"The turning point happened in my kitchen. But it wasn't when I was cooking, eating or washing dishes. What happened in the kitchen actually took place in my head and changed my life forever and for the better."
So begins Rosie Battista's story of how she completely transformed herself at the age of fifty from a self-proclaimed "fat head" (always thinking and feeling fat, hating her body and tolerating life) to a competitive bodybuilder, finally comfortable in her own skin, and competing onstage alongside her 20-year-old daughter.
For Rosie, a closet full of beautiful vintage clothes that used to fit was a constant reminder that she had fallen into a rut, and she was not living her life as the person she wanted to be. She was teaching fitness and weight loss for a living, but she was 35 pounds overweight. She was selling her house in a bad market, she had just ended a committed relationship and her business was on shaky ground. And though she often spoke to her kids about her dreams of becoming a bodybuilder, she never acted on them. Even when her kids encouraged her to "just do it" the odds simply seemed insurmountable.
Then one day, something clicked for her and Rosie decided to reinvent herself and achieve her dream. It wasn't easy and there were many tears along the way. There were feelings of dread and despair. She had to battle her own internal voices of fear and doubt who repeatedly told her she was too old, hormonal and menopausal to ever reach her goals. But it was sheer determination and inspiration that kept her going. And the mother of three, who was about to turn fifty and was 35 pounds overweight, kept moving forward.
Today, Rosie is a successful author of several books, a weight loss specialist, a nutrition and lifestyle coach and a figure (bodybuilding) competitor. She now writes, teaches, coaches and competes from a place of confidence, strength and happiness. She went from being a "fat-feeling, frumpy, fifty-year-old" to a "fabulous, focused, confident fifty-year-young woman" who is now so comfortable in her skin that she sleeps naked every night and she loves it. And now she wants to share what she has learned.
This is her story:
To learn more, visit Rosie's web site.