What truly makes my plan special?
Your stories.
No more alcohol??!! Ok, maybe I can cut back just a little…
I met Mark Macdonald three weeks before my twenty-seventh birthday, and he changed my life forever. I was sick of starving myself and never losing any weight, and not exactly open to the idea of cutting alcohol out of my life.
After spending an hour with Mark, I realized how little I knew about food, and how many bad habits had been formed from my childhood in New Jersey. I was basically starving my body and weighing myself three to four times a day. When Mark explained to me how important it was to feed your body every three to four hours, I was elated. When he told me I had to cut back on alcohol, but not eliminate it completely, I was furious.
In the first week, I lost 2 percent body fat. It was only one more week before I lost another 2 percent body fat and my body started to drop weight due to my muscle/fat ratio. My clothes all fit better than before, and my muffin top started to dissipate.
I watched my body lean out everywhere: my arms, stomach, and face. It was the first time anyone in my family could claim to have a set of abs!!
I was euphoric and so relieved to know that my body wasn’t that different from everyone else’s and that there was an actual program that would work for me!
“NO MORE FAD DIETS OR CRAZY EATING!!”
I started this journey to take my life back a few months before my 40th birthday.
I must admit it has not been easy, quick or without setbacks, since I am now 44, but I know anything worth having is worth working towards, and I knew I was worth it.
Once upon a time if I’d taken inventory of my life I would have told you that I’d always struggled with my weight but as I look back on my old photos and old clothes I can see that in reality, I didn’t. At the time, I was a dancer and I danced for hours 4-5 days a week. I could eat anything in any way I wanted without consequence.
When I turned 35 years old, all of that changed. I could no longer eat whatever and however I wanted and certainly not without consequence.
Soon came the my fourth decade and getting to a healthy lifestyle did not mean the same thing it once did. It was my trainer and Venice Nutrition Coach, Andrea Nichols-Everett from D3: Dre’s Diesel Dome, who put me on the path to knowing and doing better.
For me, it started with maintaining a regular workout schedule then folding in the Venice Nutrition Program. Once I learned about Mark’s program, I learned the science of eating and everything clicked into place.
NO MORE FAD DIETS OR CRAZY EATING DEALS!!
Now when I “fall off”, I know exactly how to “jump start” and get right back to the program.
I’m amazed at what I can do that I couldn’t before I found D3 and the Venice Nutrition Program!
“In 5 months, I went from the most frustrated with my health I’d ever been, to feeling the best I’d ever felt in my life.”
For many years I attempted diets to lose the weight I seemed to be gaining every year, unfortunately I would always gain back whatever I lost.
In July 2009 I was at my highest weight of all time: 220 lbs. I felt very frustrated, it seemed like I could not find a program that worked for me and my lifestyle. Then fortune struck: I met Mark Macdonald and we talked about the weight challenges I was experiencing. He shared the science behind what was happening and was confident I could drop the 30 lbs I had accumulated over the years.
I started Venice Nutrition and just as Mark told me, the weight and body fat started melting off. What was even more exciting is that I began to truly understand how my body worked. Within 6 months, I dropped 31 pounds and 12% body fat!
The most important benefit for me is that I now have the tools and ability to educate my family including my wife, our children, my parents and my sister. My kids have been saying for the last few months that dad is on a new diet and each time I correct them and let them know that this isn’t a diet – I tried diets. I make healthy balanced eating choices every day and exercise intelligently and efficiently based on the knowledge I continue to gain from Venice Nutrition. My boys are even asking me to “make them some of the chicken I eat”!
I tell my family and friends all the time that this isn’t like any fad, program or diet – it is education about the body and using that education to create a Healthy Lifestyle that will last a lifetime. The bottom line is that VN has provided me with the knowledge to make the program part of my daily life and I now have the tools to teach my family how to eat correctly, take my body to the next level and work it into our busy lifestyles.
My family members range in age from 7-74 and each one of them is following the program. Each has different goals and lifestyles and some have health challenges, but we will all be successful in Venice Nutrition because each of us wants to be happy, feel good, have consistent energy, and to live the fullest life possible every day.
We have all made the choice to take control of what we can – our nutrition and exercise!
“I dropped well over my goal of 30 pounds, and got back to a size 4!”
During the past 20 years I have belonged to many gyms and tried many different “Diet Plans”. Venice Nutrition is not a “Diet Plan”, but a healthy way of living that works!
I personally found it to be a lifestyle change that actually did change my life…
In September of 2006, I had just turned 40 years old, I had a 2 year old, a 10 year old and 25 extra pounds. Finding myself having a hard time even to walk 2 miles, and with low energy otherwise, I made a conscious decision to focus on my health.
My first step was to get back in the gym. I ‘thought’ I knew what I was doing; after all I had been doing the same thing for over 20 years, right?
Wrong! The first month I found myself lost on the gym floor. I would go ‘workout’ for an hour and not accomplish anything except a little socializing.
