Body building at age 50 may seem impossible to some. But for Rosie, it was almost a necessity. Body building allowed Rosie to regain strength after hitting her rock bottom. After a few weeks of motivation and hard work, Rosie was able to achieve the body and life she had always wanted through body building – and you can, too!
By Rosie Battista
Some people don’t know when they have hit rock bottom, but I did. I was slumped amid the dog hair and dust on the basement floor, sobbing uncontrollably about the misery in my life. Literally stuck in the world of “Poor Me.”
I was 49 years old and my life felt like crap. Boyfriend ditched me for an ex-wife he swore he hated, but who somehow was preferable to me. Ouch.
My finances were in the toilet after a bad investment, necessitating selling my family house in a dismal real estate market. Double ouch.
My youngest child was leaving home — was she really going to college or just anxious to get away from the misery that was exuding from me?
And worst of all, the extra 38 pound miserably packed on my body iced that crappy cake and topped it with a shiny bright red cherry. There you have it: Painful ouch number three.
My thoughts were as paralyzed as my potential. My stagnant mind could not spark even the tiniest suggestion for getting me out of this mess. I felt hopeless to start up once again.
Picture the runny nose, the red eyes leaking tears and mascara, and the crumpled heap of humanity I had become. And know this, there’s something awesome about rock bottom: when nothing matters, you can take that risk you’d always been too scared to try, because seriously, at this point, what difference would one more failure make?
I called on everyone for help: God, my Angels, my Guides in the form of my three deceased Grandmothers, Sophie, Charlotte and Violet. “Help me out here, ladies. Please plop a big huge sign in front of me telling me what to do now.”
The awesome thing about so many rocks on the bottom is that they can be the very thing that forms the foundation of strength needed to build your life back up. I was able to muster up enough strength from my personal abyss to provide a strange source of courage.
At this low point in my life a bucket came to mind. Not the kick-the-bucket kind, thank God, (and Sophie, Charlotte and Violet too). But the bucket where you put your dreams and aspirations. If I could take something, anything, from my bucket list and get a win, a sense of accomplishment, a success, I knew I’d be on the other side of misery.
Looking back, I realize how fortunate I was to be completely drained of energy. I was so wiped out, that during the time it took to solidify my goal, I couldn’t muster the strength to make excuses for not giving my dream a shot. I had a goal and I first admitting my goal out loud to an empty room and then to friends and family. And that goal was….To transform my body and enter a body building figure competition in celebration of turning fifty!
Healthy Eating to Body Building!
Okay, which of you readers just spit out your latte reading the preposterous goal I chose? How quickly can you come up with 5 reasons a flabby, fifty, peri-menopausal woman shouldn’t pursue competitive body building?
You are not alone. My “Friends” came out of the woodwork to suggest that setting myself up for yet another failure was a bad idea. No fifty-year-old should be prancing around in public in a bikini.
Nature just didn’t make us that way. It wasn’t long before my own head joined the opposing team. My wounded psyche and the toxins in my body had grown accustomed to a sedentary life, and were reluctant to give it up, so they lied to me, telling me I couldn’t, exaggerating small physical complaints in an effort of fulfilling a dream.
I repeatedly asked my kids their thoughts. Son Number two, frustrated with the question, shot back, “MOM, all you ever do is talk about it. Just do it already and, yeah, I think you can….And, by the way, Mom, you can if YOU think you can.”
Hey, that was a low blow. He used my words against me. I must have said that to him a million and one times in his formative years. Now as an adult, it was his turn. It was not easy to hear. But I knew this was my chance to prove that it was good advice when I gave it to him.
“You can, if you think you can” became my mantra and it pushed and sometimes dragged me toward my crazy ass goal.
A skimpy 16 weeks after that conversation, I unveiled myself on stage in a bling, string bikini, 38 pounds lighter to compete in a figure competition. ZAP! I was electrically charged with renewed courage, confidence, self esteem and unstoppable to accomplish anything and everything I want.
I want this renewed/revived life for you. I want it for every woman stuck in the mire of “Crap and Can’t.”
