Archives for October 2016

VT18 Venus Transformation Contest Ends November 21th

VT18 is winding down and we at the Venus Factor want to see you succeed.  I’ll be making a new contest schedule for next year soon.  The next contest will be in Mid January 2017.  Stay tuned for updates.

The deadline for VT18 is midnight Eastern Time November 21st.  Enter your final pictures HERE.

Looking ahead at the holiday season!

Looking ahead at the holiday season!

 

Happy Friday!

Let’s get it done. Weekends count. If you can’t workout focus on diet. If you have parties or social events you don’t have to eat everything in sight. Take one bite of everything. Get involved in fun conversations and LISTEN to others and give them your full attention to make the time fly by and get your focus off of food. Make it a game. People love attention and being listened to.

Getting your nutrition, workouts, and supplements if you need them lined up will be the key to success for making a change happen. This is highly individual for each person, so don’t feel you have to do what the next person does. Feel free to ask questions. There is no one size fits all.

Workouts and nutrition consistency is where the magic happens.

For fat loss it’s really important to know your maintenance number. If you need help with that, ask. All you need for fat loss is a slight consistent calorie deficit over time. Lower is not better, consistency is better.

There are various methods to measuring your calories to make that deficit happen. Again, the method that works for your lifestyle is unique to you. Everyone is different in what works, and what works for you in one season of life may not work in another season. If you need help ask!

I call the calorie deficit a tight rope. You can’t eat too low or you feel like crap or binge. You can’t eat too high or you stay the same or gain body fat. The less body fat you have the more narrow the rope.

Your maintenance number is actually the more important number for everyone. Everyone puts their focus on the deficit number, but really that’s more of a moving target with workouts, stress, health, hormones, etc. The maintenance number is the steady number that should be the life raft everyone clings to. Sometimes right at maintenance can be a deficit with a hard workout.

Any slight deficit consistently under maintenance will cause fat loss if done consistently over time. It is that simple.

 

 

Dieting for weight loss is hard for everyone so don’t feel alone.  It will require some sacrifice.  No one achieves their goal without hard work and some sacrifices.

If you want help with the last few weeks of the Venus contest feel free to join my Venus Factor Contest Prep Facebook Group.  I will help you every step of the way.  Any Venus contest competitor is welcome to join.

For those of you just getting started, if you want to join a 30 day mini challenge that ends right before Thanksgiving (A famous USA holiday), I have one starting on Monday.  This is not a group for lookyloo’s, it is for anyone who is SERIOUS about making a change in their life and taking the steps for just 30 days.  There is no fee or cost to join, only your dedication to your own health.  It is a private group and what happens in the group stays in the group!  Nibbles Thanksgiving Challenge Facebook Group.

 

Never Settle
Never Give Up
Live Your Dream

– Coach Roberta

 

The last 10 pounds at 54, Meet Lisa

Lisa finally won what she wanted with Venus!

Lisa finally won what she wanted with Venus!

 

Lisa had a common struggle. That last 10 pounds or so.  It seems so impossible, but really it’s just the slowest.  This is where the rubber hits the road regarding trusting the process.

Many of you have a lot of weight to lose, that’s okay!  The journey teaches you how to deal with the last 10 pounds for the rest of your life.  For many the last 10 pounds is actually part of maintaining.  But it’s the hardest part alone from just “getting started”.  It is slow and the body weight scale is pretty much useless except for about checking about every 8 weeks or so.

Life happens, and you will repeat the cycle many times. That’s why it’s a lifestyle not a diet. That’s why it is important to learn sustainable practices.

I’ve had the absolute pleasure of watching Lisa on social media and learn the lifestyle, trust the process, and finally win her goal!

Here’s what Lisa has to say in her own words:

My experience with the Venus Factor System had been amazing! It has been what I’ve been looking for for so many years. My main objective when I joined the Venus Index Transformation contest was mainly to keep myself accountable. I knew deep down I needed to step out of my comfort zone (submitting  pictures) to achieve my goals. I needed a proven program and I got that with the Venus Index system.

I started the Venus Index workouts hoping to lose those 10 pounds, lose inches, gain strength and self confidence. I really wanted to change the shape of my 54 year old physique that was heading in the direction I wasn’t fond of, lol!

Last year I had  joined a local running club and committed to the Iron runner 15 race series. I focused totally on running and neglected the weight training. I made the mistake thinking I didn’t need to weight train anymore and that cardio was enough.

I learned that in fact I was really doing too much cardio and needed to get back to weight training.

The program has also taught me so much about nutrition. For example the amount of protein I needed blew my mind, I had no idea!

 

Lisa is pretty happy with her Venus life!

Lisa is pretty happy with her Venus life!

 

I learned that if you have the right tools and get your mind right you can achieve anything. Everyday does not have to be the same.

Nobody ever said it would be easy, but the plan is simple. Work it everyday, tweak it for you, never give up, trust the process!

I had to tell myself these things daily. I’m so happy to say I was able to achieve a 10.8 pound weight loss and a total of 9 inches overall. I’m also inside my ideal metrics, but at the high end. I’m a short person so the changes are slow and small.

I love the Venus Index system! I’m not quite where I want to be yet, but I know this program is one in which I can follow forever.

I’m a work in progress, it’s a lifestyle,  it’s MY lifestyle!

Lisa

 

I don't know about you but I think Lisa is stunning!

I don’t know about you but I think Lisa is stunning!

