

Listen to Podcast here ==> Quieting Your Inner Self Critic

You can check out more of our podcasts on the site or subscribe to the Venus index podcast on iTunes.

John

P.S. Dr. Bird is a regular contributor to the Venus community and you can look forward to hearing more from her in the future.

She also has a program specifically designed to eliminate emotional eating, you can check it out here: ==> Dr Birds Program for Emotional Eating <==

 

Start working on internal issues now and keep at it for life

So the main point:  Start working on your internal issues and your self image issues NOW, because they don’t go away when you reach your fitness and fat loss goals.  In fact, those issues become intensified after you reach your goals.  They intensify more as you become successful in all aspects of your life.

There is a fine line between knowing you have a problem that needs to be fixed VS disparaging yourself for it. Humor is good of course, and it’s good to laugh at how silly we are, while at the same time not damaging our own self esteem.

Here’s a poster I really love for when you are taking corrective action to fix the health problem of being over weight:

Something to remember when you are taking corrective action to lose fat.

Something to remember while you are taking
corrective action to lose fat.

 

There is a before and after picture of me in a costume that John liked for an article.  When I first lost all my 85 pounds I used to laugh at the before picture and my husband Randy got really mad and scolded me.  He said “You were always my lovely wife, even then.  I’m glad you are happy now that you’ve lost weight, but don’t ever disparage yourself like that again!”

He was right.  It makes me happy that he loves me so much.  It was a great reminder to me that I need to continue to work on my own self esteem, probably until the end of my days here on earth.

 

Here are a couple of helpful podcasts on this subject with Dr. Nicola Bird:

 

Ask Nicola; Perfectionist Mindset

Ask Nicola; Learn to Love Your Body

 

When you let your self esteem fall in the trash can like I do;

  • You can choose to pick it back up
  • Listen to some of Dr. Nicola podcasts
  • Do other activities which help your mindset and self esteem
  • Switch your mind immediately to positive things
  • Stay only in the positive, so that means no gossiping about the mean girls in your life!
  • When you let self esteem get you off track with diet or exercise here are some tips to get motivated to get back on track.

We  all have these seasons of getting off track with our mindset, with workouts, and with nutrition.  Sometimes we have to make an effort to get back on track, and we do this for life.  Since we are merely human it won’t be the last time we have to do it. We do get better at it as we practice, just like everything else we do.

 

Have a great weekend, it’s full of opportunity to make good choices.

– Coach Roberta  

(You can find me in the online community.)

 

 

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

Yet another mid life Venus throws out the fat pants and gets the body of a 20 year old!

June 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I read many programs, diets and exercise plans. I have tried a personal trainer who supposedly designed a program for me specifically but I’ve never found anything like VI. I threw out the fat pants!

I read many programs, diets and exercise plans. I have tried a personal trainer who supposedly designed a program for me specifically but I’ve never found anything like VI. I threw out the fat pants!

 

Valerie Pallister came in first place in our Venus Transformation contest VT10.

 

I have been fairly active most of my life.  I used to run long distance and have had a gym membership for a good part of my adult life too.  I’ve been trim and then not so much.  Even running many miles a week, I have never been this lean!  I’ve tried to gain arm and shoulder muscle at the gym working those machines but never achieved much progress.  I can’t believe the back, shoulder and arm tone I have after just 14 weeks of doing Venus workouts!
 
I stumbled across Venus on Facebook shortly after the first of the year.  I had decided that since I’d gotten to my highest weight ever and the largest level of fat pants were getting tight that I needed to do something!  When I found Venus, I sped read the material and jumped right in.  I already had the mindset to do something and I knew quickly that Venus was the ticket!!  I also read through Eat Stop Eat which was so helpful in figuring out how to manage my caloric intake.
 
My journey was not without setbacks and disappointments but the community of women and the podcasts I listened to while working out (and driving, and cleaning house) kept me focused and kept me learning about tricks to try for my own challenges.  I’ve accomplished more than I thought was possible and am amazed at the condition of my body.
 
Most of all I have learned invaluable things about myself that I did not know, even at 45 years old! Its been an amazing and educational journey.
 
Out of all the diets that I’ve ever done, one thing I have never done after I reached a fat loss goal:  Threw out the fat pants!

