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

 

And the VT18 Venus Transformation Contest results are …

There is nothing easy about this process.  It’s a lifestyle. It takes TIME for people to learn a new lifestyle.  Be patient with yourself. Give yourself permission to be human. Never give up. The only difference between those who succeed and those who have not yet is persistence and learning to dust yourself off and keep going after you fall.

And our first place winner is Jackie. Her prize is getting her life back but she happens to get her choice of either $500 or the Immersion package.

1st Place Jackie

"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."

“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.”

 

The second place winner is Barbara and besides a beautiful shape for her body she gets the choice of $350 or the Immersion package.

 

2nd Place Barbara

"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."

“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.”

 

Our 3rd place winner is Lynn who not only looks amazing in her dress, but she gets a prize of $250 or the choice of the Immersion package.

 

3rd Place Lynn

"Daily planning of food to go with you, so you are not tempted by unhealthy choices becomes easy and routine. Choosing to change my mind set to” Slow and Steady, while incorporating the Venous System has made the difference. Life is not a race. Venus Index bring it on, you rock!!"

“Daily planning of food to go with you, so you are not tempted by unhealthy choices becomes easy and routine. Choosing to change my mind set to” Slow and Steady, while incorporating the Venous System has made the difference. Life is not a race. Venus Index bring it on, you rock!!”

 

And not the least of all is our amazing 4th place Candy who looks absolutely stunning in her dress.  She wins the choice of $250 or the Immersion package.

 

4th Place Candy

" I actually have only begun. I look at my after pictures with great pride, realizing the hard work and determination it took to get to where I am today. I will continue to eat clean and exercise, and to commit to the Venus lifestyle. Thank you for this incredible program."

” I actually have only begun. I look at my after pictures with great pride, realizing the hard work and determination it took to get to where I am today. I will continue to eat clean and exercise, and to commit to the Venus lifestyle. Thank you for this incredible program.”

 

Congratulations to these beautiful ladies who put in a lot of hard work to make a transformation. Each of them lost 10-15 pounds which is above average for most women in the 3 month period of a contest.  They enter the holiday season with a winning strategy and ahead of the game compared to the rest of society.

Why are there only four winners this time?  Well first of all we don’t just fill up the ten slots, we pick those who showed a true transformation.  If the pictures don’t show a change or transformation, then they can’t be used.

But mainly there is nothing easy about this process. The is no magic pill or short cut. It’s going to take some true grit and determination. It’s somewhat simple yes, but it’s hard to implement the nutrition habits.  It’s easy to give up when you think you can’t do it anymore.  Sometimes you make all the human mistakes we all make with food intake, you think you are a failure, thus you give up.  But the fact of the matter all of us make a “controlled stumble forward” as John’s has said in his email.  You have to give yourself permission to be human and keep going anyway.

I’ve emailed everyone who entered this contest and had extended the deadline for them, but the overwhelming response was “I just couldn’t stick with the nutrition plan”.

So here’s a list of the most common mistakes and some solutions:

 

Problem: Eating a deficit that is too low for you. The Venus calculator gives you a range, not an absolute number.

Solution:  When you eat too low on your deficit days you will end up eating more uncontrolled on other days. The solution is to bump up your calories to something still under your maintenance number per the Venus calculator.  Consistency is more important that eating low. The turtle wins this race. Everyone that tries to do this too fast end up rebounding.  Aren’t you tired of the diet yo-yo?  If so, stop eating so low.  But at the same time don’t eat over maintenance. That’s how you win.  That is how you walk the calorie tightrope.

 

Problem: Not eating up to maintenance at least one day a week.

Solution:  You don’t have to follow an exact schedule on this, you can pick a day of the week that works best for you. Some weeks you need more than one maintenance day. Remember that eating up to your normal needs (maintenance) is ALWAYS A WIN.  It is not back sliding, it eating what you actually need.  Eating at a deficit is “corrective action” and is not meant to be long term. It is like taking medicine and some days the “medicine” causes too much stress on your body.  If it’s hard to add in a little extra food on those days start eating a little earlier in the day, continue to eat small portions but add in a little more healthy more calorie dense foods like fats and carbs (yum!!) – enjoy it!

 

Problem: Not getting enough protein.

