Meet VT19 Winner “Miss Consistency” Stacy

I’ve coined the name “Miss Consistency” for Miss Stacy here for a reason. She is relentless. Ever since I met her at the end of last year she has pushed through adversity, injuries, and set backs. She has posted on Instagram daily to help keep her Venus sisters motivated.  Her name there is Seriously.Stacy and yes that fits too!

If you are on Instagram and want motivation from a Venus sister who is the real deal, go follow Stacy @seriously.stacy there.

 

She is part of the Venus Factor Workout Accountability Group with these other Venus leaders in the group. She leads the pack. But not only that, she brings others along with her.

 

These are all real Venus leaders who help encourage others daily.

Kathy, Carey, Jen, Lisa, Stacy, Dewina, and Brenda are among the leaders helping others, and there are many more, ready walk aside any Venus lady who wants to come along.

They and many others have decided to start a mini challenge in the group where anyone who wants to participate or “Shadow” the next Venus contest will chip in for a final prize.  You do not have to actually be in the Venus contest to join the mini challenge.  Or you can do both.  All anyone in the community wants is for you to WIN at this game of life.  The VT19 winners participated in the group.

Women empowering other women.  That’s how they do it.

 

Here is Stacy talking about her winning strategy at being consistent and her relentless mindset:

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

 

Teresa used Venus to unwind 35 years of fad diets.

Teresa had to unwind 35 years of fad diets!

Teresa had to unwind 35 years of fad diets!

 

Teresa placed in our last transformation contest and here’s what she wrote in her own words:

 

After 35 years of battling with food and exercise I have won! Venus has helped me conquer this lifelong struggle which I never thought was possible. Due to the Venus program I’m healthier, happier and have a new confidence that permeates everything!

I’ve been more successful at work, and my relationships with friends and my family have improved. This is because I have put my health first. I have an extremely stressful full -time job that requires travel. I’m married and have 3 young boys, ages 12, 9 and 7. There are so many distractions and excuses to not take care of myself and for so long I gave into them.

Once I decided that my health and how I feel about myself come first, I am happier, I’m centered which benefits everyone around me. I started this journey approximately 28 weeks ago and I KNOW that I will continue it for the rest of my life. I lost 20 lbs and 21.5 inches, I still can’t believe how much my body has changed!

I am 46 and when I started Venus I was fatigued by diet and exercise. I wasn’t sure if I could do it, if I could try again. Something changed when I heard John’s sister’s story, I was moved and I thought maybe I can do this. I decided with conviction that I would fully commit one last time, I would go all in! This time was going to be different. I took a chance and said I’m going to follow this program without question. I thought what’s the worst thing that can happen…I won’t lose weight? I said to myself, no excuses, no turning back and let’s see.

Not only did I lose weight, which in the end, doesn’t matter so much to me, I changed my body and I changed the way I eat. I didn’t have to give up food that I enjoy, I mean NOTHING! What a revelation! I modified and measured and planned and was careful. I was shocked at how well I did during the first 12 weeks and that I didn’t feel deprived at all.

I was so excited I wanted to continue my journey and I’ve almost completed the Final Phase program. I utilized all the elements of the program; the community, podcasts, diet suggestions, and the work-outs. It’s perfect if you like a program that has a variety of ways to connect with the information and the sponsors. The Community was an amazing outlet and my fellow Venus sisters and coaches supported me. Knowing they were there, that I could check in every day helped me feel less alone and motivated.

Due to the technology, you can access Venus anywhere, anytime and it TRULY changed my life. I have lost and gained weight so many times in my life I really can’t count. I’ve tried every program on the planet, Weight Watchers, Diet Center (old..i know), Body for Life, Detoxes, South Beach, Zone, the list goes on and on. I’ve even had a personal trainer. While some things worked here and there, nothing was sustainable. Several factors contributed to my success on this program, the single most important for me was that my relationship with food changed.

Venus allowed me to think about food and exercise in a completely different way. I have always enjoyed working out but I was one of those people who thought cardio was the only way and I had not done much weight training.

Now, I sincerely look forward to weight training and the impact it has on the body is FANTASTIC! I’ve slowly incorporated cardio back into my life but now it’s just for enjoyment, it’s not about needing to burn 100’s of calories. I’ve learned so much from Venus about myself and about the workings of the human body.

I am no longer a slave to the scale, it does NOT define me. I don’t mind feeling hungry, in fact I like it now. My body continues to change and I see muscle definition that was NEVER there before! I know that I will never go back to my old ways. I know this because throughout the last 6 months, I’ve been tested.

I’ve had bad days, I’ve had a week or two that I didn’t work out at all. Nothing happened! I didn’t completely fall apart, I didn’t unwind, and I just got back to handling my food and work outs. Because of Venus I have the tools to manage my weight and food.

I love the support and friendship of the community, there are so many resources available to aid in your success. You just have to want it, and before you know , you will have a new sculpted body that others envy.

Just imagine and take the leap, if I can do it, ANYONE can!!

 

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.

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.

 

Listen to what Teresa had to say in her interview, she is an absolute pleasure, or save the podcast for later:

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

 

Today is the start of VT18 of the Venus Transformation Contests

Wow, time is sure flying by.  It doesn’t seem that long ago that I entered VT3 back in the day.  And the days just keep rolling by.  So the time to do this is NOW.

There is always life in the way, so the more we do this the more the healthy lifestyle becomes just a part of who we are.

