Archives for August 2015

Ready, Set, Go! VT15 STARTS TODAY!

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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.

 

 

 

 

Be stronger than your EXCUSES!

Coach Carla is stronger than any excuse!

Coach Lita is stronger than any excuse!

 

The thing I love the most about Coach Lita is she never stands behind a list of excuses.  Like all of us, she wears a lot of different hats, and her life is full of other things called LIFE.  She just owns it and moves on.

I’ll tell you a secret.  Even once you are done raising kids, life still fills up your plate.  You move from one season to the next, and life just keeps throwing things at you. The parents have aging issues, the other jobs place demands on you, the car breaks down, the bills pile up, your spouse needs your support, forest fires, tornado’s, hurricanes and other natural disasters threaten your home, your friends get sick and need help, tragedies happen around you and your community needs you, your aging pets get sick.  Family members have tragedy and illness. You have illnesses. It is endless. There will always be a huge list of excuses.

But they are not really excuses, it’s just life.

So, the best thing to do is just own it and keep moving.

Today is a new day.

We all have 24 hours.

We all wear different hats.

We all have responsibilities.

We all have stress.

We all have adversity.

We all have our own unique genetics.

We all have possible excuses.

We all make mistakes that give us doubt.

Even yesterday.  Whatever mistake you made, let it go.

Today is a new day.

Learn from it and move on.

DECIDE what you want today.

Make it a victory.

Nobody wants to hear the excuses.

Just do what you gotta do without the excuses.

If someone else succeeded in what you want, applaud them instead.

Don’t demean them just because you haven’t done it yet.

Don’t make excuses as to why you have not achieved it yet.

Just do it.

Just do it anyway.

Once again it’s the little steps every day and biding your time.

YOUR time will come too.

If you let go of the excuses already.

If you make today a new day and let yesterday go.

This is how we do it!!

Never give up
Never settle
Live your dream

Have a wonderful weekend.  It’s full of opportunity to make good choices.  A clean slate.  Like every fresh new morning.

And of course if you need help with those day to day choices, you can always choose your own Venus coach, or you can find friends in the Venus forum, or the Venus Facebook group.

-Coach Roberta

 

 

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

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

 

What’s in your HEART?

Naggiar Sangiovese FRAME

Venus is in my HEART

This grape, Sangiovese, is the heart of Chianti wines which are Randy’s favorite.

I spent a day last weekend on my feet, pouring wine and serving people at a very classy winery (Naggiar). I bought the bottle after my shift to share with Randy while we sit and watch a beautiful sunset in our backyard sometime soon.

It will be a learning experience for me to read about the wine, the grapes, and take in the experience to help me help others learn about the wines at this beautiful vineyard and winery.

I love the place because it’s family run and everyone works together as a team. No one is better than another, we all just jump in and do what needs to be done. I love that.

I wasn’t even looking for a new job.  I went to my Venus friend Kerry‘s birthday party and while chatting with the employees there it came up that they needed someone with a flexible weekend schedule to help out.  All my friends there said I would be a perfect fit.  So it just happened like that.

They grow the grapes right there, and make the wine right there.  Everything is family owned and operated and I am now considered part of the family.  It feels good.

Next week they will start hand picking the grapes at night when it’s cool, they start with the white grapes.  I shall get to see the whole process and help with the bottling for a day if I want.  I think I just might roll up my sleeves and do it!

 

What was it about the successful people there?

Hard work and variety is the spice of life and the fountain of youth; I’m more convinced than ever as I spoke with many people sipping wine that day.

Many were successful retired people, living up life to the fullest. One thing they all had in common was the ability to face adversity and not let it stop them from enjoying life, being happy, and learning to not take themselves too seriously.

They all had passion. They all had things that they were involved in that keep them occupied all day long. They don’t spend a lot of time being idle. There is no such thing as the word “boring” because they MAKE IT HAPPEN.

They were all kind and respectful to others. The customers and the staff alike. This is another key to success. They didn’t spend time gossiping about others. There is not enough time to waste on that.

By making it happen, they are able to take time to enjoy their friends sipping wine and learning about wine pairings on the weekend.

They also did not have problems with being over weight.  They ate slowly and savored their food and sipped their wine.  They were active and healthy people, even those into their 80’s.

 

The day I interviewed for the vineyard tasting room job, they hired me on the spot!  It made me feel good so I enjoyed the moment.

The day I interviewed for the vineyard tasting room job, they hired me on the spot! It made me feel good so I enjoyed the moment.

 

 

Focus on the positive and trim out the negative

Life is too short to focus on the negative.  Life is too short to spend time with gossip about others or even listen to gossip about others.