I am so glad to tell you that 3 of my friends have purchased VI and two male friends are doing the Adonis program.   Gotta love it!  🙂

Thank you Venus!!
Valerie in MT

 

I always wanted toned shoulders and back but never knew how to or was able to achieve it. Till now! I could not be happier with the progress I have made using your program. I have learned so much about myself, how much I was eating before and what I am capable of in diet and exercise it’s amazing. I have replaced weight training with my lifelong love of running activities.

I always wanted toned shoulders and back but never knew how to or was able to achieve it. Till now! I could not be happier with the progress I have made using your program. I have learned so much about myself, how much I was eating before and what I am capable of in diet and exercise it’s amazing. I have replaced weight training with my lifelong love of running activities.

 

Questions and Answers with our Venus winner Valerie

 

How did you find the Venus Factor?

I found Venus on Facebook by chance. Watched the video and bought it.

 

What aspect of the program was most beneficial to you?

I haven’t struggled with my weight too much other than trying to keep it in check but the structure of the workouts and the success I had with building muscle where I never have before was the most beneficial to me. I also learned things about dieting and about what is possible from the other Venues.  It was a unique experience in that I learned much about myself along the way too.

 

Did you like the Venus workout?

As I stated previously, I loved the workouts!  I like how it was set up to be for women. Also that each exercise had a video demonstration so you could get the right form. I like the flexibility of interchangeable programs and the whole body workout of each one.  I am so amazed by the tone and definition the workouts helped me achieve.

 

Which workout(s) did you use?

I started with the basic Venus Factor workout. I tried the immersion trial and really liked having access to the other workouts available. Shortly after the contest started I started doing the circuits to challenge myself. I stuck with those the rest of the contest but I would go to the next difficulty level when I felt ready.  It was nice because while they were similar exercises, they were different enough to keep me interested and challenged.

 

What kept you motivated?

I didn’t keep it secret what I was doing. For me, people knowing I’m in a contest kept me motivated and accountable. Like having spectators in a running race as opposed to running alone where no one will see if you stop and walk. But just as in running, you have to find your internal motivation and reasons to train for race day, cause most of the time, it’s only you and yourself watching!  Most people only know of or see the final race day. It really is what you do when no ones watching that counts.

 

Do you have a particular style of eating?

No style but I try to eat higher protein while still trying to get plenty of fruits and veggies. I don’t eat much bread, pasta and potatoes though. Just because I can easily eat too much once I start. But if I eat them infrequently, it’s OK. I just try to keep it balanced and comfortable with what my life is like and what I like to eat.

 

Did you use the undulating  diet protocol?  If so how did it work for you and did you make any modifications?

I did use it. It worked well and I liked the change to 6/1 and 5/2. Much simpler and easier to keep track of than the previous protocol.  Also the flexibility of using the eat up day on social event days was helpful.  I only modified it by adding in fasting days. That worked well for me to offset any overage on calories other days. It was nice to think in weekly goals.

 

Did you use any supplements?

I had started drinking plexus drinks before I found Venus from a friend who is a distributor. I just continued that and my normal daily vitamins and glucosamine. I also began using creatine part way through the contest. I can tell I have better workouts if I have some before.

 

Did you use the online community and how was that experience?

Yes, I liked being able to glean ideas and tips from other Venuses on the community. The supportive was awesome too. They are all great and so helpful!  It’s one of the great tools of Venus I believe.

 

Did you find support with friends and family?

My husband was very supportive but I did better when he wasn’t home just because I didn’t have to cook for him or go out to eat with him. I have a few very close friends who were very supportive as well. They were patient and interested in what I was learning and experiencing. One of them actually bought eat stop eat after I told her about it.

 

What was the hardest obstacle to conquer?

Social events and eating out. It’s hard to not eat everything they give you at a restaurant but I did learn techniques that enabled me to keep on track. Namely, banking calories!

 

How did you feel about your final pictures?

I am amazed at how I looked in them. I had some pictures taken when I was in my 20’s for my husband and I think these were better!  I never would’ve guessed I could get to that level of fitness.  I might have to get them done professionally sometime. These were taken by my husband in our living room.

 

Is this a lifestyle you will continue?

