Fat loss with auto immune deficiency? Meet Barb

In spite of the odds with auto immune deficiency she did this and is also maintaining well.

 

Barb has Auto Immune deficiency and a lot of health issues will make the process go slow, but the process still works.  When she eats food that are not good for her she feels sick and then gets discouraged and has learned that she can “Save the Day” instead of going pell-mell and continuing on that path.

With her issues Barb finds she needs to have control of her food.  She loves to share her meals in my facebook support groups.   Here’s a couple of the meals she has posted:

 

 

Looks pretty good to me!

 

Here’s what Barb had to say in her own words, in her essay with her final contest pictures:

 

Oh wow, I am finished my first full Venus Index Contest! I am quite amazed, looking back over the past 3 months and the road I have traveled. It goes way back to when I was a teenager, when I first suffered from poor health. Throughout my life I have struggled and after having my 2 daughters, I realized I had to change many things so I could be here for them. I have worked really hard at managing an auto-immune disease and believe I can go into remission. Proper diet, exercise and sleep are crucial and I do ok with each but not consistently.

When my 14 yr old went through a mental health crisis last year I was a wreck. At times I was unsure that she would even make it. I didn’t sleep for about 8 months and subsequently ate poorly and was too tired to workout. I went to parenting classes at the hospital when she was in therapy and the onus was on taking care of ourselves in the midst of crisis. I worked so hard to keep everyone in my family taken care of (6 kids, one husband and one large dog) and made the final decision it was time for me to take care of myself.

When my daughter was on her way to recovery I joined Venus Index because I need this for ME. I have enjoyed the system and community thoroughly because it offers results and support. I think my favourite part of Venus Index is when I joined Roberta Saum’s Nibbles Fitness Thanksgiving Challenge. It was exactly what I needed to get me through to the end. All the participants were amazing women, all with the same weaknesses, strengths and challenges as me.

I felt so much love and support and reciprocated with heartfelt wishes of strength and encouragement to them. I have never joined a group like this because I always felt intimidated but with Venus Index I embraced the opportunity and haven’t looked back. Two of the most difficult moments were photographing myself in a bikini but I realized that I had to do it to move towards success.

I feel that this is the beginning of Venus Index for life! My husband says whatever you are doing, it’s really working and now he is starting to ask me to help him! I am starting Final Phase tomorrow, thanks to the encouragement of my girlfriends on the Thanksgiving Challenge. Roberta, you are one amazing human being. I hope I know you forever.

 

Here she is sharing about the good life and her social eating victories:

Late night post. I went to a fancy shmancy party my in-laws throw every Christmas. I made a plan for the day: extra cardio and I was way under maintenance the past 2 days. I volunteered to be the designated driver so I could avoid the alcohol. I bar-tended to keep busy and away from the food and made sure I ate really healthy all day. I feel so happy I took the time to think things out beforehand. I did enjoy some amazing cheeses, lean beef tenderloin, crudités and several glasses of water . Life is good

 

I had the honor of speaking with Barb on the phone and ask her to share her story.  She talks about all that she did to succeed and how she STAYS successful now.

Listen now or download the podcast for later:

Pick One Thing

Jackie learned to start with just one thing.  It doesn’t have to be “all or nothing”, in fact most of us women need to ditch the all or nothing mentality about getting into the shape we want.

 

“For VT18, I felt like the various pieces all came together – consistency in exercise and nutrition. It was only during this contest that I feel like the target measurements might be real. What if I could achieve that? What would that feel like? I am looking forward to finding out.”

 

Jackie got control of her life. She still does the Venus workouts and it’s the perfect tool that empowers her life to the fullest.

 

 

Here’s what Jackie wrote in her contest essay:

My Experience with the Venus Factor System: My Venus Transformation journey began in March 2015 at 190 pounds and what started as a desire to lose weight and get fitter has become much more. My confidence and self-esteem have improved. I have significantly more energy, I am physically stronger, and I am more resilient.

Initially, I was overwhelmed with all of the material and where to start. I thought, “What’s one action I could take?” I would figure that out, and I would do that and then ask myself, “OK, what’s next?” I had many stops and starts along the way. In the beginning, the exercises seemed really difficult to me. I was so embarrassed about how I looked; there was no way I was going to a “beautiful people” gym in Los Angeles to work out.