Solution:  For your meal planning, focus on protein and veggies FIRST, then add a serving or two of both healthy fat and carbs, sometimes these are combined in other food choices already. The highest protein foods in the least amount of calories are in this order:  Egg whites, white fish, protein powder, bone broth, Chicken/turkey/ham, fat free Greek yogurt, fat free cottage cheese. The calorie to protein ratio drops off dramatically after that with all foods including other food labeled “high protein”.  Many foods have protein that are very high in calories.

 

Problem: Getting stuck in a rut with meal timing and thinking you must fast or delay your first meal of the day until afternoon.

Solution:  Intermittent fasting and fasting has it’s place for sure, but it’s not always the best answer for the day or season of life.  If you find yourself eating too much in the evening and not able to stay on plan, it’s not working.  If it’s not working it needs to be fixed.  By continuing the vicious cycle of fasting and binging you set yourself up for continued failure.  Remember it’s okay to change up the meal timing according to how you feel for the day.  You can always “Save the Day“.  What matters is the calories at the end of the day in the 24 hour period, extend that out 7 days, 30, 60, and 90 days for results.

 

Problem: Not giving yourself permission to be human.

Solution:  Accept the fact that you are human and will make mistakes with nutrition.  Stress is a huge factor. You can’t rely on willpower alone, you need to setup your environment for success.  When the nutrition didn’t go according to plan, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, take a deep breath, and decide to continue on.  We all have to do this. I still have to do this.

 

Problem: Not realizing that you are not really accurate with food intake, the “But I’m eating less and it’s not working” syndrome.

Solution:  This happens especially when you eat too low, because you will over compensate on other days by eating too high and not realizing it.  This is called “Mental Accounting“.  It’s very easy to make honest mistakes when tracking your food intake.  In addition there are many times things you missed on the food labels or with measurements of food, or with supplements that have calories.

 

Sometimes you have to be your own motivator and other times you need a little help and support from friends. If you want help and support I have a Venus Contest Prep Facebook group.  If you want to get started with a little New Years Challenge I have New Years Challenge support group where there is a prize drawing for participation.  Before long you will know how to create your own prizefighter victories every single day for the rest of your life.

 

Next Year (2017) Contest schedule:

VT19: January 16 to April 10

VT20: May 15 to August 7

VT21: August 28 to November 20

 

 

 

But my problem is I love food!

Don't believe the lies of society about mid life female hormones! You can do it too!

Don’t believe the lies of society about mid life female hormones! You can do it too!

 

Just ditch the emotional eating excuse or the “my problem is I love food” excuse! There is nothing special about that problem.

 

This Morning’s Question: Hey, can I ask you a ridiculous question? Do you ever just go ‘off the rails’ with your eating? I have such a good plan in place, but some days it seems like I just can’t *make* myself choose wisely. I *know* what to do…but sometimes, I think I actually lose my ability to care. (I’m sorry; I *know* that sounds horrible, but that’s really how I feel!) The only thing that makes sense to me right now is that the problem *could* be my wildly fluctuating hormones, but I hate to be one of *those* women who blame everything on hormone issues!

Anyway, I was wondering if you had any advice on how to combat occasional apathy…

My answer: It is not ridiculous, yes we all have days like that, even me. I have learned to stop the flow of eating sooner, sometimes it’s making sure I don’t eat too low on other days, sometimes it’s taking a break to log it so I SEE WHAT I’M ACTUALLY DOING. Sometimes I can “save the day” or decide to start minimizing the damage the rest of the day.

Sometimes getting to the gym helps me get in the right mindset and away from the freakin food!

It’s a fine line. It’s a tightrope. Sometimes we teeter on one side or the other, but we learn to keep our balance better over time. Awareness and knowledge of your food and the values is where the power comes from. It isn’t necessarily willpower, that will always fail us. It’s learning from the failure and deciding on a plan to prevent it as much as possible next time.

TRUTH!

Never Settle
Never Give Up
Live Your Dream

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.

I know you feel like giving up.  I know you feel you can’t do this.  I know you feel you can’t keep going. I know you feel this is impossible.  But that is not true. Those are lies.  I am here to help if you need me.

Venus still offers the premium One-on-One coaching where you are welcome to select your coach. You do not have to participate in a contest to activate your coaching program. The link for coaching is in your downloads area. There is no reason not to succeed!

