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Three Venus ladies TAKE IT TO THE STREET!

September 25, 2015 by Leave a Comment

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: Diet, Exercise, fat loss, Food, Interview, transformation, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Helen takes the Venus program around the globe.

September 21, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: Contest, Exercise, fat loss, Interview, transformation, Weight training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Venus Taught Julie Health after a Lifetime of Struggle

September 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment

JulieFrontBeforeandAfter

Julie placed in our recent VT14 Venus Transformation Contest.

She did a phenomenal job and her results display the hard work she put in. Her transformation stretches out further than this 12 week period though, she has lost over 70 lbs using Venus in the past 15 months!

Julie before Venus and after, unbelievable!

Julie at one of her heaviest weights before Venus and after, unbelievable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JulieSideBeforeandAfter

 

 

 

 

 

Here is what Julie had to say in her own words

My name is Julie; I’m a 35 year old wife and mother of 2. My whole life has always been about food, size, weight and all those terrible things that get stuck in your head when that is all you hear all the time. I remember my mother always on some kind of diet or trying the new diet pills. I started to be concerned my weight starting around 12 years old. I remember my sister telling me to “suck it in” when others were around or to cover up my big booty. I ended up with eating disorders and low self-esteem by the age of 15. By 16 I was a full time binge and purger and when I could control it all I would turn anorexic until I had to eat or someone said something, then it was back to binging and purging. It is still a constant reminder in the back of my head how easily all this could end up right back there where it all began and hurt the worst. I struggled with this even after I had my first child. Not long after my second child I needed a hysterectomy and most of my hormones were taken. I gained so much more weight and I could not control it. For the past 7 years I have just tripled in size. I looked in the mirror and I did not even know who I was anymore. I decided to do something about it. I have been a member of the local YMCA for years and have never utilized it before, only the kids have. So my friend and I started out with a HITT class and step aerobics and even some kick boxing 4 days a week and was trying for 5 days a week when I noticed my scrubs pants were getting even more tighter, I then decided to weigh myself…I had gained 15 more pounds, 223 lbs. was hard to carry around. I just cried and cried, I was doing so much, my body was so sore and now my self-esteem was totally gone once again. I just wanted to eat and eat, but I didn’t. I spoke with another lady about my struggle and she suggested lifting more weight and keeping my heart rate down to burn the fat. She suggested Venus! I noticed our YMCA offered a class so I tried it. I noticed the class was at a crazy time, so I worked it out with my boss to be able to go to these classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The first week was very different in how my body felt after a good lifting workout rather than a cardio workout. I was just a sweaty, out of breath and sore as I was with a cardio class but the difference was I was not starving after class. I wanted to know more about Venus, so I got measured and weighed and I was entered in to a nutrition guide and received my calorie count and protein goals and my VI. This is where things started to change. In a weeks’ time from this I was losing and I could feel it. I was feeling amazing. After a couple of months one of the contests ended and one of the ladies in my class placed! It was so exciting to see her transformation. I decided to enter the next one. I entered that next contest to see what it was all about. I wanted the nutrition side as well as the exercise. So I took my first photos and cried and cried and entered the Venus contest. I could not believe I let myself get that heavy. I did 12 weeks of exactly what it said for me to do. Even when I was nearing the end of the contest I felt like had so much more energy I was able to start doing more active things with the family like going to the park or play basketball with my son. The contest came and went and I did not place…I still continued with my journey though. I worked out and ate my deficit calories when I should and my maintenance when I should and kept on with my habits of not over eating. The next contest came and went and I had plateaued for most of those 12 weeks. Again one of my co-workout buddies placed in the contest. I re-evaluated my nutrition and calories and why was I stuck? So I decided to try the contest again. I was stuck in a plateau for a while now so I was really trying to get even getting a pound off that would have given me hope. Then I thought, “I need to fast, this will be what my body needs for sure.” Sure enough I broke through the plateau and managed to start losing again. I did a few things different this time around. I worked out hard and if I did extra it was Venus exercises always. I also made sure I hit my protein goal and had a very fiber rich diet. My goal of course was to lose weight but to gain muscle definition. I did not want to be skinny where my bones stuck out and you can see my ribs, but to be strong and defined in my muscle contour. I want to look like I work out as hard as I do. I wanted people to ask me what I did to change. (They do!) I have learned so much from the last year of learning to life a healthy lifestyle and learning to love myself once again. I could not do anything more for my family than to be here in the present with them and able to participate in life with them. I have given myself a new future, a healthy future. A future I am excited to move forward in. I know that if I go back to my old lifestyle, I will be right back to that girl that is struggling with an eating disorder. This was not easy or everyone would be doing it. It is easier than being big and prettier than an eating disorder. Venus has given me the tools to succeed and has also given me a whole community of Venus ladies to swap stories with, get advice on nutrition or even advice on a modified move. I am so blessed to have found exactly what I needed for me, my body and my journey. This will always be the life style I choose to live. I hope my children grow and learn from all of this and never have to struggle with obesity. Thank you Venus, you saved my life.