One of my steps was to figure out what I needed to work out. I ordered some small dumbbells (3, 5, 8 pounds) and I had a mat and an exercise ball. Doing something had to be better than doing nothing, so I go up in the morning and went out to my garage and attempted the workouts without weights at first. I tried working out at different times and found that in the morning before work was the time I would most consistently hit.

The exercise ball was my nemesis. The video doesn’t show how to get on the ball. I kept rolling off and looking quite ridiculous. In the beginning, I could barely do a modified plank on my knees. At first, my goals were to get 3 workouts in during a week. I noticed that I was proud of myself on those days when I got up and worked out. I felt proud of myself on the day after the workout when I was going slowly up the steps because I was sore from lunges instead of because I was short of breath and joints hurting.

Eventually my goal became to get through an entire 12-week program without missing any workouts. I would look ahead at my schedule for the week and decide what days were best. I figured out how to do the workouts in the hotel gyms while on travel. I was so excited when I outgrew my dumbbells and upgraded to the Bowflex dumbbells and have a bench, and barbell too.

During VT18, I was on the Venus Final Phase. I started training for a ballroom dance performance and competition and was challenged to a 22-pushup challenge for 22 days by a friend. I was thinking to myself, I was in a fitness contest, of course, I need to accept the challenge. There’s no way I would have even considered that that in the beginning. While training for the dance performance, I injured my foot (October 2016). My foot was in a boot for a week. I couldn’t dance, but the timing worked out that I could still do the workouts. I was explaining to the doctor that I was preparing for a competition and asking what I needed to do to get back. As she was telling me what I needed to do, she said that she finds it difficult to work with athletes when they don’t heed medical advice. I’m not sure what else she said – I had never been called an athlete before! That made my week!

One day I was talking to my daughter, and she stops and says, “Mom, look at your calves!” and started commenting on the definition of the various muscles. While I’ve enjoyed the workouts and feel stronger and happier, tracking food was a challenge for me. In the beginning, I started realizing how much of what I did was centered around food. Right outside my office was the snack area and I called it the “cookie gauntlet”. I would avoid eye contact. I discovered I had more success when I packed my lunches in advance. I could have what was in my lunchbox, and I was OK. I discovered I had trigger foods. The one cookie turns into more, then I be tired and plop on the couch in front of the TV and continue to eat.

Looking ahead at my schedule helped too – I would put my eat up days on days with business lunch or special dinner. MyFitnessPal app made it much easier to track, but I needed to work on consistency. I would make progress in weight loss when I did track. I noticed that on days when I knew I was going over, tended to be the days that I wouldn’t track. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to write it down. I realized that I would not be able to save the day if I didn’t actually track.

At first the 1000 calories seemed so low. I also felt that I couldn’t focus at work at 1000 calories, but at 1100 – 1200 my brain checked back in. As long as I stayed below maintenance, I was OK and knew that the loss would not be as fast.

Breakfast was difficult for me to skip, but I also found that running around after work that I didn’t have to have dinner, or I could have a much smaller portion. For me, cutting down on TV time resulted in cutting down on mindless eating in front of TV.

In the beginning, I started by just taking one action at a time and making it a habit. I was feeling better and losing some weight but I didn’t think the target measurements were achievable.

I felt better for each improvement. For VT18, I felt like the various pieces all came together – consistency in exercise and nutrition. It was only during this contest that I feel like the target measurements might be real. What if I could achieve that? What would that feel like? I am looking forward to finding out.

-Jackie

 

I love what Jackie has done. Is she not beautiful? She proves that this can be done at any age. You do have the power within you!

Listen to Jackie talk about her experience and how her life is empowered with health, happiness, and agility.  You can listen now or download for later:

The 2017 Venus Transformation Contest schedule

Believe that you can do it. It does not require special powers, it merely requires simple day to day steps. The Venus System can help you with those steps.  You don’t have to think about the workout, you pull out the page and it’s something different and fun every day. Yes you will be sore at first, but then the empowerment happens.

If you want daily support with the workout, we are very active in the Venus Factor Workout accountability group on FaceBook. You can join whether or not you decide to join the contest. Everyone is posting their workouts and daily victories and holding each other accountable in there.

