About John Barban & Vaclav Gregor

Here’s your new interview with one of the contestants from the 5th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Today John talks to  Teresa Shaner finished forth in the contest and earned herself a spot on Venus Index Calendar.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Teresa lost 13lbs and 2 inches off her waist!

While most people chose to submit their transformation pictures at the 20 week contest deadline, Teresa decided to take her pictures after only 12 weeks.

This decision has now motivated  Teresa to push through the full 20 week transformation.  She’s “All-In” and ready to take it to next level!

Prior to  this contest, Teresa had difficulty gaining momentum needed for her to finish a transformation contest.

One obstacle she and several mothers encountered is that once she had done everything for her kids, she had very little energy and time for herself.

However, as we’ve seen before with our previous Venus winners, if you want to take care of other people you need to take care of yourself first.

Teresa wanted to feel  better and live a healthier lifestyle. Having a history of family health issues made her even more determined to start focusing on this. She didn’t want be placed in that risk category as she grew older.

Before she would always try to do the workouts in the evenings, which has a lot of disadvantages.

She made the decision to perform her workouts and cardio in the the morning.

The turning point came one day when she woke up and wasn’t  feeling dizzy. She decided to do her workout early in the day, which was a brand new experience.

When she got home later that day she didn’t have the stress to push herself to do the workout, because she’s already done it.

Working out in the morning is not only beneficial in terms of more energy throughout the day, but it also removes the pressure to do the workout and eliminates the opportunity to skip the training.

The longer you wait to do the workout, the greater your chances are of not going.

After two weeks Teresa realized that working out in the morning was the best thing to do.

Why?

Because the last time she missed a workout was 4 weeks ago, and that way only because she was out the night before.

She thought she would end up with less energy, but the opposite came true.

Pick the Smartest Diet Approach for Successful Weight Loss

For the diet we usually don’t give any specific rules, just one rule – you gotta eat less calories than you burn in order to lose fat.

However, there are a few things that can help you with it.

One of those is making smarter choices that have fewer calories – fruits and vegetables. Especially vegetables are very dense and filling and have almost no calories at all and if you are a good cook you can make some tasty meals.

That’s what Teresa did, she chose a diet that consisted mostly of vegetables and lean protein rather than burgers and refined products.

There is really nothing wrong with eating “processed” stuff, but they aren’t volume food, they have a lot of calories and won’t satisfy a lot.

Food Is Just Like Alcohol, It Connects People…

In times past Teresa weighed 118 pounds, then she got married and had her first child.

She started getting away from the health and lean ideal and began to gain a couple of pounds.

She gained 69 pounds after her first child and never lost it all.

She also revealed to us that it was very uncomfortable and that there was a lot of pressure on the back.

After a second child she gained 72 pounds and again, never lost it all.

When she started the VI contest she was already dieting for the past 4 years, but just like she said, she was never truly focused on getting it off, she had some progress and then was stuck at 170 for a really long time.

The contest helped her focus, she had a deadline to shoot for, it’s more serious when you take pictures, and compete. It’s no longer just dieting for the sake of dieting and maybe losing some weight, this is why our contestants are more successful with Venus program and contest than they have ever been before.

Before the contest Teresa understood the concept of calories, but would always give up and was yo-yo dieting for most of her life.

Sadly, this is a recurring theme, without a goal and a deadline it’s just really hard to lose fat and especially if you want to do it as painlessly as possible like our Venuses’.

Also if you are in the community and are listening to the interviews you can learn from the mistakes and experience of other Venuses’.

Teresa admitted that the desire to eat was sometimes really strong, almost like it wasn’t her, almost like she was possessed.

She’s correct… The drive to eat is really strong so it’s hard (but not impossible if you know how) to actively restrict yourself for any length of time, there is a lot so structure that needs to be in place.

It’s important to note that food connects people. Food is involved in almost any type of social gathering or event. It’s part of our culture, part of our lives, and it always will be.

Trying to diet is almost like saying you are going to socially disconnect.

Dieting is already difficult and to socially disconnect from others makes it even harder. This is why Teresa decided to follow the Anything Goes Diet principles and enjoy all the social life.

More tips from Teresa:

• Get an iPod and create a good music list, it may seem non-important, but music really helps with training, especially if you are not feeling like working out that day
• I can’t believe I didn’t started before, start now you will regret it if you don’t
• Morning workouts are awesome, you will have more energy, there won’t be any pressure throughout a day and no one will be bothering you, because everyone will be still sleeping
• If it was easy everyone would do it, there is no magical formula to it
• Shift your schedule, do whatever it takes, just make that hour for the workout. If it’s the first thing in the morning you won’t have worry about get putting it done.

