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Get the Most Success with Fat Loss by Using a Calorie Budget; Uncensored Podcast

April 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment
How are calories like managing a budget?

How are calories like managing a budget?

 

In today’s uncensored podcast John and Brad will speak to us about how managing calories are like managing a calorie budget:

 

How can you be more aware of calories?

How do you get the mindset to be aware?

What can you do?

What must you stop doing?

What is the fundamental assumption you can make?

What can you do if you are the type of person who tends to gain weight?

What are the similarities between a calorie budget and a financial budget?

What is realistic?

What can you do with your schedule?

What is worth the cost to you?

How is food like credit cards?

How can you keep a balance sheet?

How can you be aware of the minutia?

How can you be aware of a pay day?

How to you count leaks?

Is hope a strategy?

How do you become responsible?

How do you stay out of debt?

What about short term and long term strategies?

What about building habits?

How are calories like managing a budget?

What about keeping a budget when in maintenance?

 

Listen to what John and Brad have to say about managing calorie budgets here:

 

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Filed Under: calories, Diet, Uncensored Podcasts S03 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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 about the Set Point Theory? Uncensored podcast

March 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment

 

 

Is the Set Point Theory true?

Is the Set Point Theory true?

 

What the set point theory suggests is that a person’s body, metabolism and caloric drive strive to maintain a specific preset weight.   This means if your preset weight is high and you lose weight, your body will just try always try to gain it back.

Today John and Brad talk about this theory and answer the following questions:

  • What is concept of a set point theory?
  • Is it one sided?
  • How does it fit in with your fat loss process and maintaining your shape?
  • Do you have to accept the fact that your body needs to be at a certain weight?
  • Are you doomed to stay at a certain weight?
  • What is the set point theory based on?

 

 

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Filed Under: Diet, fat loss, Uncensored Podcasts S03 Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Learn how to stay committed and motivated; Interview with Michelle

March 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Michelle-large-canvas-WEB

Isn’t she beautiful?!

 

One of the things that Michelle said in her interview that also worked for me; Stop looking at the scale and measuring tape and just hit the gym and your calorie budget!  It was actually the first time I’d heard of someone else following the same method I used to protect my psychic space, except she had Jake recording her metrics without her looking at the scale or tape measure!  How clever is that? What an awesome team Jake and Michelle make.  I loved hearing it.  John held up the interview for a moment to give us all a few words about the value of doing just that.

Just focus on the process day after day for weeks on end.  Just do what you need to do, and track it with on a calendar or online tracking tool – track the PROCESS.  If you know you are really doing the process and not eating extra that is not accounted for (diet is usually the hardest part) then it will work.  But you will not get the linear feedback that matches the linear day to day effort.  You have to be patient and wait for the progress.  Watching water boil or grass grow is no fun – do what ever else you need to do while waiting.

-Ro

Michelle placed First in our VT-9 Transformation contest.

 

In the end, I am completely shocked by the outcome! I have never been so confident in a bikini in my life! The best part is that without knowing it, not only was I losing fat throughout the program, but I started building muscle and a shape that I have never seen before and didn’t even know I had!

In the end, I am completely shocked by the outcome! I have never been so confident in a bikini in my life! The best part is that without knowing it, not only was I losing fat throughout the program, but I started building muscle and a shape that I have never seen before and didn’t even know I had!

 

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

My name is Michelle Hahn, and I am 31 years old. I have been self-conscious about my weight since I can remember and never remember feeling comfortable and happy with my size/shape.

 I have been exercising on and off since I was a teenager, and the closest I think I came to comfort with my weight was when I got married 5 and a half years ago. Even then, I remember wishing my stomach was flatter and feeling uncomfortable in my bikini on our honey moon.

 Over the following 4 ½ years, the scale kept creeping up and before I knew it, I had gained 35 pounds and was feeling horrible.