Julie at one of her heaviest weights before finding Venus and after, WOW!

Julie at one of her heaviest weights before finding Venus and after, WOW!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JulieBackBeforeandAfter

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julie’s Metrics

Weight Height Waist Shoulders Hips
Before 170 lb 63.3 in 31.8 in 43.5 in 43 in
After 157 lb 63.3 in 29.2 in 40.3 in 41 in
Deltas -13 lb -0 in -2.5 in -3.2 in -2 in

 

Julie is a beautiful Venus!

Julie is a beautiful Venus!

 

Listen to Julie’s interview with Liss below, or download it for later:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

Pam learned you can’t outrun too much food!

September 7, 2015 by Leave a Comment

 

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Like so many of us Pam used to be a long distance runner.  There is nothing wrong with distance running, but it may not be the best strategy for fat loss like most of us thought.

The excess endurance workouts make us fatigued, drive some of our needed hormones down, thus makes us extra hungry and then we overcompensate with extra food.  This hinders fat loss.

Pam has always loved working out, but when she switched her focus to resistance training and diet she found success.

 

Pam LAF gym

Pam has always loved working out! The right workouts and diet helped her succeed at what she loves most.

 

Pam was one of our Venus Transformation contest winners.  Here is her story in her own words:

Here I am a personal trainer who is supposed to be helping my clients get fit and I was not fit and a bit fat! I complained to my husband a lot about how horrible I felt. I just really didn’t know what to do and was feeling very low. I was at a high weight for me 159.8 and pulling my hair out.

Then I remembered Venus.

I had purchased ESE a while back and read it and it all made sense but it just wasn’t the right time in my life to implement it. I had listened to Venus podcasts before and thought the whole concept was nuts! I mean, I am a fitness professional- eating below 1000 calories and skipping meals is horrible for your metabolism!

Yes, I fell into so many of the fitness fallacies, it’s not even funny. I got every fitness magazine, email from too many health experts, books by the loads of people in the health field- I thought I knew it all. Well, obviously I didn’t.

So, I bought Venus in August and jumped in with both feet. The time was right for me and I needed to make a change. I kept the first month under wraps. I didn’t want to tell my husband and then have it not work. I remember finally telling him and being amazed at the results and happy to have finally found out what works for me.I feel like I have an advantage over a lot of the other girls in Venus. I have a lot of exercise experience, was familiar with all of the exercises, thrived on the weight workouts and have a bench and weights in my backyard so it was super easy to fit into my day.

Reading the blogs from newbies who haven’t really exercised or aren’t able to do more than a couple workouts a week made me feel like I was so far ahead of the game! And not only do I love working out, I really love the Venus workouts. I love how it’s hard work but not so crazy hard it leaves you wiped for the rest of the day. I was working for a women’s boot-camp style gym for the prior 3 years where we did a lot of box jumps, burpees, jump lunges etc and it was super fun but really exhausting.

 

Beautiful-Pam-LAF-gym

 

I never felt like that after a Venus workout. In fact my body felt so great that I lifted almost every day of the last 2 months. And felt better and stronger every single day. 1-2 times a week I even got in double days. My body has always thrived on movement and the Venus workouts really have made a huge difference in my world.