I will always use the techniques and tricks I learned from the Venus program. I won’t and don’t expect to be picture ready all the time but I have the knowledge of how to and that I actually can do what I need to if I want to get in picture shape again. Weightlifting is something I will continue always. I love the workouts and the results I get. It’s going to be fun to take pictures next April and see the muscle I’ve gained. I know it will take that long!!  But it’s now part of me and I love it!

 

What is your best advice for other Venuses?

Don’t beat yourself up for mistakes.  If you overeat one day or two, know you can fix it by doing the program and keep going. Never give up on yourself. Take progress pictures every about 6 weeks so you can compare them and see your progress.

That’s motivation there Venuses!

Workout consistently and make sure when your spending time at the gym or wherever you choose to workout, you make it worth while. Why bother if you don’t put the kind of effort in that will make you stronger and fitter?!

On the flip side, just listen to your body and don’t push through a pain. Tired and sore are good but pain during an exercise can lead to injury.

Also,the community for moral and educational support, listen to podcasts for helpful information and motivation.  Both are excellent resources.

You can find Valerie in our online community.

 

A common theme with Venus women in their 50’s and beyond

There is a common theme here at The Venus Factor with women becoming successful in mid life.  We are finding that what the rest of the world says about us not being able to lose fat in mid life is not true.  Here are several more stories from our most successful women who found the same success as Valerie here at The Venus Factor:

Putting it all Together: VI Open Winner Naomi Sandoval

Lift Heavy for Longevity: Interview With Denise DeGrazia

Be in the Best Shape of Your Life at 50

The Girl Who Gets To Wear Cute Clothes Into Her 50′s

52 Year Old Cancer Survivor, Wife, and Mom of 5 Ditches Her Chocolate Pity Parties and Loses 100 Pounds

50 is the new 20!

Starting a Fitness Career at Age 51

 

Dear Valerie,

I’d like to congratulate you from the bottom of my heart.  I know how hard you worked.  I watched your struggles though the weeks as you wrote your journal.  It was fun to see your strong victories after the weeks of struggle with social eating and vacations.

It was awesome to see you empowered by the Venus lifestyle as you embraced it with full gusto.  You learned the energy balance that was needed for you.  You learned to find your own sweet spot and walk your own tightrope.

It’s very nice to have you as part of our community and see you in there helping others out when you can.

Thank you for being a special part of our community Valerie!

All my best,

Roberta

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

So You are Obese; There is Nothing Wrong with You

June 13, 2014 by 2 Comments
You may think there is something wrong with you. But no actually there is nothing wrong.

You may think there is something wrong with you. But no, actually there is nothing wrong.

 

We get many new women in the Venus community who quite often think there is something wrong with them because they eat when stressed, or just love food, and then became obese.

No, there is nothing wrong with you.

Of course we all love food.

At least 90% of human history was spent as the hunter-gatherer. It’s built into our genetic nature to eat when there is food. When a human senses danger or anxiety our body’s natural response is to trigger a “fight-or-flight” stress response. This increases hunger. Stress increases hunger, including the stress of lack of sleep.

In modern society we have an over abundance of food and we are less active in our daily lives. This is a bad situation all by itself, but then we add in the “fight-or-flight” stress induced in our brains during the stress of modern society and this is why we are obese. Our brain and body can’t tell the difference between modern anxiety and the threat we felt as early hunger-gatherer people in fear for our lives.

The stress and not understanding how to navigate the modern over abundance of food may be sabotaging your health. We all have to learn how to navigate the over abundance of food and reduce our stress as much as possible.

If you feel stress and hunger, the message your brain gets is “There is a problem.  I need food.  Or, there is not enough food!” Of course you likely have a house full of food, you are over weight, you are trying to diet, and the stress response in your brain can’t tell the difference. Your brain and body get the stress response and you want to eat. Of course you want to eat!

All of these things cause the stress response in our bodies:

  • When we are lonely it can increase our stress.
  • Our jobs cause stress, even jobs we love.
  • Resentment and anger cause stress.
  • Lack of sleep causes stress.
  • Bad relationships cause stress.
  • Excessive worry causes stress.
  • Childhood trauma causes stress.
  • Starting a new diet causes stress.
  • Starting a new workout causes stress.
  • Despair and hopelessness cause stress.

Our brains are not wired for modern times. If we were still a hunter-gather and had had the fresh moose meat available we wouldn’t say “I’m on a diet and so won’t eat the moose meat!” No, we would feast. We are wired to eat the food when it’s available, especially when stressed.