Links from the interview:

Read what Teresa wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

I am a wife of 14½ years to my high school sweetheart and a mother of two active boys ages 10 and 14. At the age of 35, a history of health issues incurred by my mother and siblings made me realize I needed to get… Continue reading here

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

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Here’s your new interview with one of the contestants from the 5th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Today John talks to  Suzy Johnston who finished third in the contest and earned herself a spot on Venus Index Calendar.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Suzy’s results from the mid-term contest.

What’s even more amazing is Suzy’s overall transformation with Venus Index.

Check out her whole progress pictures here:

Suzy’s whole progress.

Suzy started at 240 pounds (she is 5’7”) and gradually over 16 months she lost exactly 100 pounds.

Very impressive results!

It’s always interesting to hear where it all started, what was the trigger point for gaining weight, because truth to be told no one is born overweight, there is always something external that trigger’s overeating and thus weight gain.

For Suzy it was moving away from her sister. No one was looking over her shoulder, she could eat fast food all the time and binge on it whenever she wanted.

Some days, it got really bad.

One day Suzy decided to buy a scale and was in shock once she saw that she weighed 240 pounds. This was a turning point for her and she made the DECISION TO CHANGE.

She began educating herself about fitness and searched online for weight-loss solutions.

However, she had trouble finding the truth.  It was hard to distinguish who was right and who was wrong, everybody seemed to contradict one another.

Nevertheless, Suzy decided to keep it simple. She started running, lifting weights and eating less.

She found success in her approach for weight loss but was completely blown when away she discovered the Venus Index and the concept of  ”body metrics.”

It was at this point Suzy realized that it’s more important to focus on her “ideal” Venus metrics rather than her weight.

Losing Weight Is an Incomplete Goal

Is just losing the weight the ultimate goal?

You need to think about where you want to be and what you are going to do once you achieve your desired goal.

You will always need some kind of goal to keep pushing you forward, otherwise you will stagnate with your progress or even worse, revert back to your old self – this is what’s called yo-yo dieting.

So what is your goal? What will you do once you cross the finish line?

Sad yet true, most people who lose weight can’t keep it off, they go back to their old self and gain it all back.

Figure out your goals in advance and you won’t lose momentum.

Expect People’s Negative Reactions and Keep It to Yourself

Be aware that some people treat nutrition as if it were a religion, so it’s better to add this topic to your “do not discuss” list.

Some people will label their fitness approach, believe it to be the  ”best and only” way and then identify themselves with it – e.g. Paleo people.

Not only do they think they know better, but they also don’t believe that it’s possible for it to be simple and done without suffering.

They will argue with you that it’s very complex, and you have to forego  eating foods you like.

However, once you get in shape and are the road to improvement they will try to stop you.

Now  they will question why you want to lose more fat and accuse you of being obsessive-compulsive.

Save yourself the hassle and choose wisely who you share your fitness goals with.  Many Venus Lifestyle  followers choose this “undercover” approach.

Suzy finally achieved a healthy body weight and is happy with the amazing progress she has made. For her, it’s just further improvement and she’s already taking it to the next level. What about you?

Links from the interview:

• Eat Stop Eat - Diet Lifestyle protocol designed to help you to lose fat and regain freedom in your food choices
• Original Venus Index Workout – Workout program for women that’s responsible for the most amazing transformations online
• Venus Index Community – Friendliest and most supportive women’s only fitness community on the Internet

Advice from Suzy to someone who has 100 pounds to go:

• Don’t wait, I wish I would have started earlier (and started with Venus Index earlier as well)
• It can be simple, if you make it that way
• Figure out how many calories you need and go from there
• For some girls in the forum, it will take more patience  because you have farther to go, so prepare yourself for that
• Better late than never, the time to start is right now

Read what Suzy wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

In May 2011, I looked down at my newly-purchased scale and saw a frightening number staring back at me: 240 lbs. I had been a yo-yo dieter since high school, with many more ups than downs on the scale, but the shock that number sent through my system was the impetus I needed to commit to working towards being the best me that I can possibly be. I took the…Continue reading here

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

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Here’s your new interview with one of the contestants from the 5th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Today John talks to April who finished first in the contest and earned herself a spot on Venus Index Calendar.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Amazing transformation in just 12 weeks, what do you think?

Here’s some good news.

You can change the way you look. No matter what others are saying, no matter if they tell you it’s stupid, pointless or call you names.

You really can and it’s the best way to increase your happiness and self-esteem.