There are so many things I have learned along the way these last 12 weeks.  I was a holier than thou, super judgmental, food snob who needed to relax, stop reading everything regarding health and fitness and just make it happen. Venus put me on the right path. The one I’ve wanted now for so, so long. I finally feel like I’ve got the magic ticket to life long health and fitness. There were a few stumble forwards along the way just like I had heard on so many of the podcasts. But that is life- it’s never just all smooth sailing.

 

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On a final note, I cannot really believe how this year has turned out for me. The beginning was so horrible. Death, illness, depression, injury- I was just a huge mess. To have turned almost all aspects around and be in the best shape of my life at 47 is thrilling! Not only did I go through with it, I rocked it and had a hell of a time along the way.

Thank you for this amazing program.
The community is amazing.
The program is phenomenal.
It is life changing.

Pam

 

 

Pam is on the left and still enjoys the Venus Lifestyle.

Pam is on the left and still enjoys the Venus Lifestyle.

 

Pam still loves working out even more than ever now.  She enjoys summer vacations and time with her family.  We all have seasons of the year and seasons of our life.  We fluctuate a little as our bodies have these ebbs and flows and seasons.  But that is life.  Because of Venus we know what to do if we want to “work a little off”.   Sometimes we might get a little “off peak” after summer vacations, but it’s no big deal.  We slowly and patiently bring it back, and we KNOW it’s never the end of the world when we take the time to enjoy life a little.

 

Shampy Sherman-Boughner (the dog), and me with Pam couple of days ago when we recorded today's podcast.

Me and “Shampy Sherman” and Pam a couple days ago when we recorded today’s podcast.

 

You can find Pam active in our online community as an Ambassador, you can read her blog in there, and you can see her in a video interview.

 

Here’s the audio podcast where you can hear Pam tell her story:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: Diet, Exercise, fat loss, Food, Interview, transformation, Uncategorized, weight loss, Weight training Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Vanessa Quit Endless Running to get her Venus Body

September 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Vanessa before and after Venus

Vanessa placed in our recent VT14 Venus Transformation Contest.

She did a phenomenal job and her results display the hard work she put in.

Vanessa bikini after

Here is what Vanessa had to say in her own words

Like many women, I have struggled with my weight my whole life. I was the chubby girl growing up and at the age of 16 decided just not eating would be the only way to lose the excess fat. I was trim and fit during early 20s when I was in the military, but after six months onboard ship; I packed on 20 pounds. I got married, and then had a child and I continued to fight with my weight dropping to a size 6, then back up to a size 12. At the age of 38, I finally had enough and went on a program and managed to lose 35 pounds and dropped from a size 14 to a size 2. I was able to keep that off for close to 7 years. But, again like most…”life happened”; we sold our home, we moved to a new state, I got a new job; we built a house (and lived in a hotel for a few months, which I strongly recommend against). During this time, I also decided I wanted to run a half marathon, so I started training for that. A lot of the materials talk about carb loading/glucose stores for long runs. That combined with a few overuse injuries and my job changed to work-from-home full time…added up to putting on weight again. So, what was my experience with Venus? I busted through two different weight plateaus that two years and several diets and exercise programs could not accomplish. But, not in two years; no I was able to finally lose the weight following the Venus Factor System in 12 weeks when I couldn’t do it with every other diet and exercise program on the market in 24 months. I call that a true success! I lost 8.2 lbs during this 12 week contest period but even greater, I lost 13 inches off my body. I had moved up to a size 6 but I am finally in my 2s again!! Do I still have work to do? Of course; I haven’t yet achieved my goal weight or goal waist size, but I know with hard work and dedication (never giving up or quitting); I will reach that goal once more and now I have the tools to truly stay there!!

 

Vaness at her heaviest to now using Venus

Vanessa at her heaviest to now using Venus

 

Vanessa after back

Vanessa loves the online Venus community

You can find Vanessa active in the Venus community and read her blog!