The problem is we are stressed AND there is too much food available. We are acting just as we are designed, but we have to be trained to stop because it’s a health problem.

We all have the capacity to over eat. We all love food. We can all eat more than we need.

Oh yeah, and add in the fact that many modern foods are engineered with salt, sugar, and fat to deliberately keep us coming back for more and more and more. That really does not help us does it? Some of us have to keep those engineered “bliss point” foods out of the house. There are many reasons why modern foods are sabotaging our health.

John and Brad talk about the difference between our modern society compared to the Victorian era in England. They talk about this comparison and our capacity to eat more than we need in an Uncensored Podcast “A Moment in time.”  If you are an immersion customer take a listen because it’s a fascinating topic.

Some of us might have some emotional eating issues and need professional help, if so we have Dr. Nicola Bird to give us a hand. But for the most part many of us simply need to train ourselves how to navigate a sedentary society with an over abundance of food.  We also need to learn to reduce our stress as much as we can.

We all seem to know how to diet. We all seem to know how to over eat. That is why we all yo-yo with our weight. We all have to learn how to eat the right amount or “normal” amount of food. It takes a bit of training and all of us are capable of learning how to do it.

The Venus community is where we share ideas on how to do just that. None of us have to be perfect to succeed at fat loss in our modern society. We share our trials, tribulations, eating disasters, triumphs, and victories. We cheer each other on all along the journey.

If you have not participated in our online community, come on in! It’s a warm, friendly, and special place.

We also share recipes, so here’s my version of the flour-less pancake. It’s not that I don’t eat flour, it’s just that some meals I may need to focus more on protein and less calories.

 

Mash the banana with a fork, whip in the egg, and cook the pancake on a grill. Mix the yogurt, vanilla bean, and Stevia or Truvia. Top the pancake with the vanilla yogurt topping. Use coconut yogurt if you can't eat yogurt.

Mash the banana with a fork, whip in the egg, and cook the pancake on a grill.
Mix the yogurt, vanilla bean, and Stevia or Truvia.
Top the pancake with the vanilla yogurt topping. Use coconut yogurt if you can’t eat dairy yogurt.

 

PS We don’t have “good” or “bad” food lists in our community.  We are all different and everyone finds what works best for them.  I happen to follow a mostly organic style of eating which matches our Flat Belly Forever style of eating.   That is the food that works best for me and my own health, and also helps me keep my trim shape.

Remember that most of us who became over weight simply need to train ourselves how to eat the right amount of food in a modern society.  There is nothing wrong; we are merely human.

-Coach Roberta

You can find me in the online community.

If you want a Venus Premier Coach <<– Sign up here

PS You don’t have to be in a contest to get coaching.

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

How to Break the Weight Loss Stall or Plateau; with Coach Liss

June 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Coach Liss and Coach Jenny are here to help you break a plateau

Coach Liss and Coach Jenny are here to help you break a fat loss stall or plateau.

 

What is a fat loss plateau?

A stall or fat loss plateau happens when you have been “on plan” for at least 21 days and have not seen any movement in the tape measure or the scale.

Remember that a change in metrics or inches is just as much progress as a change in the body weight scale. Celebrate that and trust what you are doing.

If the time span has been less than 21 days, then you need to be patient and keep working. Fat loss is not linear. It does not directly correlate to our calorie expenditure; instead fat loss seems to come in chunks. We call it the “whoosh” in Venus. All we can focus on is nailing our calorie and workout goals. The fat loss will come in time if we nail those two things.

 

Fat Loss Troubleshooting

When things flat line and stall, be honest with yourself. Have you really been “on plan”? If you have followed the plan to a T, then here are 3 things you can do:

M.E.T.

 

  • Measure everything

For maintenance, eyeballing portions is just fine. But being in a caloric deficit is a different beast. Everything that you eat should be weighed or measured. There are too many other uncertainties to worry about, the amount you eat should not be uncertain. Control what you can control.

 

  • Compensate for Error

You need to take off 15% from your calorie goals to account for error. Basically, there are many common errors in any food that you intake outside of our measuring control. It can range from the fruit sugars varying each harvest to packaged food containing 52 grams instead of 50 grams of material. Taking off 15% off a calorie goal to account for error is a good idea.