Also, I didn’t change my eating habits like I “thought” I should. I’m a big baker and southern cook, so my diet was high in sugar and fat. It was challenging to break those bad habits on my own.
Then in October of that year, a friend told me about Venice Nutrition. Along with signing up for a 16 week fitness program at the gym, I joined VN online. There were also VN coaches available at my gym for additional support. This was the beginning of my permanent change to a healthy lifestyle.
I lost 23 pounds and kept it off for over a year!
Then in June of 2008, I decided to start training for my first Half Marathon. I wanted to lose 10 more pounds and I wanted to take my body to a FIT level (18% body fat). My friend, Dan Owens, introduced me to Mark Macdonald (Founder and CEO of Venice Nutrition). Mark educated me on my body and how to break through my plateau. I was also able to be in the best possible shape for my race.
Not only did I beat my goal time for the race by 5 minutes, I also lost 10 pounds. Talk about an ego booster!!!
In my opinion, several things about the program set you up for success.
- The accountability both with a coach or online keeps you focused on your goal.
- The meal plans and recipes help you in so many ways, especially with portion control and variety.
- It teaches you how to stabilize your blood sugar by eating frequent meals throughout the day.
- The importance of eating the correct ratios of protein, carbohydrates, and fats.
- The value of regular exercise and weight training.
- Most important is the education of how your body works and the cutting edge nutritional information that only Venice Nutrition can provide.
Sure I had challenges and obstacles to face throughout the program, but I stuck with it and was successful. I’m happy to say I did lose those 30 plus pounds…the Right Way!
Most importantly I have the energy to keep up with my 2 active boys. Taking the time to get in shape has paid off. It wasn’t the “quick fix” we all look for, but I feel it has been a lasting one. My metabolism has completely changed!!!
“After years of yo-yo dieting, I finally found the answer!”
I have been a yo-yo dieter since I was a pre-teen. I did everything from nutri-system to weight watchers to the cabbage soup diet, which was the last one I did about ten years ago. I actually lost eight pounds the first week I did that one. Of course, I was vomiting by day five, but that was all a part of it, I supposed. After all, I did lose ten lbs in one week! After each diet, I always proceeded to gain back what I lost… with a little extra insurance weight.
The big issue, excuse the pun, was that my gains were getting greater and greater each time. I would lose 10 and gain 20, lose 20 and gain 30, lose 50 and gain 75. This was definitely getting out of control, and it was definitely unhealthy. I was on a bad track…
By the summer of 2006, I ballooned up to my heaviest weight, 228 lbs. Several months later, I was lucky enough to connect with the CEO of Venice Nutrition, Mark Macdonald.
Mark helped immensely in “educating” me on the Venice program.
I actually saw myself slowly learning the educational side of the nutrition program and learning how my body works. In the end, I have gone from 228 to 145 lbs. I am truly in awe of the fact I have lost 83 lbs… and I am oh, so proud of myself!!
“As a Type 2 Diabetic, Venice Taught me how to Stabilize my Blood Sugar.”
Imagine this, I rip off the calendar page to reveal 2007 and realize I will be turning 60 in September. I’m going to quit smoking.
I finally quit smoking January 23, 2008. I weigh 220 lbs and not in the best shape. My annual physical is scheduled for Feb. 15, 2008 and guess what… I am diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
My doctor writes me a prescription for Metformin, a popular medication for recently diagnosed diabetics. My A1c number ( a 3 month moving average of my blood sugar expressed as a percent) was a whopping 9.4%!! No problem, I can handle this…
I am going to continue to work my butt off at the health club. Right?
Wrong… I realized this is bigger than me and I need help. I inquired about Venice Nutrition and Mark helped we with a plan of diet, exercise and what have turned out to be truly inspirational meetings to help me reach my goals and stay focused. This has been a life changing journey and a special friendship for me working with Mark.
My official numbers at that time were:
- Weight: 212 lbs
- Body fat: 25%
- Blood Sugar at 9.4%
After 6 weeks of working out with a plan, meeting with Mark regularly and sticking with a well designed diet, my A1c number dropped to 6.3%! Now, nearly two years later, 1/15/10 this is how things are looking:
- Weight: 189 lbs
- Body fat: 12%
- Blood Sugar is under control 6.3%
It’s not the destination but the joy of the journey, so I don’t want to get there too soon – I’m having too much fun!!
“My Days of Dieting are over! My new life has begun!”
All my life I have been over weight. Finally I reached about 230 lbs when I was 18 years old, and that’s when I started to go on diets.
I would go on a diet and lose about 15 to 20 pounds and then would plateau. After hitting that plateau I would give up and every time I would gain more weight back. It gradually went up each time more and more until I eventually reached 297 lbs and that really hit me hard. Later that week I went to the County Fair and soon discovered that I could not fit into any of the rides. The guy told me that I could try sucking in my stomach and he would jump on top and push it down.