 I started trying different exercise and diet programs, only to fail again and again, which took a toll on my confidence in ever changing. And even after all my efforts, nothing fit, I had to keep buying bigger and bigger sizes, and was on the border between regular and plus size clothing. In November of 2012, my husband and I started seriously thinking about having children, and I really started to think about the impact my extra weight would have on my pregnancy, the baby, and the ability to bounce back after the pregnancy, and also about how I had never really felt good about myself physically.

 I decided that it was time to get in the best shape of my life, to feel great about myself finally, and to adopt a lifestyle of healthy eating and exercise to set an example for our child(ren) so they wouldn’t struggle with weight the way I have my whole life.

 First I tried a workout that was 3-4 days per week and concentrated on certain muscle groups in each workout. I was very consistent with that, started regular cardio workouts, and started counting calories. I eventually got bored with it, and my husband had found Adonis and started it in January, and he had great things to say about it and it sounded very interesting, so I ended up buying the original Venus program in March.

 I started the program and actually entered the contest in May, but at the time, I was in grad school and had a lot of stress and deadlines, so ended up missing workouts and gained back about 15 of the 23 pounds I had lost since the previous November.

When school was basically over towards the end of July, I rededicated and decided to enter the September contest. We had decided to start trying to get pregnant after we take a vacation in December, and I also booked a photo shoot for motivation.

Over the 12 weeks, I definitely had ups and downs. There were times when I had moments of weakness and went over my calories, but overall, I was pretty consistent with sticking with my weekly calories based on the virtual nutritionist calculations. I completed the original venus program and most of the final phase program within the 12 weeks by doing 4-5 workouts per week throughout the contest.

 I took progress pics along the way, and my husband was a huge support throughout the process, especially the last week. I also was lucky enough to have the help of Allen Elliott, who planned out my workouts and diet for the last week leading up to the final pics. Amazing of him to do that, and the results really showed in my final pictures.

 In the end, I am completely shocked by the outcome! I have never been so confident in a bikini in my life! The best part is that without knowing it, not only was I losing fat throughout the program, but I started building muscle and a shape that I have never seen before and didn’t even know I had!

 And what was great was that I just had to follow the workouts that were already designed to do that for me, and I didn’t have to consciously think about how to build certain muscles to create the shape that would look best, which is good because I wouldn’t have known how. It was crazy because I just followed the programs and by the end, I had a figure that hours of cardio and calorie counting (which is what I think a lot of women do to just get “thin” and end up with no shape) could never have gotten me to.

 The best thing about Venus in my opinion is that while it is definitely challenging, it is not impossible to stick with because it is not so extreme that the majority could not sustain it. And what helps with making it so easy to sustain is the variety.

 I loved how the workouts were different every day because I never got bored. For the first time in my life, I actually enjoy working out. There are times it is still difficult to get to the gym, but once I am there, I actually enjoy the time I have set aside to improve my body.

 And Venus is the program I will definitely stick with for life because it finally made me successful in getting the body and the comfort with my body that I’ve always wanted. I know it will help me maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout my pregnancies and help me bounce back more quickly afterwards. I’m just so glad I am finally done searching for what works.

 Contest inputs:

 Height 70″

 Start weight 167 lbs, shoulders 44″, waist 31″, hips 42″

End weight 147 lbs, shoulders 42″, waist 27″, hips 38″

After the contest Michelle enjoyed a vacation with her husband Jake.

After the contest Michelle enjoyed a vacation with her husband Jake.

 

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: Contest, fat loss, Interview, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The scale does not matter when you have a stunning female shape! Uncensored podcast

February 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Carla has a stunning shape!

Carla has a stunning shape!
It is a perfect Venus Ideal shape which she got using Venus Factor.
You can have your own perfect ideal shape here too!

 

In today’s uncensored podcast John and Brad talk about the Venus Index Ideal shape, why it matters more than the body weight scale, and when it’s time to ditch the scale.  The body weight scale is a necessary tool when you need to take corrective action for being over weight, but once you get to a healthy body weight – typically for females that might be 30% body fat or less, it is not so useful as a tool.  In fact, it might be hindering your progress.

