How to deal with the success backlash?

Sometimes People around you won't understand your journey

There are 10 more days left in the current Venus Transformation contest.

Now that we are in the final stretch of the contest, many of you are having success with your goals!

It’s great to see. Some of you are done with your photo shoot already and it’s time to relax.

Many people seek success, whether they are open or secret about it.

But there is something most of us are not ready for once we achieve success.

The backlash.

Not everyone is going to be happy for you.

Some will compliment you one day and then they are a participant to the attack on you the next day.

You have had to make hard choices. When you make those choices you end up leaving others behind.

They are still back at the crossroad you left behind.

Some people will feel betrayed.

“Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey.

They don’t need to, it’s not for them.”

It’s true. People will misunderstand and sometimes do some weird things to attempt to hinder your success.

Sometimes it is intentional, and other times it is merely that they are human and don’t understand their own emotions and insecurities.

You just have to find another way around the road blocks they put in front of you.

The work to get around those blocks makes you stronger and better.

And eventually you get amazing messages and magic behind the scenes like I have going on right now.

The neat thing about forgiveness is it doesn’t mean what they did was okay or that they belong in your life again.

Just let it go. Release the burden and thank God that what they did made you stronger and sometimes it gives you material to write about!

The backlash that can follow success is not about you. It’s about the insecurity in others and that they in some way feel your success diminishes them (even though it certainly does not).

Even though they will not be able to share your joy, just keep going. Keep progressing toward your new goals, make good choices, and ENJOY your success. Some people who you may never meet will be inspired by you and that makes it all worth it.

BOOM!

Never give up
Never settle
Live your dream

-Coach Roberta

 

What about the final contest pictures?

Review the contest rules, review the mandatory pictures, but do more.

Be creative.

Have fun.

Show your best side.

Put the same effort into your pictures as you would a job interview.

Make sure the pictures are clear (not blurry!) and show your best shape. it’s not all about skin or muscle, it’s about how you sculpted your shape. Make sure it shows in your pictures.

Pick clothing that shows your shape.

Make sure the after pictures show the change you made!

Email me if you have questions:  roberta.saum@gmail.com

Make the Venus Transformation YOUR contest.

With only 17 days left in the Venus Transformation contest VT15 it’s time to set your mind for the final stretch.

Make the Venus Transformation YOURS, not ours.

It is your life that will transform.

And it will effect everyone around you.

Right about now you are probably feel tired, ready to throw in the towel.

The fears and doubts creep in.

Let me tell you;  YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH.

Everyone has the fears.  And everyone has the will to survive the final stretch if they reach for it.

You can too!

It is not the outcome of the contest that will change your life.  YOU change your life.  So OWN it and make the outcome YOUR OWN, no matter what.

Back in VT4 my focus was on my photo shoot.  I decided I wanted to do the photo shoot for ME and go all out with making it what I wanted – not what Venus wanted.

I planned to do as many pictures as I liked in my own style and throw in a few of what Venus called “mandatory poses”. I threw my pictures in the Venus hat and let it be whatever it was, but then I would have all my pictures and they were MINE.

It worked. And guess what? It was my own pictures that launched my career as a fitness model, not the contest. The contest win is totally fun, but it is a bright flash in the big scheme of your life.

I have seen many Venus ladies transform their lives without even entering the contest.

So MAKE IT YOUR OWN, no matter what!

Here I am 5 years later, still participating on contests in other arena’s.  It doesn’t matter what they are, the same thing applies.  My life and where it is going matters more than any contest.  Always.

 

I guess it’s okay to not be photo shoot ready every day after all right?  No makeup, no tan, geek glasses, messy frizzy hair, in a dress that fit but was too long, no special light, and just a cell phone camera selfie, and I’m certainly not ready to step up on a fitness competitor stage, but I do believe with a bit of clean up I can walk the red carpet in December for the magazine in this gown!

I guess it’s okay to not be photo shoot ready every day after all right? No makeup, no tan, geek glasses, messy frizzy hair, in a dress that fit but was too long, no special light, and just a cell phone camera selfie. I’m certainly not ready to step up on a fitness competitor stage, but I do believe with a bit of clean up I can walk the red carpet in December for the magazine in this gown!