Roberta

email Roberta

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:

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:

Venus Veteran Naomi Maintaining Awesome into her 50’s

Naomi Before Venus and After 2014

Naomi is a veteran Venus who has been with Venus since the beginning in 2010. She successfully transformed her body and has maintained, and even improved her physique over the past 5 years as she progressed into her 50’s!

Here is what Naomi had to say in her own words:

“Hi! I’m Naomi Sandoval. I live in the USA but I’m not fat. I really do look like this photo. It’s crazy. Sometimes I pinch myself to make sure it’s true! I grew up during the 1970s when being fat was rare. It wasn’t rare in my family though. We all accepted that once we became adults, we’d get fat.

I skirted this “inevitability” thanks to the 1980s gym bug. I used exercise to stay ahead of weight gain. Until my mid-30s, I worked out 5 nights a week for 1-2 hours and was a weekend warrior doing whitewater C1 slalom paddling on rivers all up and down the east coast. It was a fun time for sure! I was also happy to preach to anyone about my way of life. Funny how my coworkers, all parents, didn’t really look too interested!

Unfortunately, this plan requires that you stick with it; eating more than you burn is going to lead to weight gain. There isn’t any magic ticket. I definitely fell prey to the work it off mentality.

When I became a mom, gym time came screeching to a halt and weekend warrior exploits became a fond memory.

Like most people, I found becoming a parent so time-consuming that I was not able to stay consistent with my workouts and I fell into the trap of believing that the weight gain was a result of pregnancy. I was told to love and accept my new body and be grateful for what it had given me.

Yet every morning, before I got out of bed, I felt my bloated flabby middle and wondered how I’d gotten like this. I’d remember what leanness felt like and do some magical thinking that today would be the day I’d wake up and find out this had all been a bad dream and I was still lean and trim as I’d ever been.

I’ll grant you that having small children is all consuming and is no time for personal growth. But that doesn’t do anything to temper the niggling feelings of dissatisfaction when you see this in the mirror.

If you look at many of my before photos, I’m slumping because I was constantly exhausted and in pain and didn’t even have the strength to sit properly, my smile is not exactly dazzling.

I wish I’d known then that eating less doesn’t take up any time! Heck, not eating at all once or twice a week is a huge time saver! And who doesn’t enjoy the added bonus of saving money on the cost of food not purchased! Letting go of the mythical 2000 calories a day I thought I got to eat (which did require some mourning, I’ll grant you) and finding out how much I actually needed to maintain and how much I needed to eat to reduce fat was like discovering the Secret to Life, the Universe and Everything! I’d become immobilized because I assumed if it took years to put the weight on, it followed that it took years to take it off. In actual fact, the bulk of my weight came off at about a pound per week. Towards the very end, that rate slowed to about ½ pound per week or less, which is excellent progress to avoid fat loss rebounds upon hitting the goal. After all, fat loss does require focus and effort. There’s no need to risk needing to do it all again or worse, rebounding and concluding that diets don’t work or your metabolism is broken!

The other piece of my journey was becoming aware of brilliant Venus Index ratio research as outlined in the Venus Index Workout program. Simply learning what was still not quite ideal about my shape and how to continue to make improvements has made all the difference. Achieving the ideal metrics has allowed me to finally present my body with full confidence.

A most wonderful thing happened to my family after my transformation. My husband jumped on board too! I won’t lie to you. It’s not possible to change your partner nor force them to do something they are not ready and willing to do. I’ll share a little secret with you should you find yourself in the same situation.

There are free podcasts! All the research, all the experiences of the winners, it’s all in there. So all you have to do is pop one in while you’re in the car together or doing dishes and let John’s soothing voice wash over your unsuspecting partner. I’m telling you, this stuff is pure gold! And when you’re ready to get out of The Matrix, get the Uncensored Podcasts.

Happy Bonus Results of Getting Lean and Strong

Pain management. Gone are the expensive supplements for joint pain. So long as I don’t get sedentary, I rarely suffer any neck or back pain and now these are caused by occasional lapses in correct movement form. My posture is easier to maintain when my muscles are strong and developed in a balanced fashion as per the Venus Index Program

Energy. It’s a funny thing about working out. Expended energy begets bonus energy for every day living.

Strength. Before it was a job to do the most basic of things like get on and off the toilet or squat down and get something from the floor.