Today you will get a chance to listen to something pretty deep. April opens herself up and reveals some secrets about how she was being treated when she was younger, how she felt about it, how it affected her confidence and ultimately lead her to join the army, yes the army!

April was always told that she had no butt and was always bit self-conscious about that area of her body.

For example she would not take back shots, ever, even when taking after photos for the contest she was refusing to take the back shot. Familiar feeling?

It’s really hard to get over your insecurities, especially when other people keep talking you down, in this case it was April’s sister who was commenting on how flat her butt looks. Sometimes family members can be the worst enemies on your path to success. If they are not, good for you.

Start Talking to Your Muscles (For Real)

No, we haven’t gotten crazy (yet), you should really start talking to your muscles, or at least begin focusing on feeling them and activating them in the right way.

The best way to build great butt is to do all those lunges and step ups you see in the Venus Index workouts (don’t you dare skip those!).

However here is something new, your body will activate the muscles it finds are most efficient to perform the movement, for example squat can be done in different muscle patterns – you have to put your mind into, otherwise your body will default to what’s most efficient – for most people it’s their quads and not hamstrings and butt. In simple terms, if you want certain area of your body to improve, you need to train in a way your body understands.

Most people are just throwing up weights, not really training and forcing the body to work properly during the movement.

A good idea as John likes to say is to start thinking from the muscle rather than from the weight. Guys have a big issue with this, simply because their ego is preventing them from using the lighter weights they should be training with.

Women usually tend to have an opposite issue – lifting too light. So once you correct that and start using more challenging weights, you have to learn the other side of the coin which is muscle activation.

The better you are able activate your muscles results in more contractions towards the area targeted for muscle growth.

A popular way to activate your muscles is by looking in the mirror while you are working out.

Yep, they aren’t there just for vanity and ego, you don’t have to be scared of looking into them, use them to your advantage. Even more, there is actually research that suggests you will develop more the muscles you can see – this is why it’s harder to work on the muscle groups you can’t see like muscles on your back.

This Industry Can Really Mess You Up If You Aren’t Careful

April experienced this at first hand.

In the interview she talks a lot about her past and how it made her very self-conscious about her looks, she discusses how she improved her training by focusing more on the mind-muscle connection, but also reveals her story of how she tried pretty much every approach there is in the fitness industry.

She tried bootcamps, running and marathons, various personal trainers, cardio and so on.

Nothing worked.

Until the Venus Index and it’s diet protocols.

To hear the full story of how she came around finding VI and why she decided to stick to it, scroll down and listen to the interview.

Tips from April:

• Working out smarter is better than working out longer
• Don’t be afraid of looking at yourself in a mirror
• Make sure you are “communicating” with your muscles
• Get your mind right, the body will follow
• Don’t kill yourself in a gym
• Treating fitness like a job is a fail

Links from the interview:

• Anything Goes Diet – Diet that lets you eat your favorite food
• Eat Stop Eat – Flexible lifestyle protocol based around the idea of intermittent fasting

Read April’s experience with Venus Index in her own words:

Most likely to be successful. Best dressed. Prettiest. Those were the categories the senior class of 1994 was voting on. I was none of these. Continue reading here

If you want to hear how April originally didn’t trust us and wanted to prove us wrong by getting into the contest, listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

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Today we have an interview with Heidi Fletcher who placed 5th in the Open Level 1 in our latest Venus Index Contest.

Check out her pictures:

Heidi’s after pictures from this Venus Index Contest.

What’s amazing about this transformation is that Heidi didn’t do it alone. She did the contest with her boyfriend Adam, who placed in the latest Adonis Index contest.

Heidi never lifted weights before and she watched Adam when he was following the Adonis Index workouts.

Then finally she decided to jump in and not only do the Venus workouts, but also join the contest as well.

Adam started coaching her on how to lift the weights, how to improve her form and he was encouraging her to challenge herself more with her training.

Starting out, Heidi  wasn’t sure how much to lift for each exercise. She never trained at the gym, prior to Venus, running was her  sole form of cardio training and exercise.

Heidi was always in a pretty good shape, outside of her baby weight, she naturally ate at maintenance and kept her waist line slim.

She never did anything specifically to lose weight, because she never had to.

However, when she saw Adam getting into shape she recalled from her background in the  medical field the many benefits of lifting weights to improve overall health.  More importantly the impact weightlifting had on improving bone density, especially for  women.   This made her even more eager to get started.

Heidi with her boyfriend Adam.

He trained her to know what it feels like to  pushing the weights and how to safely challenge herself.

Heidi experienced a different type of exhaustion from lifting weights as opposed to just running.

