Archives for April 2015

Venus Meets up in Miami

This past weekend, Venus members from around the world met up in fabulous South Beach in Miami, Florida, on the beach. We enjoy each other so much in the community that we knew we would have a blast in real life! We put a heads up in the forum about 2 months ago, and I could hardly wait until it was time to go!

Dinner at Meat Market on Lincoln in Miami

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying a night out on the town; dinner at Meat Market on Lincoln

Hanging out at Miami Beach

 

 

 

 

 

From left: Coach Lita, Coach Liss, Coach Jenny, and Naomi enjoying Miami Beach

 

Bonding

As crazy as it sounds, we make some pretty tight bonds in the Venus forum.  We are from all over the world and completely different walks of life, but driving change puts us on a similar path.   We all struggle and we all have to find our own way, but our tight knit community makes a difference.  The forum is our life line and there is always someone there with a lending hand or a sympathetic ear. The people that help us find our way become part of our story and meeting in person only makes those bonds stronger.  Not everyone could make it of course, but we shared pictures and stories that included them and we hope to see them down the road.

Pre Dinner Drinks Miami

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coach Jenny, Coach Liss, Coach Lita, and Kerry enjoying time together

 

Dinner on Ocean Drive in Miami

Enjoying dinner at A Fish called Avalon on Ocean Drive

 

 

Personal Support

Many of us email, call, and text one another- making bonds deeper than just diet and fitness. We can lean on each other for family, relationship, work, and emotional issues. We KNOW each other, so getting together in person is easy.  We just click like we have always been “real life” friends.

 Venus Coaches after dinner on the town in Miami

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coach Jenny, Coach Lita, and Coach Liss

 

On the boat in Miami

Enjoying the boat ride and chatting before Paddleboarding

Other side of the boat in Miami

Brad Howard, Kerry with her husband, and Jackie 

 

Pilon Paddleboarding Demo

Brad Pilon gave us a demo before Paddleboarding

 

Venus Group Paddleboaring

Coach Jenny and Liss Paddleboarding

Group Paddleboarding

We loved paddleboarding!

 

 

Making Memories

Our time together was special.  What I enjoyed the most was getting to see everyone’s facial expressions, having eye contact, and hearing vocal tone and laughter. The hugs were pretty great too!

South Beach Workout

Training at the outdoor gym in South Beach

 

Boys Table Lunch after workout in Miami 

Michal, Vaclav, John Barban, Jim, Martin, and Luke

 Lunch after workout in Miami

Enjoying lunch after the workout

 

The Life

We shared some great conversations and enjoyed fabulous food and drinks. We fit in a few workouts and spent time relaxing by the ocean.  Some days we all went our own ways in smaller groups, but we always met up for dinner.  It was a whirlwind, but so worth it to get to have a little time IN PERSON with friends and co-workers.  Next year cannot come fast enough!

Speaking of next year, we are looking at April or August 2016. We are also looking at hosting the meet up in Barbados or California. Which would you prefer? 

Tiffany Found New Life When She Found Venus

Recently, I had the honor to spend some time talking with Tiffany who placed 3rd in our recent VT11 Venus Transformation Contest. Here are her amazing before and after photos:

Tiffany_BnA_Back Tiffany_BnA_FrontTiffany_BnA_Side

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Although Tiffany made incredible progress in just 12 weeks, like many of our beautiful Venus success stories, her overall process spanned many months and continues to this day as she works on maintaining her new body and settling into a new lifestyle that includes activities she never thought possible.

Faced With Adversity, Tiffany Fought Back!

You see, Tiffany started her journey back in early 2014 when debilitating joint pain sent her to her doctor looking for answers. Tiffany was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and under instructions from her physician, she went looking for a program to help her shed some unwanted weight and improve her overall fitness. That is when she found Venus and never looked back.photo

Tiffany is not only a fighter – she’s a survivor. Facing crippling pain and a body that seemed to be crying for her to just give up, Tiffany refused to be defeated. Determined to improve her health, she made a plan of attack and fought her way through two 12 week rounds of the Venus protocol to get to her final results. Tiffany never made excuses and she never gave up!

Here is a picture of Tiffany’s complete “before and after” transformation. In just 6 short months of hard work, Tiffany went from being terrified of wearing a bikini to Bombshell Beautiful!

Stronger Than Ever Before…

Now over a year later, this busy working wife and mom of three active kids enjoys a lifestyle she never dreamed of leading before. Tiffany gave herself the gift of self love by fighting for her life and she got much more than an amazing physical transformation in return. She got her life back and she has a new found self confidence that can only be forged in the fires of change.

