Summary: Today we have an interview with Elisa Miller who placed 4th in the Open Level 1 in our latest Venus Index Transformation Contest. Check out her pictures: Elisa noticed that at the beginning of your journey, specifically at your first contest you don’t really know what you are doing and you are just trying to copy other people’s poses. But that changes as you progress and do this a couple of times. And this is why we encourage you to be more creative with the poses and pictures. Have fun with it, look at magazines, search the web, try something new and different. What is necessary though is practice. Most models spend hours every day posing, taking pictures and some of them have to practice walking as well. Now you may be asking yourself, why on earth would anyone spend so much time on doing all this crazy boring stuff every day just to have some pictures in a bikini, right? Well, if you want to blow everyone away with professional pictures of your awesome and hard-earned body then you have to know the poses, angles and side of your body that is most flattering (HINT: Both sides are not created equal!). Next, you should find a way to flex the right muscles at the right time for the photographer. There are all sorts of small adjustments that go into capturing your body at its best, and it comes naturally once you've developed "muscle memory" from the poses you practiced. Take the time to learn where to put your arm, how to tilt your head and how to turn your hips to show off your abs. Let me ask you a question… Do you have those girlfriends who always seem to look perfect in every picture someone takes of them at any event? Well, you would be surprised at how many times they took pictures of themselves and practiced their smile in the mirror when nobody was looking. People do this more than you think. And that's just casual social pictures, taking fitness pictures is even harder! Find the Deep Emotional Issue that Is Causing You the External Trouble Elisa's first interview was very enlightening to her, because it made her realize that even though she progressed and improved her body, she was still hiding something. She wasn't hiding what she was eating anymore, but rather that she wasn't eating during certain times, mainly from her family. Her family didn't know that she was skipping meals; she always just made some excuses. Then one day she decided that this isn't right and she wanted to have a more open and transparent relationships with her family, so she sat down with everyone and explained that she is fasting, skipping breakfast and told everyone why she is doing it, how it helped her get healthier and become a better person. Honesty became the number one priority for her. And her family has accepted it. Like she told us, she has a history of hiding things from her family that stemmed from her dad who was always hiding alcohol consumption from them. This translated into her hiding her diet approach. However, she didn't want to continue this vicious cycle and decided to break it. And it was very liberating to finally be honest with everyone. We always say that you can be covert with your nutritional approach, however if it's eating you alive that nobody knows what you're doing and you feel like you are lying, then feel free to admit it to people, especially to your family. However, it's normal to experience some resistance from your friends and family. This is natural, they often times mean well but may not fully understand what you're trying to accomplish. The pursuit of the Venus Lifestyle is "against the grain" and not the 'norm' or the 'status quo'. Remember to stay strong and not let others deter you from your physical fitness goals and endeavors. Tips from Elisa: Nobody is perfect Expect and prepare yourself mentally that you are going to have high eating days The ability to stay flexible is golden