This provided a learning curve until her body was able to acclimate to the training and she had a better understanding of how to test her limits.

It’s normal if you  experience these similar feelings, because it takes years to know what it takes to be exhausted at each rep range.

Heidi still has some mental barriers like fear of falling over with heavy weights, but this is something that she will overcome with time invested in the Venus workouts.

Weight Lifting Will Not Turn You Into a Green Big Monster

Most women think that weight lifting is stupid or that it will somehow turn into a big green hulk. Well, that’s not true, those muscle ladies you see on stage of Mrs. Olympia are always on massive amounts of steroids and testosterone, you will never look like that, ever, even if you lift the heaviest dumbbells in the gym.

What actually happens as a response to weight lifting is that your body tightens up and your curves will come up, which at a low body fat creates that desired attractive hourglass look.

You need to lift weights to look good, feel healthy and to become a stronger woman, there is no other way around it.

The only issue is that we don’t have enough role models for this, so the general assumption is lifting weights = big bulky muscles = unattractive.

Right now the only way to see what looks good is to look at certain movie stars, natural fitness models or even certain fashion models and see the real results from intense training.

What you can also do, is go here into our transformation database and take a look at what our ladies have achieved with the intense Venus Index workouts.

More tips from Heidi:

• Photoshoots are not just standing there and taking a snap shot, it’s hard work and you should be prepared to take hundreds of pictures to pick one or two good ones
• When you are lean your look will change depending on what you eat and how much you move
• When you are lean you might consider fasting just for 16-18 instead of 24, and maybe more often
• When you get to the last 5 pounds of fat, it gets harder and even though it’s still only about calories, your approach will have to change a bit
• Trust the VI numbers
• Everybody will look different at the same metrics
• Get to the point where you like what you are seeing in a mirror
• Your running will improve as you follow along with the Venus Index workouts, because stronger muscles take longer to fatigue
• Don’t be afraid of weight lifting
• You can lift and run at a same time
• Watch yourself in a mirror
• Have someone there to correct your form

Links from the interview:

• Eat Stop Eat - Lifestyle base around the beauty of intermittent fasting
• Venus Index Workout – Workout program that’s focused on building your naturally attractive ideal body shape – hourglass shape
• 6-Month Journey to Cover Model Body with Adam Murphy - Interview with Heidi’s boyfriend Adam

Read Heidi’s experience with Venus Index in her own words:

I have never done a dieting plan before or even really focused on working out. I have been a runner on and off and have generally eaten healthy. While doing this program, though, I learned that eating is so much more than just healthy food and that exercise is so much more than just having a fast heart rate. I learned that my body can function on foods I choose to put into it and that I get to choose what my body looks like…Continue reading here

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

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Today we have an interview with Ioana Tarce who placed 2nd in our  latest Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Check out her pictures:

Ioana is happy with her after pictures, what about you?

Ioana never felt bad in her own skin and she never worked out or followed any type of diet.

She was always pretty satisfied with her body, living her regular lifestyle and not trying to change it.

She told us that she thought it was actually impossible to change her body. She thought working out was stupid and she didn’t want anyone to tell her what to eat and what not to eat, so she just dismissed training and nutrition completely.

She took some aerobic classes and Pilates to stay active, but she got bored really quickly, so she never stuck to it. Sounds familiar?

Then…

Her Boyfriend Introduced Her to the Venus Index

She saw other women that have gotten amazing results and she wanted to achieve that figure too.

She decided why not give it a shot and see what it can do for her.

She went to the gym and did the first workout, which wasn’t exactly easy. Truth be told,  if you have never worked out then your muscles are weak and you have to expect some resistance and possible soreness at the  beginning of your fitness journey.   The GOOD NEWS is that beginners adapt quickly and the results in strength and muscle gains are really fast compared to women who train often.

At first Ioana couldn’t even do a pushup, now here she is:

If you are doing a photoshoot, apart from some usual posses, why not take a few fun ones?

After a few weeks Ioana started feeling muscles she never thought she had. She was also pretty surprised at how quickly she adapted to the physical stress of weight training.

After a few weeks her clothes started feeling a bit loose, more proof that what she was doing was working.

The biggest benefit was that Ioana started enjoying her workouts, which was a tremendous attitude adjustment compared to a few months prior when she believed the concept of working out to be just plain stupid.

Is Hard Dieting & Cardio Necessary for Fat Loss?

For the diet part of the transformation Ioana didn’t do anything special. She didn’t obsess herself over macronutrients, she wasn’t preparing meals every three hours nor did she follow any type of the mainstream nutrition approach.