Vanessa Blog

Vanessa’s Metrics

Weight Height Waist Shoulders Hips
Before 130 lb 62 in 25.8 in 38.5 in 38 in
After 122 lb 62 in 24.7 in 38 in 36 in
Deltas -8 lb 0 in -1 in -0.5 in -2 in

 

Vanessa before and after Venus side

 

VANESSA AFTER

 

Listen to Vanessa’s interview with Liss below, or download it for later:

It is peculiar that when he was assassinated, many of his warmest all the way from Robin Hoodlum to Pop-eye the Panama. pay to write an essay xat exam And one shall for certain gain by ordination his papers from the trump scribes. as parting of your college admissions lotion.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

Ready, Set, Go! VT15 STARTS TODAY!

August 31, 2015 by Leave a Comment

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VT15 Starts TODAY!

 

It runs for 12 weeks from Aug 31st – Nov 23rd.

 

 

There is NO DEADLINE within those dates to enter.  You can enter your before and after pictures ANY TIME during those windows.  Obviously the earlier you enter your before pictures and the later you enter your after pictures will give you the biggest opportunity for change to happen.  It’s hard enough for any of us to produce a change in just 12 weeks.

We want this experience to be as stress free and as fun as possible for you.  That’s why there is no fee to join.  All Venus customers who have never placed in a previous contest can enter.

If you have placed in a previous contest and want to enter again, you can get featured in the “Cover Girl Calendar Girl” category.  No prizes are awarded except you get to show off how superbly you have maintained a beautiful shape with the Venus program.

You can enter the Cover Girl Calendar Girl as many times as you want, and you can win it and get featured more than once.  It can be motivating and it can show that Venus is certainly something you do for LIFE!

Do you need help deciding if a Venus contest is for you?  There are a few things to think about.

Many find help in our online community in the forum or on Facebook.

Some need a coach.  You don’t have to be in a contest to select a coach for one-on-one coaching.

Here’s the contest ENTRY FORM.  It opens today and will remain open until Midnight Eastern Time on November 23rd.  Just in time to enjoy the holidays.

The next contest will begin in January.  We will have a new schedule for the contests lined up for next year.  We typically run 3 contests every year.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.  In the meantime, train hard and NEVER SETTLE.  You deserve the best.  For life!

-Coach Roberta

You can find me in the Venus forum and on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

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

One week until the START of VT15; What will YOU do?

August 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment
So you think you want to enter a transformation contest?

So you think you want to enter a transformation contest?

 

There’s a lot to think about before entering a contest

Read the RULES AND REGULATIONS.

Will it be motivating for you?

Or will it be too much pressure?

If you WIN, what do you think of all of your pictures, both before and after?

How will you feel having others see your pictures?

Do you want to share your story to help others?

 

How should you make your pictures?

Make them good quality.

Make sure there is good lighting.

Make sure they are not fuzzy.

If the pictures are blurry or fuzzy because the lighting is not right, we won’t be able to see your change or transformation, therefore we won’t be able to use them.

Get another opinion, even on the before pictures.

Treat them like a resume.  You are presenting yourself to others.  Take pride in both the before and after pictures.

Make sure you wear clothing that shows your change in shape.  If the clothing is loose and baggy and does not show your hard work, we won’t be able to use them.  If we can’t use your pictures to show your change, you won’t place.

Make sure your whole body is in the pictures.

Once you complete the required pictures, feel free to be creative and submit extra pictures (these can be cropped, and doing athletic or yoga poses).  Take fun pictures in a dress or nice outfit in addition to the “required contest pictures”; These are actually the most fun pictures to use and have.

Try putting your camera or cell phone on a timer and in a holder or propped up on a table (to prevent fuzzy pictures).

Others taking the pictures may not have a steady hand and that will make the pictures fuzzy.  Have them hold the camera on a table or something to hold it steady.

Make sure there is enough light, if not the pictures will be fuzzy.

Make sure there isn’t light directly shining into the camera lens.

 

Some things that you might worry about

Don’t worry about the contest timing.  Start making the changes in your life now.  It takes a long time to learn new healthy habits.

Don’t worry about already being too close to your goal at the start of a contest.  Anyone who works hard at the process for 12 weeks will show an amazing change.  The biggest changes occur during your last 15 pounds.  That’s when the muscle toning starts to make a dramatic show.  That’s where the real sculpting happens, especially if you hit those gym workouts.