If you want help preparing for the contest I’ve available to answer questions in the Venus Factor Contest Prep Facebook group.

Venus Next Year (2017) Contest schedule:

  • VT19: January 16 to April 10

And this is where you signup once you get a Venus login below:

(but only during the dates above) JOIN the CONTEST.

The Venus Contest rules and regulations are HERE.

And anyone is welcome to select their own premier Venus coach anytime, not just during the contest or for a contest.  Anyone that needs help, we are here for you.

Feel free to email me if you have questions.

Alright ladies, Let’s DO THIS!

-Coach Roberta

 

All the Girls Who Dream; Meet Monica

Monica is achieving her dream of being a personal trainer, with the help of the Venus program

Monica is achieving her dream of being a personal trainer, with the help of the Venus program.

 

To some people this may not seem like a lot, but to Monica her young life prior to Venus was stealing her dream.  In reality, everyone who has more weight to lose can finally reach the last 10-15 pounds and find the struggle is much like Monica’s.  This last stretch has it’s own set of struggles.  The tools learned in Venus will apply even more critically at this stage of the game.

Not knowing how to navigate the over abundance of food in modern society was hindering Monica from achieving her dreams, but now she has overcome victoriously!

 

Monica always had this dream of helping others.

Monica always had this dream of helping others.

 

Here’s what Monica wrote about the Venus Factor:

My experience with the Venus Factor has been the absolute best weight loss/healthy lifestyle experience I have had. For such a long time I had focused on various diets or popular approaches to weight loss, but I was unwilling to take the challenge to count calories.

I was also ignorant of how many calories I ACTUALLY NEEDED on a daily basis! Especially knowing my maintenance calories has helped me to keep from just gaining all the weight back. In the past I did some extreme things to lose weight, but I had no idea what my maintenance calories were so I would eat as I was used to eating and would gain it all back.

After joining the Venus Factor, I saw results that I could rely on, and I learned skills and patterns of living that I have incorporated into my day to day life that also have enabled me to KEEP the pounds off! In these last 12 weeks of counting my calories (which, believe me, I used to HATE doing!)

I actually came to my husband and told him how much I enjoyed counting calories because it enabled me to eat snacks and goodies that I used to think were devastating for me, but now I can eat them as long as they fit into my calorie budget.

Food doesn’t control me anymore. I am in charge of choosing and deciding what and how much I will eat and it has brought so much more enjoyment and freedom!

I used to be afraid when I would go to someone’s house or a restaurant and not know what they were going to feed me because it could “ruin” all my efforts! Instead, now I just take into account my plans and I just eat a bit less before and after those meals and leave enough calories for those meetings.

Monica knows the importance of having support and giving support.

Monica knows the importance of having support and giving support.

 

Again, freedom is the word I would use to describe my journey with Venus Factor. Its been amazing!

My husband has also been overwhelmingly appreciative of the Venus Factor as it has kept me from “yo-yo” dieting and has helped me to have a more balanced emotional perspective to my personal fitness goals.

The Venus Factor has also provided helpful and motivational community as well as appropriate and accurate information which helped to guide me toward effective weight loss.

I am a personal trainer and now I am pointing others toward the Venus Factor too, so that they can finally see REAL results!

You can find me on Facebook!

-Coach Monica!

Monica has achieved her dream!

Monica has achieved her dream!

 

 

Monica enjoys her new freedom in life

“My husband has also been overwhelmingly appreciative of the Venus Factor as it has kept me from “yo-yo” dieting and has helped me to have a more balanced emotional perspective to my personal fitness goals.”

 

 

Listen to Monica’s inspiring podcast now, or download it for later:

Previous VT contest winner is now one of our BEAUTIFUL cover winners

Meet Malissa again, she placed in our VT11 contest.

Meet Malissa again, she placed in our VT11 contest.

With only 3 weeks left in VT17 it’s perfect timing for learning from someone who has figured out how to do things after a contest and stay successful.  Malissa has done an amazing job of maintaining!

Malissa is one beautiful woman who has learned how to keep going with the Venus lifestyle.  She felt she over shot the mark a little during her previous contest.  She has now found her happy size range and has learned to roll with the seasons over the years.

 

She's pretty happy with her life right now!

She’s pretty happy with her life right now!