Proportions and shape matter more than the numbers.  It is the look that is stunning, not the number.  See that picture of Carla? It does not matter what she weighs or what size clothes she wears.  She happens to have the Venus Ideal measurements and shape.  Some of us have our best shape and the measurements don’t EXACTLY match the ideal – but they are close, and the look and proportions are still stunning.

We all have our unique gifts regarding our shape, and everyone can have a chance to achieve their best and most stunning look.  When you do, the measurements will be very close to the Venus Ideal.

I hope you enjoy the podcast as much as I did.  John and Brad plan to do more of these podcasts specifically for us ladies and I can’t wait to hear what they have for us in the coming year.

 

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

Have Venus, Will Run

January 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Running and Venus

text

An annual family tradition

I ran my second ever half marathon this past weekend in Houston, TX. It has become an annual family tradition- which I would have thought was crazy and unattainable before I got fit with Venus. It is great to have a fit family but I have never been a fan of running. I have struggled with asthma my whole life and running tended to set it off, so I generally avoided it. I did learn to enjoy lifting weights thanks to Venus though. So when the whole family decided in 2012 to run a half marathon together, I figured I could do it too since I had made an incredible transformation during VT5. So we signed up.

The race expo is heaven for a fitness junkie

The race expo is heaven for a fitness junkie

My first attempt at running a half marathon

I trained for the 2013 Chevron Houston Half Marathon using a typical fourteen week prep schedule which involved cutting way back on lifting to make time for two shorter runs a week and one long run. I got so burned out. I started dreading my runs.

 

There was an added benefit to all the running. My asthma started to lessen over the next few weeks of training; then it disappeared all together. My doctor did a lung function test when I told him about the change. The results were stunning. All the running had increased my vital lung capacity to the point that it basically compensated for my asthma. We were both pleased by the outcome though surprised.

 

The higher levels of running did cause an unintended consequence. My hunger levels went through the roof. Although I was just maintaining my physique at that point, the hunger levels were difficult to deal with. I felt like I was constantly restraining myself just to maintain.

 

But the training was effective. Other than a brief spell of tendonitis that put me out for a couple of weeks, I did very well in the race much to everyone’s surprise- including me. I ran it in two hours and nine minutes.

After shocks

I was done with everything running-related after the race last January. I quit running for about six months and only lifted six days a week. No cardio whatsoever of any kind. I just could not make myself run, or do any cardio for that matter. I just wanted to lift so that is what I did. However, my asthma started to return- although it was better than before.

Best part of the race is what to wear!

Best part of the race is what to wear!

A new plan

About six months into my cardio ban, we found out in June 2013 that we were selected to run in January 2014 half marathon via the race lottery. I knew that I had to do something different this year because my burnout from the previous year was not good.  I decided that I would continue lifting as much as possible. What fit my schedule and my mood was to lift 5 days a week- Monday through Friday. Then on Saturdays, I would do one long run. I scaled my runs up slowly at a mile a week, then dropped it back right before the race.  Within a few weeks of resuming running, my asthma subsided again. My hunger was manageable. I had found my happy place.

My husband & I after the half

My husband & I after the half

I had my doubts with this new plan though. I was honestly just expecting to just finish. Maybe keep my time from the year before (2:09), or maybe slightly slower.  I just really wanted to beat my husband! I knew that lifting weights was beneficial to runners because Coach John had discussed it in both Roberta and Laura’s podcasts.

Race Weekend

On Saturday, we ran a 5K. I blew my previous 5K personal record out of the water, running it in 26:05. Almost a minute faster that my previous PR! And the funny thing was that I pushed it, but tried to hold back so that I would not be sore for the half marathon the next morning.

My running partner & I before the 5K

My running partner & I before the 5K

At that point, I knew if I set my mind to it- I could totally finish the half in under two hours. And so I made a personal goal.

