Archives for 2014

Meet our latest 62 year old Venus named Sue

 

Sue jumped into the program with full gusto

At age 61 Sue jumped right into our program with amazing gusto with both the workouts and nutrition.

She found the calorie deficit easier than expected.  She immediately started measuring and logging her food and enjoyed learning about all the macro nutrients.

The exercises looked daunting at first but she gave it a go even if she couldn’t do as many reps as the workout specified. Within a week she found that she could perform daily chores with more ease.  Soon she was able to do dips, and found that overall she had increased energy throughout the day.

 

 

You can meet Sue in our online community through her profile.  Here’s the entry in her blog after the first week:

 

The internal and external changes are all pretty exciting!

As Sue quickly learned, the program changes how you live your life.  The changes are mental as well as physical.  It’s pretty exciting at first, and it stays exciting as you find success in all aspects of your life.

Her energetic and inspiring posts are contagious “Dancing on the spot, dancing on the spot – woo hoo dropped a size in shorts from a tight size 16 to a comfortable size 14 (Australian sizes). Can’t believe it as I am only on Week 2 day 4 – the diet, exercises and weights sure do work. No more bloating either. Thank you, thank you, thank you … now to aim for a size 12 🙂”

 

 

There is freedom from food restrictions and you still lose weight!

Sue found so much freedom with food and a renewed love for cooking:

Home, sat in the shade outside with a lovely cool sparkling glass of water (wish it was champers but oh well we have to do what we got to do ) before heading inside for a cooking session. Made 24 stuffed potatoes (didn’t count the calories as I shall definitely not be eating those fattening devils) 4 cumin scented turkey burgers (174 calories each – yes I measure and count everything included in them, then weigh the finished burgers to make sure they all weigh near enough the same and then divide by four) and 8 lean mince/pork burgers (276 calories per burger) great for when I need protein at the end of the day. Everything is now in the freezer so time for me to relax with the vegetable and chickpea soup I made yesterday for lunch (85 calories a cup). Planning on BBQ fillet steak and salad tonight followed by another cappuccino. Now who said you couldn’t eat on this diet?

Love this diet and I love to cook. I can cook, eat and still loose weight. There’s nothing better than good food, fresh food and food you can prepare yourself. You know exactly what is going into it and the calorie value. I’ve started to build a recipe collection of low fat meals

 

We all have to experiment to find the right mix of foods for ourselves

We are all different and we all have to find the right mix of foods for our individual health.  That is the main reason Venus does not prescribe a specific diet style.  Sue is like me in this regard though, we both feel and perform better with less processed sugar and artificial sweeteners.

For the most part we all find we do better with less food, or the correct amount of food for our size, compared to when we overate and had gained weight.  Here’s what Sue had to say about the changes in her diet:

I came to the decision to give up all sugar, artificial and otherwise. I found that the more artificial sugar I had, the more I yearned to eat sweet things. Was it hard giving away those diet yoghurts, diet ice cream, diet desserts and my homemade cakes, biscuits and sugar in tea and coffee? Yes, but after five weeks my body has adapted and now I don’t crave sweet foods as I did before. If I do fancy something sweet, I grab a piece of fruit which seems to satisfy those occasional cravings. My consumption of bread, pasta and rice has also changed. An occasional quarter cup of cooked rice (and yes I was horrified at how little it was) now feels normal, an occasional slice of sour dough bread with an egg or and open sandwich for lunch is more than enough and pasta, which I love, is now banned for the foreseeable future and is better avoided (as is chocolate).

I eat what I want to eat, within reason. I now know what to avoid – my danger foods. I am so focused on counting calories. Nothing goes into my mouth which isn’t counted (even those one or two stray grapes). Every ingredient in my favorite recipes are weighed and measured and counted (and weighed again as I dish the food out for myself).

How little it looks on the plate. Is 150 gram fillet steak really that small? 200 grams of white fish really going to be enough? It is. My body has adapted to the change. Now I truly enjoy my food. I don’t eat for the sake of eating nor do I go back for seconds (if I am tempted I move away from the table). I feel hunger after an 18 hour fast; I now know when I am hungry or when my mind/body thinks it is hungry and more often than not, I find water sates this hunger. The feeling of emptiness in the stomach – no more bloating, no more overfilling, no more stuffing myself until I feel sick!

 

 

The empowerment of gaining physical strength

Like most of us who have gone through the Venus workouts Sue found empowerment in her physical strength.  At age 62 she ran her first 5 mile run in 50 minutes!

Sue describes her experience with her gains in physical strength:

How quickly time has flown – here I am in Week 11 and I can’t believe the change in myself, my attitude to food and exercise. One thing I have discovered that it is never too late to start exercising, whatever your health. Yes, it does require effort and may come with a bit of soreness and pain but within weeks one begins to see the positive results exercise brings. Venus not only firms my body and quickens my mind (remembering all those exercises) it also makes me feel good and sends my spirits soaring.