Success spillover. Due to the Attitude of Accomplishment from following simple programs and seeing consistent results, other areas of my life fall into place.

Family success spillover. We are now all exercising consistently and have improved our body fat levels. Through leading by example, the family lifestyle of health just is. There is no nagging nor persuading the kids to move and they understand about enjoying treats, just not every day.

Sleep. There is nothing like being healthy, movement and the feeling of accomplishment to facilitate healthy sleep.

Mental focus. Gone are the binge induced foggy afternoons. The losing the thread of the conversation.

I come from a time when it was not the norm to be fat. I see us winding up in wheelchairs like in the movie Wall-E and far sooner than we all think. I would like to be the touchstone you can believe in as you find your way on your own journey to your best self. I want us to reverse this trend and return to being lean. As with all growth, you must take responsibility for your journey. I am here to offer experience, wisdom and motivation. You do the rest.

-Naomi

Get in touch with me:

My WebSite where I blog regularly

My FaceBook Page – Naomi Rules

My Instagram Page

Here is my Venus Index community profile.

My first interview with John after winning the Open Level I Contest

My second interview with John after placing in the Open Level II Contest”

Naomi and John Barban

Naomi and John Barban at an exercise video shoot

 

Naomi Before Venus and After 2012

Naomi Before Venus and After in 2012

 

Naomi before and after Venus through the years

Naomi before and after Venus through the years

Some pro tips from Naomi

  • Put your health first
  • Realize that you can improve your health at any point
  • Find a sustainable look for your lifestyle
  • Explore nutrition and fitness, you can always learn more

 

Naomi Maintenance Feb 2016

Naomi Maintenance Feb 2016

 

Naomi Maintenance April 2016

Naomi Maintenance April 2016

 

Listen to Naomi’s interview with Liss below, or download it for later:

Today is the start of VT17 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:  VT17:   Start May 2 – End August 1

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.

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.

 

VT16 Contest Winners Announced (beautiful pictures included)

And the VT16 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.

 

First Place – Kim

I am seeing progress. I’ve lost weight and inches. I’m getting stronger. My clothes are fitting so much better. I like the way I look. And the most exciting thing is I'm starting to see cuts in my arms. I may get those arms yet!

I am seeing progress. I’ve lost weight and inches. I’m getting stronger. My clothes are fitting so much better. I like the way I look. And the most exciting thing is I’m starting to see cuts in my arms. I may get those arms yet!

 

Second place – Gail

2-VT16-BnA-Gail

At 60 years young that I could still lift strong and lose the weight, as well as, being able to run up stairs, carry heavy boxes and just generally feel so much better. My grandkids and I do Cha Cha Slide Planks together!

 

Third Place – Scotti

I can now see my beautiful muscles and I love it. I am not finished yet. I have some more fat to shed and some muscles to build. I now have the tools to make this a reality. I am NOT a frumpy mom.

I can now see my beautiful muscles and I love it. I am not finished yet. I have some more fat to shed and some muscles to build. I now have the tools to make this a reality. I am NOT a frumpy mom.

 

Fourth Place – Rebecca

I entered this contest for accountability I had no idea that Venus could give me the tools to change my life. I had no idea that because of that choice I would find a great coach and an amazing support group. I can never say enough thank you’s to Brad and John and Roberta, but I will try. Thank You sooooo very much!

I entered this contest for accountability I had no idea that Venus could give me the tools to change my life. I had no idea that because of that choice I would find a great coach and an amazing support group. I can never say enough thank you’s to Brad and John and Roberta, but I will try. Thank You sooooo very much!

 

Fifth Place – Andrea

I've done every other fitness program and this is by far the easiest program to follow and make sense of. You can eat what you want, this makes it easy to stick to when at social events or gatherings. Thankful to have found such a user friendly proven results lifestyle!

I’ve done every other fitness program and this is by far the easiest program to follow and make sense of. You can eat what you want, this makes it easy to stick to when at social events or gatherings. Thankful to have found such a user friendly proven results lifestyle!

 

Sixth Place – Melissa

The Venus program is empowering because the workouts give me a new confidence in myself that I can succeed and that I will be the best that I can be. Thank you to the creators of Venus, the entire Venus community, and especially to my friend Roberta Saum.