 

I feel like Terminator Chick in this gown that is like liquid metal! I was waiting for my Venus Friend Kerry who was downstairs in the store finding me some matching shoes.

This picture was taken last Sunday, and Kerry’s jaw literally dropped when I walked out of the dressing room in the dress.  It was the first dress I tried on and it’s a good thing it fit because nothing else looked right.

I’m pretty excited and proud to be going to walk the red carpet at the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco with my friend Kerry and her son G’Angelo in December when he makes his spokes model debut for the Fitness Chic Luxury magazine company I’m affiliated with.  I’ve been working with G’Angelo regarding workouts and diet and he has come a long way and I’m very proud of him.

See no matter what is going on, or what you are competing for, it’s great to have something that is a FOR SURE sign that you’ve made some meaningful accomplishments. That is what your contest photo shoot is all about.

I’m in a contest right now too, the prize is something I would wish for in December, something I’ve worked hard to try and get, and I may not get it.

If I don’t I’ll feel left out and not good enough. But those are untrue fears and doubts speaking. We all have those fears and doubts as we move forward. I think they are there for life. We just learn to deal with them better. And we progress to new levels and new fears. But the process seems to be pretty much the same.

So no matter what happens with other things you and I are working towards, we may not get those things just YET.

For me, for now, I have THIS (looking forward to the red carpet walk in the gown) and a few other things to keep me motivated and keep me happy.

And best of all, I have beautiful ladies in my life like you. Some who I help, and some who help me.

And that’s how it goes.

Yes, you can live the Venus life and define what your own photo shoot ready means. It is whatever level you find you are comfortable in your own skin.  It’s not what Venus or someone else defines for you.

Your pictures can be a gown too, anything that shows the transformation of your shape.

Now, let’s KILL that homeward stretch!

Boom!

Never Settle

Never Give Up

Live Your Dream

-Coach Roberta

How do you BUILD your own MOTIVATION?

Gold Run Sunset Sept 23 2015 FRAMED

Motivation happens when you STEP into it and then feed it.

You can’t feed your own momentum with negative thoughts.

And you can’t feed it with positive thoughts without ACTION first.

The other persons success that you might admire does not give it enough fuel.

You must create your own momentum.

By taking steps.

By taking action.

And the focus on your own process and your own momentum with those positive thoughts.

You have to have the end goal in sight, but even it is not enough.

You have to EMBRACE the process.

You have to BUILD the constant reminders in your mind, the mnemonics, of why you make those hard little choices throughout each day.

Make those choices your daily victories.

Make each day a victory in your mind then.

Have a string of daily victories.

And ride each victory to the next.

Constantly tuning out the negative from yourself and others.

What action will you take today?
What step will you take today?

To build your own motivation.

BOOM!

Never give up
Never settle
Live your dream

-Coach Roberta

Lets Lead Together

 

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I started my weight loss journey as a lone ranger. I’m not the type of person to ask for help, and I’m working on that. After a year of steady weight loss, I plateaued and became frustrated.

Fortunately, I found Venus Index and was able to understand true fat and weight loss principles geared for women, adapt them into my life, and change my lifestyle.

Along with the lifestyle change came a lot of things, positive and negative changes, but a happier healthier me.

The most important thing I came to understand was a newfound responsibility to help, as I know how hard it is to ask.

People came to me with questions, wanting and needing help and advice on how to conquer their own weight loss battles, and I began to grasp the privilege I had earned; to help and give back all that I had gained.

Where do you start?

My journey, lead me to the expansive fitness industry that is no longer just within a gym’s walls. You can find health and fitness information everywhere, but without a basic understanding of where to start it is overwhelming, contradicting, and confusing.

There are a million products, programs, gimmicks, work-from-home fitness companies, eating styles, eating plans, personal trainers, supplements, equipment, apparel and on, and on, and on.

So where do you start?

The basic principles in which we are taught through Venus Index, excess intake will lead to excess fat. Period. Monitor and balance your intake and outputs. Have a deficit to your surplus and you will lose the excess.

 

What about the food and the middle ground?

Since really delving into the industry over the   last few months, I see a lot of people who say they want to helpIMG_0994 others which is an amazing thing, but what I really see are pretty pictures and motivational quotes, offers for quick fixes, gimmick products, crash diets, and money pits.