The cool thing is that I beat my previous time by almost 13 minutes, and am proud to say my time was below 2 hours. One hour and fifty six minutes (1:56) to be exact. I even beat my husband and the rest of our family!

Weight lifting makes better runners

Coach John and Liss

Coach John and Liss

After the race, I was so elated and had to let Coach John know! He was happy for me and said that, “Runners don’t get that a stronger muscle has more endurance. They just run and neglect other types of conditioning.” I KNEW this in my head.  John discussed it in detail in Roberta’s podcast. It all made sense.

 

The best part is that I think I might actually enjoy running now. Even though there is no race looming in the future, I plan to keep my lifting and running schedule the same. My hunger is manageable. My asthma is non-existent once again. I found my “for now” happy place!

 

 

Filed Under: Health, Muscle Growth, Shape, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Just Say No to Guilt and Shame For Eating!

January 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment

 

Randy's watched me go through the whole gamut of emotions; frustration, panic, sense of urgency, impatience, shame, guilt, happy excitement, insecurity, then confidence. Even at my worst and obese he always called me his lovely wife. Here we are in Rome, Italy.

Randy’s watched me go through the whole gamut of emotions; frustration, panic, sense of urgency, impatience, shame, guilt, happy excitement, insecurity, then confidence. Even at my worst and obese he always called me his lovely wife. Here we are in Rome, Italy.

It’s easier said than done!

This is all so much easier said than done.  I’ve been there too so I know.

We all test our boundaries with calories both up and down.  It’s never the end of the world.  Really!  It’s simply part of the learning process.

Always your body is the end game.  Not the calculator, not the chart, not the theory, not what the fitness guru said or did, not what works for someone else, and certainly not what someone else tells you to do.

I am not hungry.  Do I have to eat up to my maintenance calorie level?

I see a lot of comments and questions from those new to this process:

I am not hungry.  Do I have to eat up to my maintenance calorie level?

No one around here is going to tell you that you have to eat when you are not hungry.  You own this.  You get to decide.  Part of the freedom of our program is that you take ownership of what you put in your body.  We don’t tell you when to eat, what to eat, or how much to eat.  You get to own it now.  The calorie calculator is just a starting point for you to start your own experiment from.  It’s a suggestion.  It’s a starting point.  It’s an estimate (actually a very close and accurate estimate – but still an estimate).  Ultimately you get to decide.  The answer is in your own body.  Your body really is the end game.

This is hard for many to get used to because we got so used to the years of yo-yo diets and people telling us about good foods and bad foods.

Taking corrective action is not how you are meant to live life!

For many people when there is still a lot of body fat and even though you have yo-yoed all over the map with diets – you actually can eat at a fairly aggressive deficit – if you haven’t already had a history of doing so – and feel perfectly fine.

It can be kind of fun. You think wow this isn’t so bad.  You get used to it.  You adjust to it.  You get so happy that the scale is going down that you don’t want to stop.  You sort of get addicted to seeing the scale go down.  Then you feel guilty for eating up to maintenance.  Or you don’t feel hungry and don’t feel like doing it.  Or you are afraid of gaining weight.  Usually it’s a combination of all these things.

At some point you need to stop the deficit or take a break.  It is corrective action for a health problem and it is not how you are meant to live your life.

If you eat too low for too long you and keep doing it you will crash and binge.  No one is immune from that.  It’s happened to me a couple of times and I learned from it.  It’s not the end of the world.  You learn and you move on.  And if you love your body and want to take care of it you break this cycle right away – the eat low – binge – beat self-up/guilt/shame – eat low – binge cycle is not healthy for the mind, body, or spirit.

It’s something you learn – the sooner the better

Then you learn to eat up just a little.  Not over eat, just normal eating for you.  You should not feel guilt for this, or fear, but we all go through a phase of this after we lose weight.