Life is too short to spend time with anyone who is mean or negative or drags you down in any way.

We all have some adversity.  But we choose to find a way through it.

DECIDE to face adversity and kick it in the teeth.

Think of at least one positive thing, and especially think of one person who you can help. There is always someone and it helps give you purpose.

 

Continue to attack the process, the results come later

Focus on your passion, focus on the work and the nitty gritty.

The results always come later, so focus on the process instead. That’s where the real magic happens.

The time is now.

I picked a new passion to add to my list, learning about wines at this beautiful place with these beautiful people, because LIFE IS SHORT and THE TIME IS NOW.

There is not good cell phone reception there, so it’s a great excuse to get off the electronic devices and focus on people in person, face to face, while pursuing many of my personal goals and passion at the same time.

See this is how Venus changed my life. I did not have the confidence until I changed my physique to what I wanted.  Sure, when a person is over weight the same talent existed inside.  But part of what makes me who I am now is the ability to move with agility in all that I do.   It is not just vanity;  it is health, vibrancy, walking with a spring in my step and a sparkle in my eye. I can also easily carry a case of the wine to the customers car for then and turn heads while I’m at it.  It’s something to be proud of.

And yes, I can still turn some heads and it’s heck yeah FUN!  That will never get old.  I love having an excuse to dress up and work at the same time.

This is how we do it.

Venus is truly in my HEART

Never give up
Never settle
Live your dream
-Coach Roberta Our staff because it the end at all. Also, our custom writing styles, and protection of our service provides full confidentiality and understanding of your assignment immediately! We hire them. During the best! Our staff because it on your professor indifferent. WE GIVE 100% GUARANTEE If you can buy papers online; our . http://paperell.com/ We do it on your assignment. Our writers must pass through a Master’s or high level under any matter of writing service offers various types of scientific art that we will start working on the most demanding teachers! Attention, this to write a good price. Many students had already faced .

Your body is NOT the garbage can!

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

Nutrition the Venus Way – Podcast

Liss Nutrition and Dumas Venus ladies

In this podcast which was recorded live in front of an audience for a seminar in Dumas, Texas, at the Moore County YMCA- Coach Liss answers:

  • What is the fitness hierarchy?
  • Why is rest and stress important to consider?
  • What are the 3 ways of eating?
  • Why, when, and how should we eat in a deficit.
  • Why is eating to maintenance level important?
  • Why we should consider error in our nutrition.
  • Why is protein important?
  • How a weekly and daily eating pattern might look.
  • Does meal timing matter?
  • What supplements should I consider?
  • Why should I consider gut health?
  • What is the Anything Goes Diet?
  • How might I consider actions instead of only goals

Goal to Actions Graphic

Along with many practical tips and actual examples of what Liss’ nutrition looks like on a daily basis.

 

Listen to the free Venus Factor Podcast below:

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The VT14 Venus Transformation Contest Winners Announced

The VT14 results are in, congratulations to all finishers!

One thing I love about the focus for women in the Venus program is The focus is proportions and shape (rather than weight loss at all costs or building muscle like a guy)John Barban.

Congratulations to everyone who entered and finished!  This took hard work on the part of everyone and it shows.

Here are the winners:

First Place – Jonda

Jonda-BnA-VT14

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

 

Second Place – Denise

Denise-BnA-VT14

“My Venus Thanks for giving me my life back, i had given up losing weight , when one day I searched for a weight loss program, and then i saw Venus and heard everything that John said in this promotion waooooouw i was blown away and i still am, what a journey and i know i still have a lot to lose , but i am on my way, and im so happy for all my new Venus sisters without them, it would never had happened. I’ve found my place where I can be healthy and get fit :)” -Denise

 

Third Place – Vanessa

Vanessa-BnA-VT14

“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!!”  –Vanessa

Fourth Place – Nisel

Nisel-BnA-VT14

“Venus has given me a plan, purpose and goals to strive toward as I continue my journey toward health and fitness. The contests helped me to have a short term goal and accountability. With 2 kids and a full time job, I feel that the Venus program is one that I can keep as a lifestyle not just a diet and exercise program.” -Nisel

Fifth Place – Helen

Helen-BnA-VT14

“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

Sixth Place – Aja

Aja-BnA-VT14

“I finally finished the Venus Index! My favorite development from working on a stronger, leaner body is my ability to do things that were difficult or straining to do before — such as dancing, reaching & lifting, rollerblading, climbing, jumping, and every day normal things. The best part? I notice it after a task is complete. I actively think every time, ” Wow, I am … a lot stronger than I thought!” I feel like I am a more capable person.” -Aja

Seventh Place – Julie

Julie-BnA-VT14

“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

 