Tiffany_Lifestyle2_Collage (3)

Not only is Tiffany no longer afraid to wear a bikini in public, she bravely puts herself out there in other ways, too. An inspiration to all around her, Tiffany’s positive drive and determination has brought her family closer together and they now enjoy endurance training, weight lifting and hiking together. Tiffany even volunteered to coach for her daughter’s school basketball team! Clearly, she is perfect for the job because at the game of life, Tiffany is a winner.

-Coach Lita

Listen to our very special podcast interview with Tiffany here:

 

The deadline for the Venus Contest VT-13 is one week away; April 13

Come join our community of successful women!

Venus has winners of all ages!

 

What about “prep” for the Venus contest?

It’s totally up to you if you want to do any version of “prep week” before your final photo’s or not. It’s not a requirement and it’s completely personal preference. The Venus Factor “Slim in Seven” is a good program and not as drastic as the old school fitness competitor prep week.

If you decide to follow the Venus Factor “Slim in Seven” there is a daily diet protocol designed by John Barban. A lot of people ask how do they know what percentage their protein, carbs, and fat are? The best way to do this is to use a tool like Myfitnesspal to set your macro percentages. In the MyFitnessPal menu you can do this by going into your Home menu, then Goals, then the green “Change Goals” button, then select “custom”, then Continue.

 

To set your macro percentages in In the MyFitnessPal menu; go into your Home menu, then Goals, then the green “Change Goals” button, then select “custom”, then Continue.

To set your macro percentages in In the MyFitnessPal menu; go into your Home menu, then Goals, then the green “Change Goals” button, then select “custom”, then Continue.

 

Keep in mind it doesn’t have to be exact.  You can change things up depending on how you feel or how much stress you are under.  As you can see from the experiments of many of us what matters most is all the work in the weeks and months ahead of time.

Whether you are finishing the contest as a transformation, cover, or calendar girl you are not required to have a professional photographer.  Be proud and make your best presentation ever!  Celebrate your hard work and success by giving it your best effort and having pictures that you will cherish for the rest of your life.  It’s a record and a reminder for you on what you have accomplished.

Preparing For Your Contest Photo Shoot – Part 1: Posing Practice

Preparing For Your Contest Photo Shoot – Part 2: Photography And Lighting

Preparing For Your Contest Photo Shoot – Part 3: The Final Week

 

What to do with your final Venus contest photos?

When you submit your final photos the bikini type outfit will be used primarily for judging purposes only. Please feel free to submit other final pictures in nice clothes of your choice that still show off your new shape; for example a dress, skirt, jeans and tops, sports outfits, hobbies outfits like tennis, golf, yoga, etc.

We would also love to have a before picture that tells your full weight loss story so others can see that there is more to the story then just the 12 week contest window.

Get ready for AMAZING!

Will you be next?

Get your final entries in by midnight Eastern time April 13th.

Use the contest entry form (the same that you used to enter the contest).

The contest entry form has easy steps that will prompt you to enter the following items:

  • front pose
  • back pose
  • side pose
  • newspaper pose
  • up to 15 cover pictures of your choice
  • your 250 word or more essay (please include your age in the essay)

and your measurements:

  • height
  • weight
  • shoulders
  • waist
  • hips

Note: If you have errors with the contest tracker please clear your browser history or cookies and try again.

We are looking forward to the amazing results of your hard work.

Coach Roberta

If you have any questions or problems with uploading your pictures email me: roberta.saum@gmail.com

Contest rules and regulations

Contest schedule for 2015

What about carbohydrates and resistant starches? Uncensored Podcast

How do carbohydrates change when cooked and then cooled?

How do carbohydrates change when cooked and then cooled?

 

Find out about carbohydrates and how they interact with your body. There is an aggregate of 4 calories or energy per gram, but it’s not always that amount that gets absorbed into your body. The chemical makeup of the food changes as it’s cooked, or cooled, and some of it is irreversible. Different versions will effect your gut bacteria differently.

 

Listen to what John and Brad have to say about this topic:

 

IMMERSION Clients May Login and Download Podcast Here

(If you are using Venus Index Mobile, go to the left menu -> My products -> right menu -> Uncensored Season 3 -> enjoy, you can assign star to add it into Favorites for easier access next time, if you don’t have access to Uncensored Podcasts you can purchase Immersion Package inside the App Shop)

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