Since our contests are not “weight loss at all costs” or necessarily the biggest loser contests, some may win based on the increase in muscle tone and just a few pounds of fat loss.

Some people think they did not change enough so are afraid to complete the contest and submit their pictures, but they may not realize that they actually could have placed.

Many women will lose 9-15 pounds during the 12 weeks, some more (but that is not all we look at).

Most who place in our contests are surprised that they placed.  If you followed the process and really practiced the nutrition and workouts; YOU WILL HAVE AMAZING RESULTS and sometimes you don’t realize that yet.  If you listen to many of the podcasts with the previous contest winners you will learn that it takes awhile for your mind to catch up to the changes you made.

We do need the two piece or bikini picture for judging purposes but we would rather use the yoga clothing pictures for the contest announcement and stories.  If your fully clothed pictures hide your shape and don’t show that you made a transformation (even though you actually did make a transformation) we can’t use them.  We can’t use pictures that do not show the changes.

 

What is Venus about?

Venus is about changing your life.

It’s about creating new habits for life.

It’s about becoming happy with your body.

It’s about learning that your body is the power house for all that you do in life.

It’s not about the 12 week contest.

We want you to WIN FOR LIFE.

So if you do a contest, do it for YOU, do it for your LIFE.

One of the most important things of all:  It does not matter what anyone else is doing!  It does not matter what the rate of change for anyone else is.  Do not compare your changes with those of other women.  Unless you see them 24 x 7 you don’t really know what they are really doing anyway, or if what they say is accurate (sometimes THEY don’t even know).  All that matters is YOU changing your own life.  That is really all that matters.  Focus on that and you will WIN.

Here’s THE ENTRY FORM where you can enter on or after August 31st.  You can take the pictures any time during the 12 weeks (August 31 to November 23).  Obviously the bigger the window you give yourself the most opportunity you have to make a change.

The contest form will not be open until August 31st, so it will not work until then.

The contest form will close at midnight Eastern time on November 23rd, 2015).

Mainly, HAVE FUN!

-Coach Roberta

 

Filed Under: change, Contest, Health, transformation, Uncategorized, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Your body is NOT the garbage can!

August 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Venus way is to treat our body with love.

The Venus way is to treat your body with love.

 

Your body is NOT the garbage can!

This is one of the things I had to learn on this journey.

I grew up with the influence of people who lived through the depression.

No waste.

Clean your plate.

But I had to learn that MY BODY IS NOT THE GARBAGE CAN!

On many levels.

Not just quality of food,

But the AMOUNT of food.

The Venus nutrition calculator will give you the RANGE you need to learn the correct amount of food for a sustained calorie deficit.

Then after you reach your goal, you can use the upper end of the range to learn how to maintain.

It’s still a learning process.

And I’ve learned to purchase smaller amounts of food so that I don’t waste, and yet I don’t EAT TOO MUCH.

Whether you want to face it or not, it’s too much food that makes us gain fat.

End of story.

I was at the peak of obesity eating 100% organic fanatic to the extreme, thinking I could “health” my way into losing the fat.

Sure, “clean” is best. And you will perform best with that.

On top of that though, the right amount is the key to controlling body fat level.

For years I got mad at my husband Randy because he would go all day outside working without eating. He said he wasn’t hungry and was happy to just eat a healthy dinner at night.

I thought it was hurting him.

He also always stops eating when he’s had enough and didn’t finish his plate, so I got mad then too.

But guess what?

He never gained the excess fat like I did.

Now I get it.

So, if he’s done and I end up scraping his plate into the garbage can I say “I’d better plan the right amount next time. I’m glad you didn’t eat this because YOUR BODY IS NOT THE GARBAGE CAN – scrape scrape scrape – THIS is the garbage can!”

So I’m better at planning.

Because I STILL don’t like to waste.

I plan it better now.

I can’t stand wasting precious food.

But because of Venus I’ll still be on track because I’m AWARE of amounts.

What about you?

What are the lessons you are learning?

Let’s hear it.

We love the good stories and lessons learned.

-Coach Roberta

Filed Under: Bodyfat, calories, Diet, fat loss, Food, Health, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Hold the rope! The final countdown to VT14

July 28, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Hold the rope for the final countdown to VT14!