Eighth Place – Laura

Laura-BnA-VT14

“I’m a wife and a full time home mother of two little ones. I started to join the Venus work out class not to long ago because I was trying to find the work out class that I like in all the aspects. In a short time started to love it!” -Laura

 

Ninth Place – Therese

Therese-BnA-VT14

“Today, I challenged my husband to who can get abs first–me or him. It is going to be me!!! Since I have been doing the Venus Factor my husband has lost 30 pounds and two of my four children who are home for the summer have both lost weight. The journey I am on has no finish line. I will continue the weight loss with maintenance process until I reach my Venus Factor figure and then I will continue to strengthen my body and maintain the weight loss.” -Therese

Tenth Place – Dawn

Dawn-BnA-VT14

 “I still have a long way to go and look at this as part 1 and will continue on with the Venus plan. I have more energy and feel fitter and stronger. I have lost inches more than pounds and know that it didn’t happen overnight and will not improve overnight as well. I am thankful that I found this plan and grateful that FINALLY something is working for me to see some changes in my body and not feel deprived or overtired or too sore to workout in the process.” -Dawn

 

Congratulations to all!

As everyone who entered or is in the process of transforming to a healthy shape knows;  It’s hard!  Every single one of these ladies deserves a huge round of applause.

The Transformation Contest place has prizes for placements:

  • First place: $500
  • Second place: $350
  • Third place: $250
  • Fourth place through tenth place: $200

 

VT15 will start be 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.

Contest rules and regulations

 

Until next time,

-Coach Roberta

 

How to create your own PRIZEFIGHTER VICTORY every day

Embrace the process every day for those victories!

Embrace the process every day for those victories!

 

“You would only fail to accomplish something if you were focused on the outcome.”

– Ben Newman

Focus on the activity that fires your passion and you will do well.

Focus on the process, not the results. The results will come later.

THIS is why I succeeded with fat loss and building muscle.

It took me 3 years to lose the 85 pounds and even longer to build the muscle. I had NO IDEA what the actual outcome would be, but the focus on the PROCESS worked.

If you continue to focus on the outcome and results, it may not be what you expected. Once you let go of that, you have accomplishment.

You have passion.

You will go do great things.

Every day.

You will have a PRIZEFIGHTER VICTORY day every day.

-Tips from “Own Your Success” by Ben Newman

This is what you need to remind yourself about next time you get discouraged by the scale, a measurement, or a size. It’s not that those don’t need to be markers, but if that is the focus you will be disappointed in the end.

Focus on the process.

It works.

 

Pick one thing

Make a small power list of what you want to accomplish today.

It might be just one thing, or two or three, but that’s it.

It’s not about checking things off on a to-do list.

It could be just getting to the gym or whatever form of exercise you feel is right for you just now.

Make completing that task your VICTORY.

Have one victory every day.

Ride one victory to the next.

When you can add one or two more each day then do it.

Make those consistent.

Once those are consistent, they can evolve to a new task or new short list.

This is how we make each day a PRIZEFIGHTER VICTORY day.

You can do it.

We all can do it.

One day at a time.

That is how every successful person does it.

It does not seem very exciting unless you MAKE IT SO.

So, what are you waiting for?

Let’s hear some victory cries!

Coach Roberta

PS we will be announcing the VT14 Contest winners on next Monday.

Have a glorious weekend.  It is chalk full of opportunities to make good choices!

The DEADLINE for VT14 is Monday August 3rd at midnight.

VenusBnACollageSQUARE_DEADLINE

This is just a friendly reminder that the deadline for VT14 is Monday August 3rd at Midnight Eastern Standard Time.

The entry form CLOSES at that time.

How to ENTER a Venus Transformation Contest:

 

PLEASE READ THE CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS, RULES, AND REGULATIONS.  The only confirmation email you will get is the automated response from the contest tracker entry form.  The email address for YOU is the one you use for your Venus account.

Click here –> Contest instructions, rules, and regulations <– Click here

 

 

Here are the steps to enter:

Use your Venus login to use the submission form.

Then use the BLUE JOIN BUTTON for the contest ending August 3rd (08/03/2015):

 

contest screen shot

If you have any problems with the phone app try the web browser.

You will receive an automated email from the tracker tool after the pictures have uploaded.  This means YOU ARE IN the contest.

See the results of our previous contests.

The Venus 12 week contest is an En Route Train Stop in your life long Venus journey!

Have fun!

Coach Roberta

PS Email me if you have any problems or questions entering the contests.  roberta.saum@gmail.com

Support for technical difficulties: http://www.venusfactor.com/contact-us/

Our 3rd and last contest for 2015 will be VT15: Aug 31st – Nov 23rd

 

 

 

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