The Venus program is empowering because the workouts give me a new confidence in myself that I can succeed and that I will be the best that I can be. Thank you to the creators of Venus, the entire Venus community, and especially to my friend Roberta Saum.

 

Seventh Place – Brenda

I love this program it gives you an avenue to let this ole body thrive and not just the excuse “oh it’s just my body type” or “This is what happens when you get older”. This non-athlete is actually starting to see what may someday be abs!!

I love this program it gives you an avenue to let this ole body thrive and not just the excuse “oh it’s just my body type” or “This is what happens when you get older”. This non-athlete is actually starting to see what may someday be abs!!

 

Eighth Place – Amanda

The hardest part is trusting the process when the scale doesn’t move as much as you think it should. It is a battle and as long as you trust the process and keep moving forward, you will see results! Thank you Venus-You have improved my life beyond what I thought possible! I can’t wait to see what is to come.

The hardest part is trusting the process when the scale doesn’t move as much as you think it should. It is a battle and as long as you trust the process and keep moving forward, you will see results! Thank you Venus-You have improved my life beyond what I thought possible! I can’t wait to see what is to come.

 

Ninth Place – Tracey

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.

 

Tenth Place – Deborah

I am 58 years young and love this program. I love that Venus Factor doesn't deem any foods as good or bad. I still eat mostly healthy food, but have cut way back on the amount. I was simply eating way too much. I was used to eating as much as I wanted. That wasn't too much of a problem until I added in lots of butter and fatty meats, high fat dairy, etc. All fine if watching the total amount eaten! Following the Venus Program, I've dropped the extra 10 pounds and know I can keep it off!

I am 58 years young and love this program. I love that Venus Factor doesn’t deem any foods as good or bad. I still eat mostly healthy food, but have cut way back on the amount. I was simply eating way too much. I was used to eating as much as I wanted. That wasn’t too much of a problem until I added in lots of butter and fatty meats, high fat dairy, etc. All fine if watching the total amount eaten! Following the Venus Program, I’ve dropped the extra 10 pounds and know I can keep it off!

 

Cover Model Winners

Next we have our cover model winners. The neat thing about these ladies is they are previous contest winners who are proving that this lifestyle is something you can keep for life.  It’s not just a 12 week contest, it’s a lifestyle.  It takes a while to learn, but it can be done!

 

Vanessa

It is a hard thing to understand; but as your body composition changes, the scale may move up or not at all. Truly the measure of your success is at comparing before and after photos from all angles. I have learned that when you feel like you are stuck in a stale-mate you need to take updated photos and compare. If you are truly following the process, you will actually “SEE” the changes in your body. The number on the scale is just that…a number.

It is a hard thing to understand; but as your body composition changes, the scale may move up or not at all. Truly the measure of your success is at comparing before and after photos from all angles. I have learned that when you feel like you are stuck in a stale-mate you need to take updated photos and compare. If you are truly following the process, you will actually “SEE” the changes in your body. The number on the scale is just that…a number.

You can read about Vanessa’s previous Venus Contest success story HERE.

 

Helen

I think utilizing the tools that Venus provides for members truly allows women to take what we learn and "run with it", if we so choose. That has always been the most important part of Venus to me, I am given the tools and I make the choices. During this 12 weeks, I continued the Venus workouts, worked on my nutrition, and although the scale did not change much, my physique has and that is what I was hoping for.

I think utilizing the tools that Venus provides for members truly allows women to take what we learn and “run with it”, if we so choose. That has always been the most important part of Venus to me, I am given the tools and I make the choices. During this 12 weeks, I continued the Venus workouts, worked on my nutrition, and although the scale did not change much, my physique has and that is what I was hoping for.

You can read about Helen’s previous Venus Contest success story HERE.

 

Malissa

Every now and then this ‪#‎mom‬ need to take off the robe, this ‪#‎nurse‬ needs to lose the scrubs this ‪#‎gymrat‬ needs to put down the Dumbbells and just feel like a girl.

Every now and then this ‪#‎mom‬ need to take off the robe, this ‪#‎nurse‬ needs to lose the scrubs this ‪#‎gymrat‬ needs to put down the Dumbbells and just feel like a girl.

You can read about Malissa’s previous Venus Contest success story HERE.

 

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 these ladies to see if they want to share their story and possibly do an interview.

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?

VT17: Start May 2 – End August 1
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

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