The ones that bother me the most are the fitness models eating a vat of ice cream, or a dozen doughnuts, with quotes, “I promote eating” or “I love junk food.” I see these images and wonder what am I doing wrong?

I work HARD and I can’t eat junk everyday. If I did I’d be bloated, feel terrible, gain weight, and lose all my hard work.

Don’t get me wrong, I love ice cream and I have said on multiple occasions that I don’t eliminate things from my diet that I love.

However, what I DO say that they DON’T is that I budget for that ice cream. I plan for it. I allow for it.

There is no way I could maintain my results eating ice cream alone. There is no way I would be anywhere near healthy eating ice cream alone.

To me, these images imply “look at me, I’m so awesome that I can eat whatever I want and still be smoking hot” and they just continue to taint the industry, confuse and impede consumers.

It continues to turn away people who are interested in being healthy and fit; leaving them feeling as if they have done something wrong that they too, can’t eat ice cream every day and rock Miss Olympia.

Then we have the other extreme, the epidemic of obesity that is plaguing a generation of instant gratification with a sense of entitlement. A generation that doesn’t know how to engage will power, self-determination, self-control, and drive to make choices to change their lives.

I know, because I lived it. I was too self-involved “enjoying” my 20s and engaging in ridiculous unhealthy behaviors ignoring responsibilities, not only to myself, but also to my future.

There were many times I consumed more calories in junk food and alcohol than in any sort of nutrition and wondered why I was over weight. Then I decided I’d join the movement of acceptance and just be “fat and happy” except I WASN’T happy.

Finding the middle ground between “fat and happy” and “I’m so awesome I can eat all the things and still be smoking hot” has been hard.

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Let’s lead together

This lifestyle is doable, this lifestyle is maintainable, but it isn’t without sacrifice. It isn’t without self-control, self-discipline, determination, and drive.

You have to want to be better.

You have to want to change.

Once you make that determination find the will power to keep going.

Turn to like-minded people, turn to people who want to not only encourage you, but also engage in your success.

Thankfully, there are people who do truly want to and do help, often for free.

Let us help you, and then pay it forward.

Lets change this industry.

Lets impact society.

Let us regain ideals of health and fitness.

Lets promote life long habits that will allow our children to grow in the world we envisioned for them.

Lets show them how to take ownership, how to cook, how to work, how to use their body, and minds for good.

Lets do this together and promote a world of moderation with an ethic for hard work and success, not just acceptance.

Lets BE healthy and fit.

Lets BE the example in which we want them to follow.

Lets lead together

– Erin

As a Venus you learn to be the BEST YOU possible

Roberta the colors of fall FRAMED

The colors of fall!

I love all the seasons.

Some seasons of life are harder than others.

Just be yourself.

Whatever that is.

Sometimes it can be a disaster trying to copy someone else.

We all learn by trial and error.

We all have out own unique qualities.

None are necessarily better than the other.

Just different and unique.

And for each of us our time will come.

If we work hard and patiently wait our turn.

No need to tear others down when they succeed whilst you wait.

But others will misunderstand you as you progress and try things. And sometimes they are mean about it.

So just motor on anyway and you certainly don’t have to be a doormat for the mean people.

Just move on and bide your time.

Nice and polite and professional without being a doormat.

‘Cuz for each of us our time will come.

And in this world of so much fakary and back stabbing.

People crave realness and honesty.

So just be you.

The nice real version of YOU.

BOOM!

PS It’s been over a year since my Super Hero Photo shoot, and almost 4 years since the photo shoots for VT3 and VT4.  During that time I also have done magazine photo shoots at age 54 and a fitness competition at age 53. Some people will tell you you can’t maintain this year round.  That is not true. YOU can do it too!  If you need help, that’s what we are all here for.  Don’t let your fears and doubts stop you.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Go forth and know that you can SAVE THE DAY and every day is a glorious day to make good choices.

Never Settle.

Never Give Up.

Live Your Dream.

-Coach Roberta

Can a Vegetarian Venus stop the YO-YO? Yes, this girl Jonda can!

Jonda-BnA-Venus-Article

Since it is the halfway point through the Venus Transformation Contest VT15 we thought you could use a little motivation to keep you going.