It really hit me that week that I could not let myself get over 300 and I promised myself I would not. The next month I saw a family friend, Bonnie Kieffer, and she looked amazing! Bonnie was telling me all about the program she was on, Venice Nutrition, and she kept saying it was more of a lifestyle change and not a diet. It was a real inspiration to see her make such a transformation for herself; she had lost 48 lbs and put on 6 lbs of muscle mass.
2 months later, after another bout of yo-yo dieting, I finally decided to meet with Mark Macdonald (he was Bonne’s coach) and I began the Venice Nutrition program. My new life had begun. I worked really hard to ‘dial in on my nutrition’. I also soon found my new passion: running! I decided to enter into a 5k which I thought was crazy at the time.
When I started Venice Nutrition I could not run around the track even one time. I continued training and finished my first 10k, The US 10k Classic, in 1 hour 17 minutes. It was amazing to know that I ran in one of the hardest 10k races and I have the t-shirt to prove it!!
Today I’ve lost 99 pounds of FAT!!! I have been on an incredible journey. I have done things I never thought were possible. Now I see infinite possibilities for my future.
“I lost 125 pounds of fat in 34 weeks!”
I grew up with an interesting ethnic background between Filipino, Italian and Jewish, and like many cultures these days almost all events and celebrations are based around food!
The food from my background is based on fatty, carb loaded, savory dishes. By the time I was 19 years old I was tipping the scale at 250 pounds!
I lost track of my weight gain because I thought I was “fit but fat”, and I was in denial about my state. At 24 years old I weighed my self again and was shocked to see the scale again at 306 pounds!!
One day my size 44 pants would not button anymore and the store I purchased all my clothes at said: “Sorry sir, but our establishment does not carry any sizes larger than 44… you will need to shop at the Big and Tall store.”
That afternoon I went home and I knew I needed to do something. I researched programs and knew I needed a realistic program that I could do for the rest of my life. I decided to try Venice Nutrition because it was based on the physiological effects of blood sugar stabilization. No diet philosophy here, just scientific facts!
The result:
I lost 125 pounds of fat in 34 weeks!!!
I went from 54% body fat to 9%, size 44-46 pant to a size 32.
I have now been able to maintain this result for over 3 1/2 years and because of it simplicity I will be able to maintain these results for life.
After my amazing transformation, I became a Certified Nutritionist through Venice Nutrition to teach the truth about becoming healthy and fit. I am so excited to be able to change the lives of every one around me!
“Beyond my wildest dreams…”
After having two kids I was an overweight mom with no energy left and no where else to turn.
Confused and frustrated I tried every diet on the market…the cabbage diet, the lemonade diet, energy drinks, weight loss supplements, no carb, no fat and all of the famous ones in the media. At the same time I recklessly would run for hours on my 222 pound frame.
Exhausted, injured and even heavier, I decided to follow the “smart” programs like Calorie In/Calorie Out, where I eat less that I burned every day. Although I lost about 60 pounds, this deficient dieting left me hungry, unbalanced and weak. Let alone my body was still soft and overweight with no muscle definition.
I remember thinking that this is impossibly uncomfortable and sad that this was how I would have to eat forever. I was ALWAYS on my mind. This is how I lived for years.
Then I found Mark Macdonald and Venice Nutrition. I remember reading his book and having overwhelming ‘light bulb’ moments.
Mark’s lessons taught me what I’d always been missing about nutrition and showed me how to finally eat so I would always have energy, always feel satisfied, and always be burning fat!
My Results:
One word: incredible! After 10 years of struggling, I finally hit a comfortable, healthy weight and it hit me…I lost 80 pounds!!!
Then I did something I thought I’d never do – I became a competitive athlete after having 2 children and started by own fitness business!
Venice Nutrition brought out my inner rock star and now nothing can stop my momentum for life! Having BODY CONFIDENCE changed the was I feel about myself and my future, which is very bright.
My entire life and career switched to becoming Venice Nutrition Certified Consultant, and I started teaching other people how to take control of their health and making money doing it!
Now I own my own successful gym, MultiSport Fitness & Nutrition in Mt. Bethel, Pennsylvania, and I am a Wellness Coach for Fortune 500 executives.
Words can’t describe how much I love and appreciate my new body, new life, and new career!
Thank you Mark Macdonald for lighting the way to a life beyond my wildest dreams!
Nothing makes me happier than hearing the stories of people’s lives being transformed.
Now I want to hear YOUR story.
FIRST: LEARN THE SECRET TO LOSING WEIGHT, BUILDING MUSCLE, & ENDING CRAVINGS PERMANENTLY!
Then join the 8 Week Run and send me your results, photos, and the details of your journey and how it changed your life.
Want to learn even more?
Buy Mark’s NY Times Bestselling book Body Confidence at any major retailer:
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