Hold the rope for the final countdown to VT14!

 

Don’t let go of the rope now!

Contest photo and data submissions for VT14 will be due no later than Monday August 3rd at midnight Eastern Standard Time.

For some motivation here are some beautiful pictures of previous Venus contest winners:

 

Deanne!

Deanne!

Learn about Deanne’s winning strategy; She kept it Simple.

 

Malissa!

Malissa!

Learn what Malissa did even working night shift.

 

Michelle!

Michelle!

Learn what kept Michelle motivated and committed.

 

Several times a year we have transformation contests in which 10 winners are recognized for their achievement in staying committed to their fitness goals.

All these contestants have one thing in common. No matter how tough it became throughout their transformation, they did one thing — they held the rope! What is “holding the rope?” Imagine that you are hanging on a rope like I did here a few days ago. There was only thing between myself and a fall to the floor, and that was hanging on!

For you hanging on is the Venus program. For many that includes our online community, our Venus Facebook group and friend connections there, as well as friendships with other Venus ladies on myfitnesspal and Instagram.

When the going gets tough, you can rest assured that friends are there to help you. Whether it is clarification with nutrition or a mental stumbling block, or encouragement, motivation, or Venus One on One Coaching. Rest assured, all you have to do is “Hold The Rope!”

The person that holds the rope when the going gets tough is a winner. When you’ve had a long day at work and choose to go to the gym afterwards that is a “winning” decision. If you are frustrated and have lost the willpower to track your calories come and visit with some friends in the various place in the online community where other successful Venus women hang out.

In a matter of speaking, they will tell you they have been where you are, just “hold the rope — let it burn but don’t let go!”

Win or lose, remember that your transformation is a personal achievement and you should be very proud of your accomplishment. Personally for me I know it is the Venus golden lifestyle that enabled me to climb up that rope for real, and never let go.

 

 

The Venus workouts are very empowering. You will learn you can eventually do things you never dreamed of. Just the other day I was at the gym doing my standard cardio when I saw a kid climbing this rope. I’ve never done it before so I thought I’d give it a shot. See there, at 54.5 years old Venus made me strong enough to do it!

Believe me, I was very scared at the top!  My heart was racing from the effort and I was shocked when I looked down and realized I can’t let go!  It took all of my focus to hang on until I got back down.

As for preparation for photos, there are many ways to do this. For the most part the work has already been done during the last 11 weeks. You can do some final last week “prep” but it not required to do anything special.

So hold onto that rope for life!

-Coach Roberta

PS if you have any trouble with submitting pictures or data you can email me:  roberta.saum@gmail.com

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

Today is THE DAY; Venus Transformation Contest starts NOW

May 11, 2015 by Leave a Comment

VT14-Announcement-collage-TODAYistheDAY

The 14th Venus Contest starts today and is a great way to get motivated to change your life.

It is about YOUR LIFE. Don’t you want to change it for the better?

All you have to do is own a copy of the basic Venus program to enter.  There is no fee to enter.  You can enter anytime during the next 12 weeks (May 11 through August 3), but you’ll want to take your pictures and measurements as soon as you can.

Here’s what you do to enter after taking those pictures and measurements:

Go to your downloads area.

Venus-Contest-Start-Downloads-link-and-Contest-Button

Venus-Contest-start-Contest-Dasboard

Venus-Contest-start-entry-form

Venus-Contest-Start-NonBikini-Form

If you need help with your transformation participate in our Online Community or if you Need a Coach you are welcome to choose the one you want when you sign up for coaching.

The online community is free to all Venus members and it’s the same login as your downloads login.  Remember that the more active you are with others, the more help you will get, just like in REAL LIFE RELATIONSHIPS, it’s a give and take.  At the same time there are many who will help you when you “come and go” every now and then.  There are lots of nice Venus ladies in there willing to help when they can.

If you are a previous contest winner and want to enter the Calendar Girl category simply enter your current measurements and previous contest pictures so we know to expect final pictures later.

More than anything, HAVE FUN, and enjoy the journey because this is a LIFESTYLE we teach and not a 12 week lose fat at all costs contest.

See you on the inside!

-Coach Roberta

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