Jonda did the diet Yo-Yo all her life.  Big time!

She placed first in our last transformation contest.

Jonda says she is NEVER GOING BACK to the diet Yo-Yo!  And she is proving that true still to this day.

Jonda says she is NEVER GOING BACK to the diet Yo-Yo! And she is proving that true still to this day.

 

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

I have fought weight all of my life…as a child, a teenager and an adult. My mom tells me that I was born 3 weeks late. I weighed 9lb 3oz. She says I stayed in there 3 extra weeks to eat. I remember asking my dad to take me to Weight Watchers in 6th grade and he did. I was 5’5” and weighed 154lbs. I came out of the program weighing 119lbs.

That lasted through high school and then in my freshman year of college I married and was pregnant with my first child 3 months later. I delivered at 200 and then starved myself back down to 125 before my college graduation. Slowly but surely the weight crept back up and I found myself pregnant with my second child and delivered at 225lbs.

My weight has fluctuated between 122lbs–180lbs several times over the last 20 years. Why? Because I never understood how my body works and frankly, there is a lot of bad information out there.

I will forever be an ambassador for this program.

Women face challenges that men don’t. We deserve to know what REALLY works and when we are wasting our time. This is not a difficult program. It is however a mindset. You have to be at that point in your life when you really want it.

That’s why I was able to put all of Roberta’s advice to work when I personally met her earlier this year. I was ready!!! We connected on FB over 2 years ago.

I read all the material, understood it and tried to incorporate deficit days and the eat-stop-eat (fasting) regimen. Didn’t get too far with the workouts but did drop a few pounds that found their way back to me. I had plenty of distractions in my life…things I put ahead of ME and my happiness. It finally occurred to me that I was in control of my happiness and I started “cleaning house”.

It’s true that when you surround yourself with a positive environment you can’t help but be positive yourself!

And well, the opposite is true too.

You decide who is in your life, where you work, where you live, what you put in your body…YOU, not a friend, spouse or anyone else. If there is something in your life you don’t like CHANGE it.

It won’t happen over night but figure out what you need to do and then do something each day that moves you toward what you want! And that’s exactly what I did.

My only regret is that I didn’t take the 1000 cal with 100g of protein daily regimen more seriously at the beginning of my transformation. I convinced myself that the extra 150-200 cal/day wasn’t that big of a deal and what could an extra 20g of protein matter? Well I found out that cutting the 150-200 calories and adding in an extra 20+g of protein keeps me full and I started cruising toward my ideal Venus Index weight.

The Program works if you do!

Jonda

 

Venus girlfriends from all over the world to meet with Jonda in California.

Venus girlfriends from all over the world got together to chat with Jonda in California.

 

Several of my Venus fitness colleagues from all over the world met at the beautiful Naggiar Vineyard and Winery to chat with Jonda:

 

You can read Jonda’s full transformation story and view the rest of the video interview with us on “The Jonda Lowe Transformation Story” and listen to the audio podcast right here:

 

Therese found she REALLY COULD LOSE WEIGHT in her 50’s!

Therese-BnA-

Therese finally found she could lose the weight. She had lost hope.  She really and truly believed it could not be done.

She found Venus and decided it would be her last ditch effort.

Sound familiar?

So many of us in mid life and even younger have felt hopeless.

But don’t believe that!

Yes, it requires some effort, but in the end we find it’s kind of simple in a way.  But we have to learn the process.

And we have to give ourselves a bit of time to learn.

But it doesn’t take long.

Soon we find our groove with it.

And we are a constant work in progress.

Because it truly is a lifestyle.

 

The shorts I am in I bought in the beginning of the summer. They fit perfectly, size 10. They are my smallest shorts as I don’t want to waste money on clothes I am going to be too small for to wear in the near future. Now, they are too big. The swim suits I am in I have had for 20 years and have not put them on for the last 15 years.

The shorts in the middle picture I bought in the beginning of the summer.
Now, they are too big. I now have swim suits that I have had for 20 years and have not put them on for the last 15 years!

 

 

Here’s what Therese wrote in her own words:

The Venus Factor Program has been life changing. It has not only changed my weight but my body shape and mental attitude. I am nearly 54 years old and thought I was stuck as a fat, tired, old person until I did the research that brought me to the Venus Factor Program.

