The Venus Factor Workout System!

So back in January I decided it was maybe time to get my butt in gear and get fit.  Before kids my excuse was that I'm thin so no need to workout.  I'm smart and know there are more benefits to it than just losing weight but I'll admit it, I just didn't care that much and I was lazy.  When I started having babies my excuse was "what's the point if I'm just gonna gain 50lbs again and undo all the hard work I had done"   

 

 I contacted one of my sorority sisters who seemed to have a lot of success with getting fit.  I asked if there was anything in particular she would recommend for abs.  Well of course she told me no, you can't target weight loss but you can target muscle gain.  She told me about the program she did and was now a coach for.  It's called The Venus Factor System.  I'd never heard of it.  I watched the sales pitch video...pretty corny I thought...I was just ready for it to get to the point of how much this was gonna cost me.  Come to find out it's only $47 to join!  Sweet! That's totally doable.  She mentioned that they just happened to have a contest starting that week (one of 4 a year that they do a year) I had like 3 days to decide before the contest closed for entries.  I felt like God put this in my lap right then for a reason.  So I joined ...submitted my before pictures and got on my way.

 

  WOW has it been one of the biggest blessing! I feel like everyone needs to find their niche with this stuff and I have definitely found mine!  When you find something that "just fits" it is easy to keep going and maintain.  One reason I hated working out before was cause I despise cardio more than almost anything in life.  It's way to hard for me, I don't like how it makes me feel, my ribs always hurt, my lungs hurt, my throat hurts, it's just plain miserable for me to do a lot of cardio.  When you feel like you aren't good at something and constantly failing how can you expect to go on.  One of my favorite sayings from the program is "It's simple but not necessarily easy" That's what I want!  I love that it cost me a little money cause that was motivation to not give up.  I love that even after 16 weeks I still get sore, I love that there is a little cardio but it's hidden in the workouts, I love that the workouts are simple but obviously take work...but just enough work to where I don't get down on myself and feel like I can't do them.  I'm really proud, I am my biggest critic and pretty darn hard on myself about everything I do, I even had a counselor tell me to "leave myself alone, and that I need to get off my own case"  So it feels good to feel happy with myself and be able to tell myself, "good job Diana" :) Sounds silly I know, but I'm not very gentle with myself so for once I'm going to be nice to me.

 

Only downside is that a lot of my favorite britches don't fit anymore waaahhh! Can jeans be taken in?

 

I had some big motivators along the way, number one was my friend Liss who introduced me to the program, she said she would help "coach" me.  Every week I had to send her my stats.  Talk about being held accountable, I sure didn't want to have to explain myself when I didn't do good and I didn't' want to let her down or most importantly myself.  She checked on me frequently and has been the biggest blessing!! We also had a big huge trip planned with 20 of our closest friends for Landon's 30th bday party in May, we were gonna be at the lake which means attire is mostly swimsuits yikes!

These are my stats throughout the 12 week program.  I didn't follow the calorie deficit to a T because I am still nursing so I was able to eat more calories than suggested. 

This is so embarrassing to me, but I share everything else with y'all so I might as well share this right.  I know I am my biggest critic and everyone else probably isn't as grossed out by this picture as I am haha but it's still embarrassing.  Here is my before shot......

 

And my after.  What I love about the program is it gives you goals and measurements to be the best you.  The goal isn't to look like somebody else but to shape your body to be the best "you" you can be.  It focuses a lot on body shaping and losing inches in the right places.

I'm proud to say that I placed 6th in the contest and won $200!! Got my money back from my initial investment with the program and I ordered myself some fancy hair extensions with the rest :) (why did I ever cut my hair!)

 I'm not perfect and don't expect or care to be, but I do want to continue working towards a goal.  I do not want to lose anymore weight.  I stepped on the scale the other day and was lower than I wanted to be so I indulged on the weekend with really bad food to put back on some pounds haha.  Not the ideal way to do it and I felt the effects the following days from it...tiredness for the most part.  I just want to stay lean and build muscle.  And I want that pooch and saggy skin on my tummy to go away! By the time Brielle was 1 the skin was back to normal, not this time around...but I've got my It Works body wraps to help me with that :)  Hason did a number on my belly, when I lean over its sooo thin a wrinkly! Hello little old lady belly. I couldn't imagine what a 3rd would do, and I don't plan on finding out lol.

 

 

I have been at this for about 16 weeks now. I want to write down my stats so one day when I'm old I can look back and remember what I used to be and look like haha. According to Venus I am right at the measurements I should be. I have lost 13lbs total which is perfect cause I wasn't looking to lose a bunch anyways. I have lost a total of 4 inches in my waist!! That's the best part of all!! I'm at 114 lbs(like to maintain at 115) and my waist is 25 1/2 inches which is exactly where I want to be.  Not only do I have a better body from the program but I scored an AT HOME JOB  with them as well!!!  I work Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9am to noon.  Perfect for me right now and they pay me pretty darn good too! I work on my computer as "chat support" helping members navigate the program and answer any questions they might have. I love my job! I'm so happy right now! Hason naps from 10:30 to 1:00, so he's only with me about an hour and a half during my working hours, we just sit up in the playroom and he plays while I work.  I couldn't be happier right now :)

 

I still can't believe I have some definition and (little) muscles!
I'm thrilled about this body journey I am on and can't wait to see what a year on this program can do!