Programs Like The Venus Factor Solutions to Disordered Eating Behaviors?

A recent study conducted by the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, found ­­­­­that a systemic and unhealthy weight perception problem exists among young females. These perceptions, whether true or otherwise, often lead to unhealthy dieting practices such as fasting, induced vomiting, diet pills, laxatives, cigarettes and diuretics. However, an increasing number of women are turning to more healthy strategies to lose weight, programs such as The Venus Factor, for example, and are finding that weight loss does not have to be a painful and unhealthy process.[1]

Since healthy eating habits are a core value of ours at Gaia Health, we decided to review this program. Our findings are below:

What is The Venus Factor and Does it Work?

The Venus Factor is a twelve week revolutionary weight loss program developed by John Barber, arguably a rising star in the fitness world, who has studied fitness and nutrition extensively prior to releasing his programs. In Barber’s own words:

The program consists of a unique combination of diet and exercise in an easy-to-follow schedule that has achieved lasting results for thousands of women. You can find real life success stores here: Testimonials.

What Is Included in The Venus Factor Program?

The core of the program contains eBooks, exercise videos, nutritional software, a community forum, and a support desk.

We recommend starting with the main eBook titled “The 12-Week Fat Loss System” which contains approximately 180 pages and covers the following topics:

The 12-Week Fat Loss System

Part 1:

• What is The Venus Factor?: This section contains an overview and guide on how to get the most from the program. It also includes information on connecting with other customers in the community forum, and provides information on how to receive the free monthly podcast.

• Gender Differences in Metabolism:  This section provides context for the program by outlining the differences between fat loss for the male and female bodies, while also explaining how a molecule called leptin plays an important role in strategic weight loss.

• Nutrition Science:  This section is a comprehensive nutrition guide explaining the science behind effective dieting, which may be different than you expect! Learn how to plan “eat up” days and “cheat days”, and how to balance the “good food” and the “bad food”. (Spoiler Alert: All foods are OK, but some should be indulged less frequently than others!) Covering all the major food groups, this section shows you what to eat and when to eat it to maximize weight loss in a healthy way.

• Calories:  We have all heard that you must burn more calories than you consume to lose weight, but unless done properly this can actually be counterproductive. This section explains how to balance “eat up” days with diet days to keep your leptin level in check and keep your metabolism on track.

• 12-Week Undulating Metabolic Override Program:  This section breaks down the entire program into a day-by-day cheat sheet so that you can easily plan your meals, exercise days, and anticipated calorie loss plan.

• Virtual Nutritionist:  The Virtual Nutritionist is a tool in the Members Area that helps you track your calories needed protein for each day. By inputting your body measurements and weight, this tool will calculate the calories and recommended foods that you should be eating for both maintenance and “eat up” days.

• Meal Planning by Roberta Saum:  The meal plan is a wonderful added bonus that breaks down each meal into multiple suggested dishes that fit the program. This is where most people get in trouble, by eating food counterproductive to their weight loss goals! This calendar breaks down numerous recipes and suggestions by day and meal that corresponds with the schedule of the program.

• Supplements:  Something I did not know prior to the program was that most supplements are designed for men, not women! This section explains step-by-step which supplements benefit women, and how to ensure that you are finding the correct supplement for your weight loss goals. Note: Supplements are optional and not required under the program to reach your weight loss goals.

Part 2:

• Weight versus Shape:  Although politically correct, scientifically speaking there is an “ideal” size for each woman based on her height. Model skinny can not only be unhealthy, but that size often only looks appealing in Photoshopped magazines. On the other hand, being overweight is also unhealthy. Learn how to calculate your optimum weight/shape based on your height.

• Index Measurements:  Building off of the previous section, Weight versus Shape, this section highlights three specific areas of the body to optimize if you are looking for the most “visually appealing” shape to fit your height. Scientifically backed up and explained, this section shows which inflection points of your body should be targeted to create the most appealing figure both from a health perspective and for human perception.

• References:  Finally, the guide is supported by pages of scientific articles and sources to support the claims made in this guidebook.

In addition to the main guide outlined above, you also have the option of reviewing the following products in the course:

The Workout Plan: A day-by-day fitness guide that corresponds with the program. This guide makes it easy to know which exercises to do, how to do them, how many sets/reps/rests to take to reach your weight loss goals.

The Cookbook: Over 150 pages of delicious recipes that are broken out by meal, day, and follow the overall plan exactly. This way you do not have to worry about what to eat because the guide tells you exactly what to eat, and when, to follow the overall program.

Calorie Based Meals Plans: In addition to the Cookbook, there are 10 additional meal guides divided into calorie counts (for example: 1000 calorie plans, 1100 calorie plans, etc.) so you can prepare meals knowing exactly how many calories you will be consuming per meal. Surprisingly, many of these meals are actually quite delicious!

The Final Phase: This guide is an advanced course for after you complete the core Venus Factor program. Consisting of more intense workouts, and workout schedule, this guide takes advantage of your improved health and fitness following the core program. The core program will help you become fit and healthy, and this advanced program really helps tone and sculpt your muscles and overall figure.

Also, the entire program comes with supplemental instruction videos, exercise videos, a community forum, software, and customer support to help keep you on track.

Our Opinions: The Pros and Cons

So having fully covered what is included in the program, I wanted to break it down into pros and cons based on my experience.

The Pros

• The program is comprehensive and easy to follow.
• Numerous real-life women have achieved excellent results, so the program does work.
• The meal plans are tasty and healthy, easy to prepare and correspond to the overall program.
• The nutrition software helps identify which foods I can indulge in on specific days.
• The forum is active and the support community is amazing.
• Customer service is fast to respond and helpful/friendly.
• The program comes with a 60-day money back guarantee, no questions asked.

The Cons

• Women seeking weight loss super quickly for a specific occasion will not benefit because the full effect of the program takes about 12 weeks.
• The program requires dedication to the overall plan – no splurging outside the guidelines!
• You need to follow the diet and exercise programs closely. Many women tend to follow only one or the other, or deviate from the program, and this slows results.

We hope you found this review of The Venus Factor helpful. Please feel free to leave questions or comments below. You can find the official website below:

CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL VENUS FACTOR WEBSITE

SOURCES:

[1]https://courses.washington.edu/psy222/extracredit/extracredit/Disordered%20Eating%20among%20Adolescent%20Females.pdf

Tagged counting calories, diet and exercise, eating right, fitness, good diet plan, healthy foods, ideal body weight, lose weight quickly, meal plan, natural health, organic weight loss, weight index, weight loss