 

Malissa’s diet has evolved, she found that she can’t eat as low as she did during the previous contest.  What she eats has changed a little, and it ebbs and flows with the seasons.  She has a tough battle as she works night shift as a nurse.

Malissa loves to share her recipes and workouts on Instagram.  She is a constant source of inspiration knowledge and is very active in the Nibbles Fitness support group.

 

Malissa posts on Instagram daily!

Malissa posts on Instagram daily!

 

It’s been extremely rewarding to watch Malissa grow on social media and gain a following.  She’s found the Golden Ticket to happiness and health.

Here's one of her recent recipe posts, yummy!

Here’s one of her recent recipe posts, yummy!

 

Malissa-side-lying-pose-couch-blue-dress

Check out what Malissa has to say about dealing with the ebbs and flows of life and maintaining.  She’s proved it can be done, with class!

Listen to her podcast now or save it for later:

 

Venus friend of a Venus friend sheds 60 pounds.

Today the VT17 contest deadline is 5 weeks out so we figured you would like to hear from one of our last contest winners.  Andrea is friends with Danell who placed in a Venus contest.  Andrea was pretty impressed with Danell’s results and decided to give the Venus program a shot.

The VT17 contest deadline is August 1st, 2016, it will be here before you know it!

Speaking of Danell, she is still doing great and I recently had a little Venus meetup with her and we had a blast together!

 

Andrea is pretty happy with her results! I would be too!

Andrea is pretty happy with her results! I would be too!

 

And she did a pretty amazing job in the Venus contest too!

And she did a pretty amazing job in the Venus contest too!

 

Here’s what Andrea had to say in her own words:

 

I have always been fairly active,I was big in to body building 24 yrs ago, I ran marathons about 15 yrs ago, then about 11 years ago I tore my ACL snowboarding. Well after surgery and coach time the lbs came creeping back.

I had several life challenges and relationships that contributed to a negative mind set toward my health and fitness and decided a few extra lbs was no big deal.

Well hello 222lbs and my body rebelling against the extra lbs and I decided it was time to make a change! I joined a gym 4 years ago and was successful at taking off 60lbs over a years time.

I then moved changed jobs and eventually met an amazing man who I am blessed to have in my life! With that new relationship though my routines suffered I put them in the back burner and the lbs crept up again.

Andrea-D-Venu-holding-medal

I struggled with getting back on track. I did create an exercise space that I love so that I would want to be in it, going to the gym is just not an option with work hours and travel time so I love my home gym!

In December or around there I saw a post from my friend Danell about winning a Venus contest her after pictures were amazing so I clicked on the link and read more. I asked her a few questions and jumped in.

Wow finally an easy to follow doable program that fits me. This is definitely a lifestyle anyone can live with!

-Andrea

Andrea is still happy and enjoying life!

Andrea is still happy and enjoying life!

Both Danell and Andrea are active in the Nibbles Fitness Facebook group and Andrea can be found enjoying life and active on her personal facebook profile.

Listen to Andrea talk about her experiences in the audio podcast below or save it to listen to later:

 

Contest winner Tracey Brings Out Her Inner Warrior!

Tracey lost 11 pounds and 3 inches in 12 weeks.  That’s about the average for most women in 12 weeks and it is always very hard earned.

 

I learned from this competition is eating that third cookie is not the end of the world, but it is important to not give in to that little voice saying, “Well, since you blew your calorie count, you might as well give up now and just eat the rest of the box”. I remind myself that occasional treats are ok. I just need to maintain self-control so that I can enjoy treats from time to time.

I learned from this competition is eating that third cookie is not the end of the world, but it is important to not give in to that little voice saying, “Well, since you blew your calorie count, you might as well give up now and just eat the rest of the box”. I remind myself that occasional treats are OK. I just need to maintain self-control so that I can enjoy treats from time to time.

 

Here’s what Tracey said in her own words:

This competition was a very interesting experience for me. As you can see from my numbers I didn’t lose a lot of weight. And I certainly didn’t hit my goal, not even close. But I did have a positive change in my way of thinking.

That is where this competition benefited me the most and for that reason, I decided to submit my photos and essay. Growing up I was always very athletic, playing sports all year round and never worrying about my weight.

Then in High School I developed knee problems caused by years of running and jumping on the basketball court. That was the beginning of bad choices, self-pity and rapid weight gain.