We have fear of gaining it back.  But really, we all test this boundary too.  If we eat a little too much the weight creeps up a bit.  No big deal.  We learn and we take corrective action (not fun!  Never is!) And it’s really not the end of the world either.  In fact it’s part of the maintenance cycle.

You never reach your goal and just stay there – we all have these little mini cycles to deal with for the rest of our life.  The more you do this – the more you learn your boundaries.  It’s never the end of the world – but sometimes the emotions get out of hand and you panic.  Don’t panic.  Take a deep breath and do what needs to be done.  It’s really not that big a deal.  Learn and move on. Take care of that precious body.

It’s recovery from the stress

Maintenance “eat up” days are recovery days from the calorie deficit.  They are just like rest days from your workouts.  It gives you a chance to recover and rest from the deficit.  This is important for your sustainable fat loss.

It’s training for your new life

We all flounder when we achieve our fat loss goal.  We pinch ourselves and feel like we are in a dream.  We float on compliments.  We feel like impostors in our own bodies.  It takes a while for our mind to catch up to our body.  We also have fear of losing our success.   We fear eating.  Yet if we had taken little maintenance “eat up” breaks we would already have learned that there is nothing to fear.  We would have already trained ourselves for this stage of the game.  Taking a break from the deficit truly is “training” for the day that will come – when you reach success.  It will help you keep your success and it will help reduce some of your “floundering” with your new self and your new life.

Taking ownership is freedom!

I love the freedom.  Eat what you want, when you want, you get to decide.  You own your body.  You own what you put into it.  You own the consequences.

When I first learned this I was amazed at how it made me feel.  Never again will I allow someone to tell me to eat when I don’t want to.  If I go to a birthday party and decide I don’t want cake – no one can make me eat it.  But if I want some cake that is my choice too!  Total freedom.  Total ownership.

We will not tell you when to eat more either.  You get to decide.  You get to learn the lessons.  You get to test the limits for yourself.  But those of us who have been there and done that will at least give you this information so that you can make the best choice for yourself.  It’s still your choice.

I know it’s hard but stop the guilt and stop the shame.  Let yourself learn your limits.  Know that your body is the end game.  When you eat too much it stores fat.  When you eat the right amount it mostly stays the same.  When you actually learn to have a slight deficit you can maintain a short cycle of fat loss.

I know it’s hard to take the emotions out of it, and the sense of urgency and fear.  But those are never going to make things happen faster. The body adjusts in its own way, its own time – and likes to have love and care.

So this is just a quick note to remind you to just say no to guilt or shame from eating.  Every day is a perfect day to make good choices.  And whatever you choose – it is probably not the end of the world!

Have a great weekend!

-Ro

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

The Calorie Deficit – Yes it’s This Again!

January 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment

 fitness-gym-arms-crossed

Most of us do need to take a bit of corrective action after the holidays.  Usually that means administering a calorie deficit.  For some it also means getting back to the gym workouts.

Some seasons in your life require you to accept that staying at maintenance is a win

2013 was a very rough year for me.  I’m about to coin it my worst menopause hormone year ever.  I won’t go into all the gory details; most of us already know what this season of life includes.   But I will say that one of the biggest hindrances to your diet and fitness goals is lack of quality sleep.  Not to mention that the stress from that alone pretty much makes everything in your life fall apart.

If you have insomnia problems it’s best to put all else aside and work on getting the issue resolved, or at least down to a reasonable level that you can work around.  Having a semi-flexible work schedule helps.  But you must have that sleep.

Also it can be one of those seasons where fat loss is going to happen even slower than ever, if at all.  It can be a season where you should call staying at maintenance a win, or the best option.

After you have worked hard to achieve your fitness goal it doesn’t seem like you should ever have to go on another calorie deficit again

Not long ago I was chatting on the phone with John and catching up on projects we were working on when I mentioned some of my recent solutions to my year of struggles.  I had mentioned that one thing that is hard when you’ve adjusted to your newly transformed life is that the calorie deficit seems mentally harder.