When I first started this program, weights seemed tough work at first and at times I wondered if I would chuck in the towel as the exercises seemed daunting. Reading through the blogs helped keep me on the right track. Within a couple of weeks, I was surprised by what I was able to achieve. My strength increased and now, weeks later, I find I am able to carry all sort of things that I would have once struggled with. I definitely like being a strong woman!

I was totally unfit when I started this program and I did experience soreness and stiffness when I first started exercising (slowly) but my body became use to the weight and floor exercises and most of my aches and pains disappeared. I exercise at home (no gym nearby) and I found the Venus Workout Videos a real bonus in helping me acquire the right technique for working out.

One thing I can say, is don’t expect immediate results. It takes time to transform and reshape a body 11 weeks on, I can see a great difference with my weight loss and in how my body looks but I also know it’s going to take me a lot longer to reach my Venus metrics.

Once I could see and feel the benefits of exercise in my body, it motivated me to truly eat well. I basically eat fresh, healthy foods and I now find them delicious. On this program I have found that I don’t have to stop eating all my favorite foods either, I just reduce my portions. I eat far slower than I use too, I put down my knife and fork and actually relish what I eat, rather than stuffing food into my mouth and gobbling it as quick as I once did turkey style! I’ve also found I don’t have to deprive myself of occasional treats (the crucial word here is ‘occasional’), though I tend to save them until we are dining out or entertaining. Ice cream and chocolate are my worse downfalls and I haven’t eaten either since starting Venus. I’ve managed to resist temptation by hiding them in the deepest recesses of the fridge/cupboard or freezer – it is too much like hard work to extract them

I was in the right frame of mind when I started this program and I have always been positive about my gradual move to fitness, loss of weight and inches. I decided that I wanted to be fit and healthy because there is so much more I want to do in my life. I want to be active so that I can enjoy playing with my grandchildren. I also want to be active so that I can enjoy long walks with my husband and dogs, play tennis and squash again and perhaps take up sailing. And yes, after 11 weeks I can now do all this.

I thought I was too old to do this at the age of 60-61. Getting out of the chair was difficult, climbing into the car, walking, puffing, slouching, round shouldered, I acted and became that old woman. I thought I was old so I behaved as if I was old. Everyone of us has to grow old, but I have learned through Venus that one doesn’t have to be old. I am not old. By becoming fitter and healthier the more positive I have become in my life and self esteem. What I have found is that anyone can improve their diet, anyone can loose weight if they set their mind to it and anyone can increase their vigor and fitness levels whatever their age. It definitely has benefited not only my heart, but my mind and soul as well. Venus in 11 weeks has given my back my pep and made me younger and quite honestly that’s the best thing that has happened to me in many years. They deserve a BIG HUG. Thanks guys and thanks to everyone of you who support one another on each of our journeys. You truly are the best

 

 

 

Sue found that Venus is a sustainable lifestyle

The Venus workouts are not a walk in the park. But with perseverance they do lead you along a path of rapid growth and they can change not only your body but your life. The more you workout the easier it becomes. All I can say to anyone is that whatever you do – keep going and yes, like me, you’ll find that your motivation will ebb and flow. When I first started the workouts, the first few months were hard, and then I started bumping into periods of low energy. Habit and a focus on what I wanted to achieve is what kept me going. I constantly reminded myself that this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to become fitter and toned and I wanted to be able to move more and have a healthy, active retirement and this is what I have and am achieving.

And remember we are all unique. Never compare yourself to someone else. It is your journey and during your journey you’ll hit bumps in the road where you will eat over your maintenance or where something happens to knock you off course – always remember these bumps are just a small part of your journey. The best thing you can do is not to focus on it but to get yourself back on track as soon as you can and keep moving forward.

Take one day at a time and enjoy the unexpected surprises that may be thrown at you. We all have those days when we over eat or need a sugar fix by eating those chocolate brownies or we continually dip our hand into the cookie bin. Don’t be negative about it, take action and move forward and be flexible knowing that you have the tools and ability to get yourself back on track. It’s a part of the journey to weight loss and it will also stand you in good stead, once you are on maintenance, because you have learned how to get yourself back on track.

When I started Venus, my dream was not only to lose weight and be within my healthy weight range, I also wanted to be fit and be able to complete the Venus Index Workout. It has not only become my reality but my dream and Venus has moved me forward into achieving more than I ever expected. I am doing something I now love, it has energized me, turned my sedentary life around and I am now living my dream and a life that makes me grateful to be alive. Venus has definitely changed my life.

 

I hope you enjoyed Sue’s story.  It’s pretty exciting to see lives change.  We have stories like this inside our private community and they are growing in number!

If you have a story you would like us to tell about your experience with the Venus Factor please feel free to contact any of the Venus coaches.

– Coach Roberta

 

• Coach Liss
• Coach Carlita
• Coach Jenny

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