 

  •  Tastes, Bites, and Licks

We all do it. Our kid does not eat their last nugget, so we do instead. Licking the peanut butter off the spoon, waste not and want not. Tastes, bites, and licks can add up fast- one to two hundred calories a day in a snap. If it goes into your mouth, you must count those calories. Be honest with yourself.

 The final caveat – below median

When all else fails, you might be that bottom 25% that fall below the average calorie recommendation in our calculator for your height. If you do M.E.T. for 21 days and you do not lose either in metrics or mass- then that is a sign you may be below average in RMR (resting metabolic rate) for your height. I happen to fall in this area, by the way. A good tip off that is that you have longer legs than other women your height. Having longer legs also means that you have a shorter torso which means smaller organs which account for most of your RMR.

Just Keep Going!

The good news is that you can get to the bottom of a plateau or fat loss stall. Just be patient and keep going. Trial and learning from errors is key.

A Venus coach is a helpful tool during frustrating times like a plateau. We have lived through them, and helped trouble shoot issues for other women just like you. If you have a tricky situation or just need accountability, a coach might be just what you need.

Remember to keep going, you can do this!

 

If you want a Venus Premier Coach <<– Sign up here

 

PS You don’t have to be in a contest to get coaching.

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

A Day in the Life of Brad and John; Uncensored Podcast

May 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment
A Day in the Life of Brad Pilon and John Barban.

A Day in the Life of Brad Pilon and John Barban.

 

Brad and John describe why they choose their eating style

 

Today’s podcast is fun, entertaining, and informative regarding personal eating styles.  Brad and John address some of the following topics regarding food choices:

 

What about functional foods?
How much protein?
What about the expectation of eating?
Should we eat breakfast?
What about snacks?
How to fit in probiotic foods?
What about alcohol?
How should we eat on a fasting day?
How can you fit in fast food?
What about a special occasion?
How to handle working out fasted?
Are there any special foods?
What about meal timing?

 

 

Listen to what John and Brad have to say about what a typical day of eating is like for each of them:

 

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: Food, Uncategorized, Uncensored Podcasts S03 Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

How Anna Changed Her Life One Step At a Time

April 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Here's Anna enjoying her new life.

Here’s Anna enjoying her new life.

 

 

Anna Martinmadsen placed Second in our VT-9 Venus Transformation Contest.

 

John did not get a chance to interview Anna, but she wanted to share her pictures and story.  Here’s what she had to say about how the Venus Factor program worked for her, in her own words:

My life with Venus factor is not too hard but definitely challenging sometimes. I started program on September 2nd and almost stick to it through all 12 weeks. My regular day with Venus starts in the morning, when I have my cup of water with lemon juice, and a bit later I have coffee with almond milk. After kids are sent to school, I go to do my work out.

I usually work out as hard as I can. I like to feel I really push myself and Venus workouts are not too easy. I usually would add 4 min. of Tabata on a bike to each Venus work out.

I have my first meal around 2 pm. and the last one at 8 pm. During last 12 weeks I had 2 weeks when I went for vacation with my family and I was not eating or drinking according to suggested calorie intake, but I tried to eat healthy food and I did all my exercises. Getting back to my routine after vacation was easy and pleasant and it felt really good.

Venus changed my life because it changed my habits. My everyday routine became my way of living. I feel very strong and healthy now and I have lots of energy.

My husband took after photos of me and I now can really see I lost 7kg and 3% body fat. According to Venus nutrition calculator I should loose another 4 kg and another 6 cm in my waist. I didn’t reach suggested weight or measurements yet, but I am on my way. I know one day I will, and I know I will, because I enjoy Venus way of life.

I love the way I feel.

Thank You Venus!

 

Height 69″

Start weight: 165 pounds

Start shoulders: 51″

Start waist: 32″

End weight 151 pounds

End shoulders: 45″

End waist: 28″

 

Anna

“I feel very strong and healthy now and I have lots of energy.”

 

Congratulations on your success Anna.  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 Anna’s Blog in our online Venus community for inspiration.

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

How I Lost Belly Fat and got my Abs back

April 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I made a lot of mistakes and it took me a year and a half to get my abs back

I made a lot of mistakes and it took me a year and a half to get my abs back

 

I’ve made a lot of mistakes this past year and a half. I am an imperfect human with many flaws and I know it.  I hope that explaining the mistakes I have made might help someone.