Since you’ve already spent the hard years of losing the majority of the fat, and it sometimes seems like a nightmare you never want to repeat, it doesn’t seem fair that you should have to do it again – ever!

But alas, it’s still part of your ongoing seasons in life.  You still have to take the corrective action for short periods now and then.  Those short periods can take anywhere from 3-12 weeks and at the time it seems so long and unbearable – and unfair!  But a few weeks is not long compared to the years you spent earlier.  If you just get started it finally passes.

Sometimes you have to take the calorie deficit in a stair step approach

The time it takes to get where you want to be depends on the stress in your life and what the particular season is.  Sometimes you have to be patient and take the deficit in stair steps.  I learned the stair step approach from Leigh Peele.  I learned the Undulating Metabolic Override Protocol from the Venus Factor.  Each method has it’s place in my life.

It’s different for each person and it’s different for you depending on all of your life circumstances. You can’t always have what you want exactly when you want it, but if you are patient and do not give up; you can usually have what you want in time.

The hardest part is getting started

The hardest part is just accepting and then getting started.  The first week is the hardest, the subsequent weeks get easier, then you usually find your groove and it’s not so bad.  It’s just like John and Brad talk about in the “Getting Started” podcast and also Brad talked about it in his “Seven week experiment part 2”.

Much of what we learn in the long fat loss phase is the basic principles that we keep coming back to.  None of your prior efforts were wasted because they give you the lessons learned.  It gave you the confidence that the process works.

I told John a bit about the mind games and finally getting to the realization that it really comes back down to the knuckle down, roll up the sleeves, and do the calorie deficit.  I just sometimes feel like saying “No, not this again!  I already did that!”   John went right into his coach mode and said “Yes, it is this again!”  Can you just hear John’s voice? It was priceless to me. He is my favorite coach ever.

I nearly busted up laughing.  Yes I’d already figured that out.  But it didn’t make it any easier.  For me the alternative just is not acceptable.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of listening to the various health and fitness theories regarding hormones, menopause, and reasons for gaining weight, or having fat loss plateaus.  It’s easy to fall into panic and go down the path of thinking that your metabolism is broken or your thyroid stopped working.

Take out the emotions, face the facts, and get back to the basics

It’s so easy to play mental accounting games.  You remember the deficit days because they are so hard, but you forget the how often you ate extra or a little too much.  Mainly you just have to take the emotion out of it and look at the true facts, and possibly dig in to find your errors in tracking.

It always comes back to the basics.  It takes a calorie deficit to lose fat. Yes there are some very rare cases where lean athletes push too hard and eat too little so they have some unique issues.  But if you are not super lean you don’t fall into that category.

Let’s face it; most of us are not lean enough to have those problems.  For most of us if we need to lose some fat, we need to just roll up our sleeves and get it done.  It is not always fun, it requires some sacrifice; it’s the only thing that works.  The process never changes.  Either you are in a season where you can take the stress of applying the calorie deficit or not.

If you think you are eating 800 calories for a prolonged period of time yet are not losing any body mass at all – well the math just doesn’t match up.  You can’t change the laws of thermodynamics.

If you want to see what happens when that is true look at populations who have experienced true famine or the stories of those who have had anorexia.  Search on the internet for “North Korea Famine” and see what happens to people who don’t get enough to eat – they shrink.  That is what happens.  Sometimes it’s just a matter of facing the truth that you are actually consuming more food than you think you are.  For most of us that is a reality that is hard to face.

John helps our immersion customers in the bi-monthly coaching calls and I’ve found an additional helpful resource in fat loss troubleshooting that is quite good.

Andrea, one of the wise ladies in our forum wrote it out fairly clearly in her recent Venus online community blog post. Yes, it’s that pesky calorie deficit once again!  It’s this again!  It was the first lesson on her list of lessons learned.

It’s no big deal once you get started.  If fat loss is something you want this year, go and get it!

-Ro

Filed Under: calories, Diet, fat loss, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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