 

Listen to Lisa’s podcast now or save it for later:

300 pounds to Fitness coach; Meet Kimmy

Kimmy is one of the most amazing and persevering women I've ever met. If she can do it you can too!

Kimmy is one of the most amazing and persevering women I’ve ever met. If she can do it you can too!

Dang, from 300 pounds to fitness coach with a full time job, a family, and 3 kids to care for.  If she can do it so can you!  Kimmy is absolute living proof that there should be no excuses.  Yes, sacrifices must be made to achieve your goal and it may take longer than others.  Kimmy learned to not compare herself to others and that is part of WHY she succeeded.  She also had to brush aside the mean comments from others, as that seems to be something we all experience when we succeed, especially from other women.  You have to learn that there is nothing wrong with YOU, the mean comments are all about the others and their insecurity about your success.  Just keep going!  You might need to make some new friends, but you WILL, you will end up attracting those who are successful and will support you.

 

Here she is, making it happen and looking very beautiful in her dress!

Here she is, making it happen and looking very beautiful in her dress!

 

Kimmy’s story is simply amazing.  She is a woman of extreme perseverance, and she is now coaching others to do the same thing. You don’t have to have super powers, you just have to keep going.  You have to decide you want it bad enough. You have to be patient and trust the process and have the vision that you can achieve the same thing.

Here is what Kimmy wrote in her own words:

This by far has been one of the most challenging 12 week endeavors of my life. Not only physically but mentally as well. I’m a busy mom who works full time with 3 children ages 14, 11 and 3.

In the fall of 2015 my husband was diagnosed with a condition called Menieres disease. If someone asked me what that was before, I would have told them “I have no clue.” Now I can say it’s one of the most miserable conditions an otherwise healthy person can be diagnosed with. In a nutshell, he suffers from violent vertigo attacks which leave him bed ridden sometimes days at a time. One minute he can be great and the next he’s violently ill and weak.

When this happens I become Mom of 3 but also sole care provider which isn’t always easy. Try telling your 3 year old “Just a minute, Mommy needs to do a workout” and guess how well that goes over. There were many days I was struggling to take care of everyone else and neglecting the importance of taking care of me too.

When the Venus Transformation 17 challenge was announced I decided this was my time to join. It gave me a goal to focus on, workouts to follow that were easy and a deadline towards reaching that goal. A goal without a deadline can go on forever without being achieved right?

I started day 1 full of gusto. I bought my newspaper and took starting pics. I was in this to WIN IT! My friend Michelle placed back in the 3rd Venus contest so this time it was my turn!!

Then the first week in tragedy struck. A dear friend and co worker took sick and died very suddenly. She left behind a loving husband (also a close friend and co-worker) and 3 beautiful children. I felt a deep sense of loss and pain for her family, our co-workers and for myself. This friend was always there for me when I needed someone. I reached out to her for parenting advice, work advice, marriage advice, you name it! Now just like that she was gone? How could this happen? Life all of a sudden felt shitty and unfair. The contest didn’t matter anymore. Working out didn’t matter anymore. I cried a lot and went back to old habits of binge eating junk food. I basically didn’t care – I felt bad and just wanted comfort.

This friend and I often talked fitness at work and we went to boot camp classes over the years and often compared training sessions. Losing her hit me really hard because it made me reflect on my own life and my own family. What would I do if I lost my husband or they lost me? I struggled for a while with this and if I’m completely honest, it still scares me.

I’m not sure when it happened but one day something just hit me and said “You know Rachel would never want you using her as an excuse for this behavior right?” From that moment on I decided I had to stop feeling sorry for myself and continue to push forward.

Eating through my emotions would hurt me in the long run and it certainly wasn’t going to help anyone else. Roberta and the rest of the girls from the Venus and Nibbles group were extremely supportive. I reached out to them a few times when I was feeling down and they helped pick me back up.

I posted some before and after pictures of where my journey began years ago at nearly 300lbs and realized just how far I’ve come. It’s easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to others but in the end the journey is yours and you should only compare yourself to YOU!

Someone else out there is always going to be smarter than you, faster than you, better abs than you, etc. Am I healthier, stronger version of Kimmy than I was 12 weeks ago? You bet and that’s ALL that matters.

 

Don't compare yourself to others. Just see how far you have come and keep going. Achieve your own dream!

Don’t compare yourself to others. Just see how far you have come and keep going. Achieve your own dream!

I look at these pictures and I’m very proud of what I accomplished in 12 weeks! I did it by eating real food, not too much and not too little – just enough. There are no gimmicks or tricks. I plan my workouts ahead of time and write them down in my journal. If I miss a day (hey I’m human), I make up for it the next day with no guilt. If I overeat a few calories for a family event, no problem, I work out harder and cut my calories a bit for other meals.

Venus has allowed me to find a balance and I love it. The relationships and friendships established since joining Venus are priceless. You won’t find a better community of supporters anywhere.

– Coach Kimmy

 

Kimmy knows how to get it done.  It is so fun to watch her enjoying life with her family and kids, planning camping trips and living life to it’s fullest.  You can follow her continued journey on Facebook, and follow her blog, and you can listen to her talk about all of this in her podcast below.

 

Venus women are real! Real women with real lives making it happen. It's easy to think it's all not true, but it's true and you can see how real the women are when you follow them on Facebook.

Venus women are real! Real women with real lives making it happen. It’s easy to think it’s all not true, but it’s true and you can see how real the women are when you follow them on Facebook.

 

Listen to Kimmy’s inspiring podcast now or save it for later.  And remember, YOU can do it too!  The podcast is in the link below:

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