Over the years I tried different diets and programs but my heart just wasn’t in it. I kept making excuses and continued to feel sorry for myself. When I heard about Venus Factor last year, I stopped and listened.

Then I spent time thinking about it and decided I would commit to this program. Although the decision to enter the competition was easy, taking and submitting those photos was not. I looked long and hard at those photos of myself realizing how unhealthy I had allowed myself to become. I was embarrassed to say the least. And quite unhappy (as you can tell by the look on my face). But I was determined to give this a try.

It hasn’t been an easy 12 weeks but I chose to sign up as a way to challenge myself and to give myself a much needed kick in the butt. Surprisingly, I was able to incorporate the exercise part of the program into my daily life with no problem. I even reached a point where I began enjoying the routines. I’m not very coordinated but over time I was able to successfully complete all but one of the exercises, that Stability Ball Curl Up is simply beyond my abilities at this time, but I’ll keep trying to get the hang of it. However, the rest of the exercises I was able to do, and as a result, I feel physically stronger.

I can actually feel the muscles in my arms and legs and hope that soon I can see them more clearly defined as the fat drops away.

The tricky part of this adventure for me was eating healthy. This meant making the right food choices, eating the proper portion size, and watching my calorie intake. I struggled with this for the first 10 weeks of the competition. I kept promising myself that tomorrow I would start eating better but tomorrow didn’t get here until the majority of the competition was behind me.

I also struggled with self-pity, about denying myself all the tasty treats I was used to eating and telling myself there was no way I could function on only 1000 calories a day. I fussed, whined and fought the idea until finally, in week 11, I went back and reread one of John’s emails (Stop Identifying as Your Struggle and Bring out Your Warrior). He reminded me to take care of myself because being healthy is a good thing and should be treated in a positive way.

Then I reread other emails I’ve received over the past few months. The words of encouragement and the stories of inspiration reminded me why I was doing this. I want to be happy and part of that comes from being healthy. I let these words sink in and really take root in my mind and heart.

As I did, I was able to push aside the excuses, self-pity and doubt. I knew I had to build a new habit of being health conscious, but as with any habit, it takes time, consistency and effort.

So with my new found focus, I began working to build this new habit and soon I began to see and feel the changes. My clothing started to loosen up a bit, my body started to feel stronger, my energy level increased, and I felt happier.

With all these positive strides, it became easier to make good decisions and to remain vigilant about good choices. I started by concentrating on making it through a few hours, then through a whole day, and before I knew it I had made it through two days and then 5 days.

In time, I know it will become easier to make good choices on a regular basis because I will be able to feel and see the difference.

Another thing I learned from this competition is eating that third cookie is not the end of the world, but it is important to not give in to that little voice saying, “Well, since you blew your calorie count, you might as well give up now and just eat the rest of the box”.

I remind myself that occasional treats are OK. I just need to maintain self-control so that I can enjoy treats from time to time. And the key to enjoying the occasional treat, is to not over-indulge.

This competition has been a difficult journey for me but a beneficial one, too. It helped me become more conscientious about how important it is to treat my body with the respect it deserves by making healthy choices.

I know I still have a long way to go before I reach my final goal but at least now, I know I can do it because I believe in myself.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank you all, especially John, for creating such a wonderful program. I will definitely be recommending the Venus Factor to family, friends and anyone else who wants get healthy.

-Tracey

Listen to Tracey’s podcast now or download it for later:

What’s it like to be a 56 year young Venus Figure Competitor?

BEVEL-Rhonda-Competition-side-pose-1

Rhonda is 56 years young and won our VT contest back in the day when she was 5o. She’s still living the dream and the golden Venus lifestyle and going strong.  She has found the fountain of youth.

Rhonda did it! There she is on stage at age 56.

Rhonda did it! There she is on stage at age 56.

 

It was a fun day, she did her first competition at the same venue I did mine so I went down to support her.

 

I went down to meet Rhonda and watch the competition at the Sheriton in Sacramento.

I went down to meet Rhonda and watch the competition at the Sheraton in Sacramento.

 

Dang, it always makes me realize how small I am when I stand next to another person.  Rhonda is tall!

Another amazing picture of Rhonda on stage.

Another amazing picture of Rhonda on stage.

