Summary: Today John talks to Deanne Hernandez who placed first in the 6th Venus Index Transformation Contest. Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest: At the beginning of the contest Deanne did the Venus Index Workout but tried to eat gluten free because it sounded like a good thing to do. Like many of us she was eating a certain way for no particular reason other than it seems to be the latest fad. She realized she could not lose weight because she was still eating too many calories. Her weight stayed the same during the first eight weeks of the contest. She did not take her diet and calories seriously enough. Then she got really motivated and kicked into gear, got motivated, got her correct mindset, took a good look at her calories, and ended up with some amazing results. You can change the way you look. Deanne also decided to get involved in the Venus Index Community Forum and that helped her a lot. She didn't realize how much support and information was available there. She highly recommends others to get involved there to help with your success. Stay Motivated Deanne realized that the process was mostly about mindset. Like most of us have also learned she found she needed mindset techniques like cause and effect; "If I do this than what?", and "You either do it you don't." She decided she needed the contest with the end date to help keep her motivated. She said the contest was the best thing she ever did for herself. She realizes now that what she learned how to do during the contest is something she can do for the rest of her life. Deanne loved listening to the previous contest winner interviews and loved to imagine herself looking like the pictures of Alisha. Not only did the process transform her body but it transformed her mind. She had spent most of her life with a poor image of herself and a lot of negative self talk. The process she used during the contest and listening to Olya's interview helped her stop the negative self talk. She started treating her workouts and diet as gifts to her body. She now treats herself with kindness and respect. Knowledge Is Power Deanne learned that managing the correct amount of calories, Eat Stop Eat, and eating foods you like were the keys to successful weight loss for her. She learned the truth about calories from the Venus Index manuals and from the Venus Index community. Deanne learned that the process was simple but not easy. She decided to keep it simple and tune out all of the conflicting information that comes from the diet and fitness industry. Keep It Simple Deanne really liked April's interview and the plan for doing the VI workout lifting weights three days a week. Even though more advanced weight lifters can do the workout more days per week the three days per week kept it simple for her. She decided she would do something every day. Mostly she paid attention to her activity level for the day and tried to make sure she was taking 10,000 steps. She walked while she listened to the Venus Index podcasts and that made it fun and enjoyable for her. She decided that if she did not feel like exercising she would just do it anyway, even if she decided to make the workout easier or lift lighter. Even on the days she decided to do an easier workout she found that once she got going she felt like pushing herself hard and it felt good. She found that by doing this she learned to be consistent. Links from the interview: Eat Stop Eat - Diet Lifestyle protocol designed to help you to lose fat and regain freedom in your food choices Original Venus Index Workout - Workout program for women that's responsible for the most amazing transformations online Venus Index Community - Friendliest and most supportive women's only fitness community on the Internet Advice from Deanne: Don’t wait, Do something NOW. Keep it simple Figure out how many calories you need and go from there