She kept it simple, she threw in a couple of fasts, she kept it light during the day by cooking low calorie meals like salads and soups and watched the portions in the restaurants she went to on regular basis.

She wasn’t doing traditional cardio either. She didn’t do two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon on a treadmill, she just went jogging when she felt like going and that was it.

No stress or obsession about cardio or diet, just an easy and simple approach that was flexible enough for her to sustain for the whole 12 week transformation.

Links from the interview:

• Main VI Workout – Workout program that’s focused on building your naturally attractive ideal body shape – hourglass shape
• Eat Stop Eat - Lifestyle base around the beauty of intermittent fasting
• Adonis Index – Lifestyle and training approach that’s focused on building ideal metrics for men

Read Ioana’s experience with Venus Index in her own words:

My VI experience started when my boyfriend, whom is an AI program user introduced me the idea of body index. It seemed logical for a person who is an engineer although at the time I didn’t believe body building was for girls…nevertheless, I got the program. I was out of shape and I started the VI program to get back in shape, to be fit and toned. I thought it would be hard. Especially…Continue reading here

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

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Today we have an interview with Judy Rabil who placed 6th in our  latest Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Check out her pictures:

Remember, you are supposed to enjoy this!

Judy spent an entire decade doing martial arts. She also trained bodybuilding and powerlifting style with her sister. Her approach was to first learn to stabilize the joints, then work on the strength followed by developing explosive power.

She naturally has great endurance, but very little strength, however, her sister was stronger than anyone she knew. She was so powerful that all the guys in the gym felt weak when they saw Judy’s sister, and Judy was often intimidated by her. On the other hand when it came to cardio she could go run a marathon, while her sister could barely run a mile.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

Judy decided to focus on Martial Arts without the supplement of strength training. She was intimated to go the gym on her own, her coach just wasn’t there with her anymore and she wasn’t ready to go it alone.

However, she started getting injured during her martial arts workouts (broken bones and tendons) and felt terrible.

One day she decided to stop, she walked out and never went back.

“Then I Found Venus Index Podcasts at iTunes…”

Judy is in her 40s and truth be told, at this age your body just doesn’t heal as quickly as it did in your teens and twenties.

In January 2008 she slowly made her way back to the gym, which was pretty hard because she was conditioned (for well over 10 years) to exercise with other people, never alone. Upon her return to the gym scene, she fell in love with yoga and the group setting of it all, but found out that she just couldn’t do the same routines over and over again even though they were perfectly balanced.

Then she saw the VI podcasts at iTunes and specifically one called “Overestimating calories” caught her attention.

Judy always thought that she burned plenty of calories during her workouts and never limited what she ate. Since she was doing a LOT of activity she believed she could get away with eating ice cream and fries whenever she wanted.

So when she stopped doing all her fitness activities, and her calorie intake remained the same, you can guess what the result was – weight gain.

And it didn’t help that she thought (and was always told by her sister) that she needs to eat, often and a lot. She was lead to believe that she needs to eat snacks, pre-workout and post-workout meals, because they are all necessary.

This is why she got a bit angry when she heard Barban saying that this approach is nuts and that you don’t need to eat at all and actually you should eat very little to begin with.

Then another surprise came with the Venus Index workout plans.

She was always used to do bodybuilding splits and performing them at very low repetitions.

Suddenly, she wasn’t doing any leg presses, pull ups, dips with chains; no more power movements.

At first it made her a bit concerned that the workout wouldn’t work for her, because she is simply not doing enough work.

However, despite her skepticism she gave it a shot.

She did the program exactly as it was written,held onto some  yoga and some spinning routines and  committed to training 7 days a week.

During phase 1 of VI she got sick, had no energy and felt bloated. Even though she was following VI workouts, with all the other activities she was doing way too much.

She told us that she felt like her gut was on fire and she was pregnant again.

Then her doctor told her that she is completely gluten intolerant and will have severe reactions to wheat.

For 6 weeks she couldn’t do anything.

After she got better, she made a choice to take a more healthy and stable approach.

She started with VI phase 2, started fasting with a friend from the VI community and avoided the foods that were causing the bad reactions.

Want to know how it affected her lifestyle and what are the life results of that whole transformation?

Go listen to the interview below this article to find out!

I started VI a little over a year ago.  I was around 168 lbs, a size 12 and pushing the edge of “average” and looking dumpy square in the eye.  I suffered from undiagnosed digestive issues, I regularly paid for bootcamp classes, I did one or two spin classes a week and walked my dogs.  Even though I wasn’t falling into the “Obese” category, I was getting close…Continue reading here

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

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