I started this research in Jan. 2014 when I weighed 204 pounds. As I was spending the time to make the best choice possible I continued to work on my weight loss with the vast knowledge I had gained over the many years of using every diet I came across from fad, Weight Watchers, injections, specialty foods etc. only to become an expert on loosing and gaining weight.

Even having a degree in Family and Consumer Education with an emphasis in nutrition wasn’t enough. This time I needed to make it my last time so in June of 2014 I started with Venus Factor weighing 193 pounds.

I had only lost 10 pounds during the 6 months prior. This contest has only been a process in my journey.

Yes, and what a journey it has been! I have changed habits that I thought were impossible to change.

I no longer eat in the evening–a childhood habit that I have had all my life. I now exercise every week at least three times per week. I have not done this since high school–36 years ago–WOW.

I also believed I could not loose weight during the school year as being a school counselor is too stressful and has many evening obligations.

I have proved that wrong.

The pictures I have included really show my journey.

The shorts I am in I bought in the beginning of the summer. They fit perfectly, size 10. They are my smallest shorts as I don’t want to waste money on clothes I am going to be too small for to wear in the near future.

Now, they are too big. The swim suits I am in I have had for 20 years and have not put them on for the last 15 years.

The pictures showing my before Venus pictures and were I was during the journey before this contest show where I have come from and the direction I am going.

This contest is not the end but just one more step in my journey.

Today, I challenged my husband to who can get abs first–me or him. It is going to be me!!!

Since I have been doing the Venus Factor my husband has lost 30 pounds and two of my four children who are home for the summer have both lost weight.

The journey I am on has no finish line.

I will continue the weight loss with maintenance process until I reach my Venus Factor figure and then I will continue to strengthen my body and maintain the weight loss.

 

Here is Therese giving her very own video testimonial:

 

And I had the opportunity to interview Therese over skype: Игровые автоматы бесплатно и без дополнительной загрузки. Игровые автоматы абсолютно бесплатно и без регистрации, запустить их можно онлайн без регистрации, запустить их можно онлайн казино Вулкан на интерес каждому предоставлены на интерес каждому предоставлены на интерес каждому предоставлены на интерес каждому предоставлены на интерес каждому предоставлены на выбор виды бесплатных . игры онлайн бесплатно автоматы Выбираем сначала платформу автоматов, потом — сам аппарат. Вы можете попробовать игровые автоматы бесплатно абсолютно бесплатно абсолютно каждый посетитель нашего игрового зала, без регистрации и без регистрации, запустить их можно онлайн может себе это позволить, подобраны залы с наивысшими показателями всех важных параметров достойного азартного клуба. Игровые автоматы абсолютно каждый .

Three Venus ladies TAKE IT TO THE STREET!

FRAME-Pam Helen Roberta

One of our latest contest winners, Helen, travelled from Africa to visit us in California.

Helen lives in Africa but is here visiting family.  Pam lives in California near me, so we all got together at Pam’s house for a workout, good food, and some Venus chatting around the table.

We made a little video of the visit and wanted to share our struggles and victories with others.

 

We all had to change our habits

Each of us lost a lot of weight, Venus confirmed what we had been learning and took us to that upper bar we all searched for to be our own best.

Even though we are different heights and body types, we all struggle.

We all have stress.

We all wear different hats.

We all swim against the tide of too much food.

We all have to remind ourselves we need the awareness of food intake in order to stay healthy in modern society.

At first it feels sort of like too much work, but then you get in a groove.

Many habits feel like too much at first.

So give yourself TIME.

Riding a bike for the first time when we were young felt like it was too hard.

We fell and scraped our knees and got bruises.

But we got back up and pushed through.

Over time we got our balance and now we can just hop on and do it.  Even when it’s been years since we’ve been on a bike.  The muscle memory comes right back.

Well it’s the same thing with eating habits.

We all have to learn new ways to deal with stress.  It does not have to be about food.

 

Pam-Helen-Roberta-Workout-Collage

Oh we had such a blast working out together!

What if you don’t like to workout?

Working out is a great way to relieve stress.  Even those who never enjoyed workouts all their lives eventually find a way to see the value.