 

Here’s what Rhonda did to prepare:

 

Everyday was very consistent, only small tweaks were made along the way. I started each day with 3/4 c egg whites plus 1 whole egg scrambled and 1/3 c oatmeal, tea or black coffee.

After lifting workout and before cardio I would have a protein isolate shake (30 gr p)

The rest of the meals, which were to be about 2 1/2 hours apart, consisted of 4 ounces chicken, turkey, or fish and 4oz of sweet potato or rice, and a steamed veggie such as broccoli, asparagus, green beans, spinach, Brussels sprouts, or squash.

Generally, I ate this 3 times a day, so all in all, I ate 5-6 meals a day.

My workouts consisted of 4-5 weight training days. Splits such as back/biceps, legs/shoulders, chest/ triceps with the first one repeated for 4th workout of week. I also added in core and calves and more glute work on less intense days. Cardio was 30 minutes on stair-climber or incline treadmill, 5 days. About half way through, that increased to 45 minutes, 6 days a week.

This seemed to really work well for me and fortunately I didn’t have to give up much more in the way of food. I did eliminate the carb at the last meal of the day towards the end.

 

Rhonda at the Sheraton waiting to go on stage!

Rhonda at the Sheraton waiting to go on stage, looking pretty dang hot!

 

Rhonda was pretty proud of what she achieved. It was an honor to be there as her friend.

Rhonda was pretty proud of what she achieved. It was an honor to be there as her friend.

 

Rhonda built some friendships that day and had a great time.  Since then we’ve gotten together and had some fun.

I went down to visit Rhonda for a few days after the competition and we had a blast!

I went down to visit Rhonda for a few days after the competition and we had a blast!

 

And of course we had some amazing workouts, because that's just what we do!

And of course we had some amazing workouts, because that’s just what we do!

 

And we had fun, both of us 55 and 56 years old, living our dream:

 

I hope you enjoyed her pictures and story.

You can listen to her podcast now or download it for later:

Ali lost 64 pounds and 42 inches with the Venus program and is not about to quit!

Ali-Venus-BnA

Ali lost 64 pounds and 42 inches with the Venus program and is not about to quit!

Ali has tried many programs and has yo-yo’d with her weight like so many of us. But she says this is the best so far, she has lost 64 pounds and refuses to quit.

She looks amazing already, but why stop now?

She knows she can get even better, and more than that, she knows she can keep it off for life.

Keeping it off for life is the best part.

You can find Ali active in our online community where she posted her progress picture recently.

She posted a really neat video where she surprised her dad by showing up as a new smaller person!

Ali’s best advice is just do it and get involved in the online community for the best support ever!

Login to the community now and introduce yourself and just get started.

 

 

Here’s what Ali said in her own words:

I’m on the last week before I hit my one year anniversary of doing Venus. As some of you may know, I am planning to surprise my dad this weekend for his birthday. I have not seen him since May of last year, two months after I started. The picture on the right is the jumpsuit I bought to wear for the big “reveal” to my dad. The pic on the left is from 2009, when I was at my heaviest. I’ve come a long way baby, and can’t wait for my dad to see the changes!!
I think the big reveal to my dad was very successful. I stood there for about 30 seconds before he turned around. My step mom and sister both had their phones going to record, but my step mom mouthed the words “you look great” while dad was piddling with his phone!

I have been stuck for the last month, bouncing between 171 and 172. Finally this weekend, I broke through to the 160s!!! 169.6, to be exact, but it’s another milestone on this journey!!!

What is truly amazing to me is to think back, to 2010 actually, when I started another weight loss program. At the time I started, I weighed 263#. I did that program for about a year, but because of the monthly expense, I quit. I had hit the 50# mark with that program, but gained back about 20 pounds before starting Venus. To think that since that time I have lost almost 100# is simply AMAZING! That’s like a whole other person!!!

So here are my current stats since beginning:

Weight: -64.2# (started 233.8, currently 169.6)
Arms: -3.5″ (started 14″, currently 10.5″)
Calves: -1.75″(started 16″, currently 14.25″)
Chest: -6.25″(started 43.25″, currently 37″)
Thighs: -6″ (started 30″, currently 24″)
Shoulders: -5″ (started 45″, currently 40″)
Waist: -7.5″ (started 37.5″, currently 30″)
Hips: -12.5″ (started 54.5″, currently 42″)
Total inches lost to date is 42.5!!!