My one small win, multiplied. I invested in training, studied with renowned experts in nutrition, physiology and psychology,and I built my company, “Sleeping Naked After 40.”
In our community, you get to come up with your own goal as long as it includes building the healthiest, sexiest version of yourself. As you work hard each day and you call on your personal power to accomplish what you have been squashing down or resisting for years, you will take charge of what you want in your life.
Your personal power propels you.
Your personal power makes your life amazing.
Your personal power reveals the beauty you’ve kept hidden for too long.
Body Building Challenges
I used three tools during the competition and it changed my challenge into a wonderful experience. I still employ them every day for everything I do. It started when I made the decision that mediocrity and “just okayness” are not good enough for my one very precious life.
So are you ready to muster up the courage to drag yourself out of the crap?
Sleeping Naked After 40 is based on three core principles that will help you unleash your awesome personal power. Apply them to any area of your life that needs a boost. Together they will strengthen your “courage muscle”, so that you can build your confidence.
1. Lose the Fake Stuff and Get Real – Get your body in the game. You only get one body and it’s an awesome one. Not only is it your right, but it is your obligation to take care of your body. The food you eat directly affects your mood, attitude, and health. It’s important to participate fully in the process of nourishing yourself well. When you feed your body with processed, chemicalized, fake food, (aka crap) it will show up on your body as unwanted weight and in your life as stagnation. If you nourish yourself with pure and naked food, the body of your dreams will show up.
2. Become Less Interested in Why You Can’t – Get your head in the game. You can do, be, or have anything you want. If there is something that you want, go and get it. Screw excuses that tell you why you can’t; instead trust and believe that you can and take the steps necessary, one at a time. Make every meal an opportunity to improve your health. Make every workout an opportunity to feel better. Make every moment an opportunity to be your best.
3. Fall in Love With the Idea – Get your heart in the game. When you are in love, everything is so amazing. You have the energy and inspiration to do more than you ever thought possible. Every situation is viewed with fresh eyes in a different, lighter way. Fall in love with the idea of making the best, sexiest, most amazing person possible. Attack this journey with the exciting blush of new love and watch as your dreams get bigger and your body gets smaller, and you get more comfortable sleeping naked after 40.
Rosie answers the Identity 5:
What have you accepted in your life that took time, physically or mentally?
I have accepted that NOW is the time. Practicing the art of being present in the moment is still something I work on. I have discovered that in the moment there is never anything wrong and it is a great way to have an amazing awesome life.
What do you appreciate about yourself and within your life?
I appreciate everything in my life. I am filled with gratitude for all that I have. I see clearly that I always have everything that I need when I need it. When I stay in this believe, miracles present themselves and show up in my life all the time.
What is one of your most rewarding achievements in life? What goals do you still have?
The most rewarding achievement in my life is watching my 3 adult children doing what they love in the world. One of the key things I wanted for my children was to teach them that they could be, do or have whatever they wanted. And watching them today as productive happy adults, living on purpose is pure joy.
What is your not-so-perfect way? What imperfections and quirks create your Identity?
My not-so-perfect way is that I work 3 very full weeks, giving it my all and then “revitalize” for one full week. I use so much creative energy during those 3 weeks and I have learned and accepted that this is the way I operate and that it is okay to “regroup and relax” and do nothing for one week a month.
I practice my I.M.PERFECT skills daily, accepting and believing that I do my very best at every moment and that my “best” may vary on any given day. I know that there is no such thing as “perfect” and that i.m. perfect is exactly where I am.
How would you complete the phrase “I Love My…?
I love my body, my food and my life. I see my food as a spiritual practice and a way of nourishing my physical body which carries my soul. When I love my food, I in turn love my healthy body that shows up from proper nutrition. My life then follows suite.
All of Identity’s October articles will be representing the Charity, Sole Ryeders. Sole Ryeders will be raising money for a fund to supply Breast BFFL Bags to the under-served in White Plains, NY at White Plains Hospital. Tax Deductible donations can be made directly to the hospital or Sole Ryeders. Please feel free to make a donation below.