Changing your health with a workout, especially resistance training, is very empowering.  You end up moving with agility and a bounce in your step in all aspects of your life.

The combination of learning to ditch the excess unhealthy fat and building a powerhouse body for all you do in your life is an amazing way to build success in all areas of your life.

It changes your life in ways you would never have dreamed of.

The workouts themselves produce endorphin’s in your body and make you FEEL GOOD.

Luckily Pam’s neighbors didn’t mind us playing our music and flipping tires and running screaming with fire hoses;  They got a good chuckle out of it.

What about the food?

We all swim against the tide of too much food.  We just lost our awareness that it is too much intake that makes us store unhealthy fat.

Most of us can eat more than we need.  We are designed to eat when food is available.

Well, it’s always available.

So we simply have to learn to say no sometimes.

 

FRAME-pumpkin custard with PB2 frosting

Sometimes having new recipes helps.  It helps to have lower calorie foods with high protein for balancing out the high calorie higher fat/carb days.

It is all about balance.

Pam made Helen and I the protein custard recipe I came up with last year.  She added a peanut butter frosting.  Everything is better with frosting!

FRAME-Pam's Spinach Dip

Pam also made a spinach dip.  She sauteed raw spinach with coconut oil and added goat cheese and blended artichoke hearts.

We ate the dip with gluten free crackers because both Pam and Helen have Celiac disease.

I counted out 16 chips because even gluten free carbs can add up really fast.

We all learn that too much HEALTHY food is still too much food and can make you store extra fat.

Most of us will want MORE food.

We have to remind ourselves that we can have more next time!

We put together a fun homegrown video showing our workout and chatting about our struggles at the table.

We hope you enjoy it.

We realize not all everyone has time to watch a 12 minute video of us goofing off, so we also created an audio podcast of us sharing our struggles and giggling around the table.

Have a beautiful Friday and a great weekend!

It is full of opportunity to for healthy choices and changing habits!

 

Never Settle

Never Give Up

Live Your Dream

-Coach Roberta

Helen takes the Venus program around the globe.

Helen took the community with her to Luanda and Angola in Africa.

Helen took the community with her to Luanda and Angola in Africa.

 

Helen is 49 years old and has struggled with her weight since her teens.

Sound familiar?

It seems like all the diets want to make you believe you can eat an unlimited amount of certain foods.

It feels like a mystery sometimes as to why the weight comes off.

And then you revert back to your “normal” foods and it all comes back.

So really there are no secret foods.  The secret is the AMOUNT of food; the correct energy balance for your own self.

That is what the Venus program teaches you.  How to find your own energy balance.

There is no one size fits all.  There is no magic formula.  But there are tools to help you find your own balance.

The transformation is just a small snapshot in time.  12 weeks is not very long.  But during that 12 weeks Helen started learning her balance.  She lost 13 pounds in 12 weeks, 2.3 inches in her waist, 3 inches in her shoulders, and 4 inches in her hips.

But more than that she gained confidence and finally showed the muscle tone she wanted.

 

Here is what Helen said about the 12 weeks in her own words:

 

I have struggled with my weight since my teens. I have always loved to work out, I was a runner, then did triathlons, but never looked like I did those things.

Then two years ago I had a total knee replacement and thought that I would bounce right back because I was athletic. I did recover functionally, though I do not have full extension in my right leg, but I can do quite a bit.

My weight has gone up and down since I can remember. It seems as if I was always trying something, vegetarian, Paleo, and all. I wanted something that basically told me I could eat an unlimited amount of food. I would lose some weight, but I tried not to get on the scale because it really was a mental issue with me.

I live overseas in Luanda, Angola in Africa and the food choices are very different from what is in the states. I do bring some things back when we come home, but I needed a program that did not rely on special meals. Being gluten free in a third world country is tough enough, but not being able to find other food was frustrating as well.

Also being a doctoral student , a stay at home mom, online instructor, and homeschooling my youngest son makes life a bit hectic as well, but working out has always been “my time”.

I found Venus while on the internet, downloading one more “thing” that would be a quick fix. I downloaded it, but just the basic program, I wanted to start with just that. I had started and stopped so many different things, and each time I switched, it was a day to “start anew” and give myself one more day of thinking I could eat what I wanted. I had started another 12 week program, but the food suggestions were impossible to acquire in Africa. I read the Venus program and thought this makes sense, you can eat what you want, you just have to account for it.