 

Here’s a fun video of Ali surprising her parents with her 64 pound weight loss:

 

 

Listen to Ali’s story now or download the podcast for later:

Can that last pesky 10 pounds go at age 53? Heck yeah, meet Cindy

Cindy-BnA-Venus

Cindy looked good before but she knew in her heart she could do better.  Does it matter what everyone else thinks when you KNOW you will feel better without that last pesky 5-10 pounds?  No, it’s your choice.  It’s your body.  You get to own it and you can do it!

 

Here’s what Cindy had to say about Venus:

My experience with the Venus Experience I really don’t remember how I found Venus. It could have been through Facebook or a Google search. That was in October 2014.

I read the program and first thought that eating 1000 calories a day was just crazy. It went against everything that I thought I knew.

And working out while fasting? No way I could do that!

And I felt like I knew what to do to eat healthy and work out.

I read a lot and do a lot of research. I thought I knew it all!

I am 53 years old and have always worked out. Years ago it was Jazzercise. Since then, I’ve done Insanity, P90X, and joined a gym. I’ve lifted weights, done HIIT, hot yoga, you name it, I did it.

I enjoy working out, that’s never been a problem. Most people would probably say that I was in pretty good shape. However, I had been hovering around 135 pounds, no matter what I did. I know that’s not overweight and some people would be happy at that weight.

But I’m 5’5 and am small boned, and always wanted to lose at least 10 pounds. One day, a friend of mine stated that he thought he and his wife look pretty darn good considering they don’t work out. At all.

I took that to mean that they don’t look that different that me, who works out 4-5 days a week! And I eat healthy! Organic! Gluten and dairy free!

I should look REALLY good for all the hard work I put it!

Fast forward to summer 2015. Again, I was unhappy that with all my working out, I still was at 135-138 pounds. I kept thinking – it must be hormones, or my thyroid, I had half my thyroid surgically removed in July 2013.

I started reading again how important it is for women my age to lift weights and thought, well you bought the Venus program, let’s do it!

And so I did. In the past I must say that I’ve kinda done programs but not exactly followed it exactly. This time, I said I”m all in. And the only reason I entered this contest was the accountability. Someone had to hold my feet to the fire!

So I started with eating at a deficit at 1200 calories. But then I read how going down to 1000 calories really made a difference. So that’s what I did. But it was much more easily done when I fasted from 8pm to 12 pm.

And I found that I sure could work out fasted, it wasn’t that big of a deal. The first 2 weeks I was a bit hungry, but after that I got used to it.

Venus taught me that I just ate too much. And drank too much. I really enjoy red wine at night, but those calories sure add up! Increasing my protein helped me be less hungry and have fewer cravings.

 

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I was ecstatic when I saw the scale going down. I was blown away when my my waist went down by 2 inches. Woo Hoo!

My favorite part- is how I deal with special occasions and going out with friends. Just plan for it. I have fewer calories the day before and less the day after and I can still have a good time and most of all, I don’t feel deprived.

This is sustainable and it is my way of life. I kept up with HIIT workouts that I love, but have incorporated the Venus workouts 3 days a week. I have never looked and felt better. The workouts are giving the shape to my body that I have wanted for such a long time!

I love lifting heavy weights, and it is so empowering! I guess it’s the simplicity of the program that is so mind boggling to me. It just makes so much sense. Eat fewer calories and lift heavy weights.

There’s a part of me that’s upset. I mean, I have worked out for years, and not have had these results.

Another thing that I did was if I worked out (and somehow thought I exercised 300 calories) then I ate them back! I love that Venus says to forget that! Don’t think about adding back those calories. Because in reality we have no idea how many calories we really burned.

Many days too, when I worked out hard, I ate a bit more or had a dessert or had an extra drink because I thought I deserved it. Hey, man, I just worked out!

I have lost only 11 pounds but look so much healthier and shapelier. Venus was exactly what I was looking for. I am super happy with my results my I”m not ready for maintenance yet. I can still improve!

One of the main reasons that I first bought Venus is because I saw Roberta and her amazing body and transformation. She was my age and had muscle! That made me realize that I can still build muscle at my age.

Boom!

-Cindy

 

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