Most of us know that words are only a small part of communication so you probably would not realize how afraid I was to post this picture (yet at the same time how proud I am of it), or how vulnerable I feel when I post a video of myself in my own backyard.

Someone in the online community said the picture was pretty cool and likened me to a tough Janet Jackson type chick.  Little would anyone know that I am far from anything like a tough chick.  As Randy said about me recently, I’m like the tin man with a soft squishy marshmallow inside.

Part of the story I’m going to tell here involves the fact that I’m a 53-year-old female who has been going through menopause for several years.  There I said it; it’s an icky topic that is TMI for many.  But it’s a reality for women my age and that includes many new members of the Venus community.

Just this morning I showed this picture to my husband Randy.  He was the one who took the short video, but I am the one who freeze framed two frames from the video and superimposed them together.  I told Randy I was really happy with this picture because I felt like it showed the real me (no makeup, in gym clothes, in my own back yard, in natural movement that was not “posing”).  As my friends in the gym would say, it’s me in my “element”.

I am also very happy with the picture because it shows I finally I got my abs back!  I have been struggling for a year and a half to get to exactly this point.

This morning as I showed the picture to Randy I said “Don’t you like it?”  He groaned.  Of course he likes it, what else would he say?  Certainly nothing that would cause me to repeat another recent episode of “Nobody likes me, every body hates me!”  READ: Wild female menopause hormone episodes increased by hot flashes, insomnia, and hypersensitivity.  Oh yeah.  Crazy stuff.

 

Was it hormones or calorie counting?

Menopause hormones. That’s a big part of what I struggled with last year and the issues are still not resolved.  I attributed most of my problems to that but I was wrong.  Yes there’s a problem with them, but they did not cause me to gain fat or to have trouble losing fat.

I caused many of my own health issues.

Looking back I’ve noticed some strange behavior once I started counting calories.

When I started the fat loss process back in 2009 I did not count calories.

I was at the peak of my obesity eating 100% organic food.  I soaked, dried, and milled all of my own grain.  I made homemade sauerkraut and kombucha.  I soaked and cooked organic legumes and chickpeas (and still do as I love the improved taste and could never go back to anything else). I ate only free-range grass fed meat and dairy, with no added hormones.  I used raw organic cream and butter.  I ate full fat organic live cultured yogurt.  I followed Weston Price Wise Traditions style of eating and relied heavily “Nourishing Traditions” which I still consider one of the best cookbooks in existence.

I also lost 85 pounds eating the same way, I just cut my portion sizes way down, ate my food on desert plates, and practiced some prolonged nightly fasting as well as some Eat Stop Eat intermittent fasting.  I got all the way down to 10% body fat eating all organic and not counting a single calorie.  Portion control was key.

Then I floundered at how to eat normal (maintenance) as most of us do once we reach our fat loss goal.  You see, we know how to diet (eat less), and we know how to over eat (that’s how we became overweight in the first place), but we have a hard time learning how to just eat normal.

That’s when I started counting calories.  There is nothing wrong with counting calories.  I intend to keep counting because I do like having the data and it helps with troubleshooting health issues.  I also think it’s important because most of us females are so small that we have very little margin for error if we want to remain lean athletes.  We can’t eat too low when we are lean, and we can’t eat too much if we want to remain lean.  The margin of error for me is only about 200 calories.  It’s very hard to walk that fine of a line without tracking calories.

 

Here’s the problem I created for myself when I started counting calories

I was so focused on calories that I unintentionally started cutting out healthy fat and started adding in “short cut” foods; artificial sweeteners, artificial butter flavor, miracle noodles, Glucomannan powder, sugar free Jell-O and pudding, and artificial creamer.  I had even cut out the fish oil that my doctor recommended because I thought it was too many calories.

I started getting a clue last year when I wrote “Successful Weight Loss; There Are No Shortcuts”.

But it didn’t totally sink in yet.  I cut out all of those foods and then reverted back to artificial butter and creamer, and still used sugar free pudding on occasion, as well as a few other products with Splenda.

I continued to have problems with inflammation and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t seem to lose the little bit of extra fat around my belly.  I know it wasn’t much and I certainly was not fat, but it just wasn’t where I felt my best.