Here’s the duration of the contest:

VT18:   Start August 22 – End November 21

The link to join is RIGHT HERE.

 

What is the Venus Transformation Contest and who can join?

Any Venus customer with a login to the downloads area can join.  If you don’t place in a contest you can enter as many times as you want.  There is no fee.

But there are amazing prizes.  The best prize of all is the empowerment and health in your own life.  The ability to enjoy life more, gain confidence, and improve every aspect of your life.  Many have improved marriages and improved confidence in their jobs, hobbies, and activities in their communities and families.

There are the other prizes too:

The Transformation Contest place has prizes for placements:

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

Or each winner can choose the Immersion Membership instead of the cash prize.

Watch the short video to learn more about how it works and when to enter your pictures during the window of time:

To find out about previous contests go HERE, and please read the RULES and REGULATIONS.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year bring to all the amazing Venus ladies.

 

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL CONTEST ENTRY INFORMATION:

If you are a previous contest winner, or have already “transformed” and want to share professional pictures and your story you can join the contest as a “cover or calendar girl”, simply email me for details.

OR, if you have made a transformation and have a story and before and after pictures to share and are willing to do a podcast interview with us like Heidi did in VT17, you can still have a chance of placing, simply email me and let’s get this party started!

Never Settle!

Never Give Up.

Live Your Dream.

-Coach Roberta

PS Anyone who wants coaching is welcome to sign up for Premium One-On-One-Coaching and pick the coach of their choice.

VT17 Contest Winners Announced (beautiful pictures included)

And the VT17 winners are…  Drum roll please…

And it is important to note this is merely a 12 week window in the journey of all these women.  They all have a much bigger story to tell.  That is why we did something special in this contest and we will continue to do this going forward if you submit your stories to us.  You have a chance to win even when the contest time period does not fit your current season of life.

First Place – Deborah

VT17 Deborah BnA Collage

 

Second place – Lisa

VT17 Lisa BnA Collage

 

Third Place – Kimmy

VT17 Kimmy BnA Collage

 

Fourth Place – Teresa

VT17 Teresa BnA Collage

 

Fifth Place – Amy

VT17 Amy BnA Collage

 

Sixth Place – Anita

VT17 Anita BnA Collage

 

Seventh Place – Elizabeth

VT17 Elizabeth BnA Collage

 

Eighth Place – Melissa

VT17 Melissa BnA Collage

 

Ninth Place – Monica

VT17 Monica BnA Collage

 

We did something special for our tenth place this time.  It will come as a complete surprise to her because she did not enter the contest.  Heidi just turned 60.  She has a special story to tell and you can listen to it in the podcast below.  She really struggled even after getting Venus because the fact of the matter is that some people need a little help understanding how to use the program.  Once she figured it out, everything clicked for her.

If you have a unique success story to tell and are willing to share your pictures and do a podcast with us, simply contact me and let’s do it.  It does not matter how long it takes you, make it a lifestyle.  Sometimes the 12 week contest fits your life and other times it doesn’t.  We all have the various seasons in our life.

Tenth Place – Heidi

VT17-BnA-Heidi

Heidi recently celebrated her 60th birthday with an 18 mile bike ride. She is super happy with her life now and you can hear the enthusiasm in her podcast interview. She is very inspiring!

Heidi recently celebrated her 60th birthday with an 18 mile bike ride. She is super happy with her life now and you can hear the enthusiasm in her podcast interview. She is very inspiring!

 

Congratulations to all the winners!  What beautiful pictures.  What hard work.  It all paid off.

And the journey continues.

We will be contacting all of the 1st to 9th place ladies to see if they want to share their story and possibly do an interview, and of course Heidi already shared her story and I’ll contact her about her prize.

The Transformation Contest place has prizes for placements:

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

OR, any of the winners can choose Immersion which is worth more than any of the prize dollars.

Find out more about the Venus Transformation contests, they can be very motivating.

What about online coaching?

Many of our successful clients decide to invest in one on one coaching. You are welcome to choose which coach you would like to work with.  Our premium coaching program works for many!  Contest winner Andrea talks about what coaching did for her in our Venus podcast.

 

When is the next contest?

VT18: Start August 22 – End November 21

So next Monday there will be a post here on the blog with the link to enter, in the meantime check out the rules and regulations.

So get ready for more awesomeness this year!

Never Settle!

Never Give Up.

Live Your Dream

-Roberta

 

Listen to Heidi’s energetic story in the podcast below or download save it for later:

The Deadline for VT17 is in ONE WEEK. Are you ready?

The deadline to get your before and after pictures in is August 1st at midnight Eastern Time.

 

FAQ Video on the Venus Contest:

 

 

Contest Rules and Regulations

How to enter a Venus Contest

Check Out the Previous Contests

Most of the winners had no idea how far they came and some almost didn’t finish. So don’t let your own mind stop you from finishing.  If you need some help deciding what to do please feel free to email me roberta.saum@gmail.com.  You are not alone, although the process feels lonely sometimes.

Remember this is a lifestyle you want to keep.  The contest is merely a stop along the tracks.

If it’s something you want to do, go for it!

We are here for you.

-Coach Roberta

The 2016 Venus Transformation Contest Schedule:

  • VT16:   Start January 11 – End April 11

  • VT17:   Start May 2 – End August 1

  • VT18:   Start August 22 – End November 21

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:

 

Support