I kept thinking of all the people I knew who were thin, they didn’t eat like I did, they ate less. It just made sense. You have to eat less, and the only way you are going to do that is to track what you are putting in your mouth. I decided to start the 12 week protocol, and never thought about the contest.

Then the miracle of the Venus community happened, and all these amazing ladies, some who had already achieved amazing results, some who had quite a way to go, and some that were just like me, needing to lose, but not far from Venus numbers. I loved listening to their advice, their triumphs, their questions, and respected their challenges. It took me awhile to start blogging.

I kept thinking who is gonna want to hear my issues, I am a nurse, and it has always been my job to take care of others. But you start and you feel this connection and it’s a really great feeling. There was a group of ladies that were going to commit to the contest, and I thought why not.

I am committed to the program no matter what, so let’s see what I can do in 12 weeks. It is interesting because the timing comes right as we travel back to the US and usually I start focusing on all those foods that you haven’t had for 6 months.

This time I said to myself, you can have that food, but every bite that goes in your mouth will be tracked. I had a serious “coming to Jesus” moment realizing all the calories in some of the foods I thought I was so “good” in eating. I still decided to see it through, and there were days that I was not perfect, but I wouldn’t give up.

To me being a Venus means the process is a journey of learning and Venus fits in my lifestyle. Just as it was said in the beginning, the program is simple, but not always easy, but neither is life, and I feel such a connection to so many ladies on the forum, that my greatest hope is that one day I can meet them.

I will continue on this journey, and I am not where I want to be, but I much better than where I started.

Thank you everyone at Venus.

Helen

 

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Helen found the online community to be a huge part of her success. She made friends. With her travels around the world she was able to take her friends with her where ever she went.  She found a very nice group of ladies who listened and answered her questions and supported her.  And now she helps others.  Because that’s what we do at Venus.  We learn and we pay it forward.  But we also all still need the support of our friends and it’s an awesome thing.  That’s how friendships work isn’t it?

 

You can find Helen in the online community and read her blog there, and you can listen to her tell her story in our audio podcast:

You can SAVE the DAY at any moment.

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Ever get that “Rebellious” mindset with food?

Those days where you feel it’s just not fair!

It seems like for the moment you just don’t care. You are going to have whatever it is.  And you are going to have as much as you want!  Darn it.  You DESERVE it!

Dieting is just getting old!

But then you feel horrible afterwards.

And it does kinda set you back a bit from your weight loss goals.

We all have that happen.

You can feel doomed by the choices.  So why try anymore the rest of the day?  You might as well go ALL IN and just keep on that path the rest of the day and start anew tomorrow.

But that is not true!

You can decide to SAVE the DAY at any point.

Yes, you really can.

You are NOT DOOMED by it.

Every day does not have to be the same.

There are some days where I have had that happen too.  And I’ve learned that if I want I can actually SAVE the DAY.

Whatever I ate, even though it wasn’t part of “the plan”, left me feeling full.   I got to have whatever it was that I might have been depriving myself of.

So why not just prolong the time until next meal?  Most likely I can go all the way to bedtime not needing anything.

I can be kind to myself and drink lots of water and herbal tea, and maybe some broth.

I can decide not to beat myself up about it.

I can decide that it’s okay to be human.

But I don’t have to wait until tomorrow to fix it.

I can do it right now, this very minute.

Sometimes you do great the rest of the day with the liquids, and then you really need to have something right before bedtime and that’s okay too.

Hunger has these ebbs and flows.  It’s pretty complicated and has a lot to do with your stress, PH, intestinal flora, hormones, health, diet, and it’s all interconnected inside your body.

Just let it roll and do your best.

We just had September 11th come and go. That’s a big deal in the United States of America.  So many of us wish we could have saved the day.  But we can’t.  We can only remember.

But YOU have the chance to save the day in your own life.

It’s your choice.

Whenever you want.

Remember that going into this weekend.

That you CAN save the day!

You are never doomed by your choices.

Never Settle

Never Give Up

Live Your Dream.

-Coach Roberta

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