I also experimented with Carb Back-Loading, which had some disastrous affects along with some very good take away points, which I have kept.  I will talk more about that later.

I continued to get thicker around the waist and had a little emotional breakdown. I began to focus more on getting my peak calorie days back in control but I was still having sleep issues due to hot flashes and insomnia.  I had a lot of strange food cravings that were hard to control.

 

The research project that got me back on the healthy track

After the New Year John and Brad had me work on a research project for them.  During the research I relearned much of what I used to practice with the Weston Price foundation and Nourishing Traditions.

The research lead me to science that backed the fact that Splenda and many food chemicals harm your gut flora.  I was also reminded of how important fermented foods, prebiotic, and probiotic foods are to keeping your gut flora healthy.  I also learned that unhealthy gut flora can hinder fat loss.

The light bulb flashed in my mind.  I gathered up all of the containers of creamer, Splenda products, and sugar free pudding mixes and tossed them in the trash.  My husband was quite happy because he never liked that I was using those products.  I’ve started making sure I eat something fermented everyday again and my husband started drinking kombucha with me, which was a pleasant surprise.

 

Still, those hormones again

Even with the hormone problems that still exist for me I’ve dropped all the belly fat and got my abs back just by making the few healthy changes to my diet.  At my already extreme low body fat I could not lower my calories very much, but what I found over the last two months is that my strange food cravings went away and I’m able to keep my peak calorie days under control.

I’ve started seeing a new doctor and got my hormones checked.  Some of my friends in the Venus online community already know that I’m pretty tired of waking up every day feeling like I’ve been run over by a truck.  It turns out that many of my hormones are low; TSH, DHEA, Progesterone, Estradiol, and my free testosterone is almost zero.  Dr. Campbell is starting me on some Bio-identical hormone replacement and I’m still waiting patiently to see how it will affect me.  I’m hoping it will help me feel better soon.

I asked the doctor how on earth do I have so much muscle with no testosterone?  He said “I don’t know, but I would have loved to see a baseline when you were younger!”  And “Girl, you got some guns on you!”  That made me feel pretty good; I do work hard.  I’m far from perfect but I put a lot of effort into all I do.

In the meantime I really am happy that I got my Abs back!

 

Carb Back-Loading take away points and caveats

I mentioned that I found some caveats with John Kiefer’s Carb Back-Loading protocol.

First problem, it was designed for men.  Not counting calories works fine for men because they are bigger, have a bigger metabolism, and have more room for error with calorie intake.  For women who want to maintain a lean athletic physique that includes “having abs” (which Kiefer likes to show his program gives you), most likely it’s too fine a line to not count those calories.

Second problem, eating white sugar and white flour is like heroin to a female on a calorie deficit at the end of the day when she is most ego depleted. This scenario is a disaster waiting to happen.  I prefer corn grits, corn tortillas, potato, sweet potato, sourdough bread, or popcorn, and I usually only have room for one serving at night, if that.

I did like the science and research and found it well worth the read for the timing of protein and carbs in relation to how fat is stored and how it effects muscle.

I also follow Kiefer’s advice on skipping breakfast when I’m not hungry, working out fasted (although I prefer mid day with my schedule as opposed to evening), and saving my carbs for later in the day after I’ve worked out.

The last benefit that I took away from Kiefer’s protocol was ending my long distance cardio.  I now only do HIIT and low intensity cardio for not longer than 50 minutes (unless I’m out hiking which isn’t all that often).  This is working out really well for me.  I’m less fatigued, less stressed, less hungry, and better able to keep my eating habits under control.

 

 

Interesting tip for capturing photos

The picture I posted here today were two superimposed freeze frames from this short video taken last weekend.  I had Randy take the video just to see how I looked with my newly found long lost abs.  It was a cool trick John told me about in order to capture muscle tone, striations, etc. that you sometimes see in the mirror but have a hard time capturing in pictures.  I hadn’t thought of it until after we viewed the video.  I thought it worked pretty well.

It might come in handy for some of you taking pictures this weekend!

I’m looking forward to viewing the VT-10 contests results next week.  If you are in the contest make sure to enter your photo’s into the tracker contest dashboard tool.  The contest deadline is April 14, 2014.

Have a great weekend!

-Ro

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

Filed Under: fat loss, Food, Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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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