Taking a three-year break from competition proved to be no problem for Maria DeRose.

Despite not competing since 2003, the 1991 Butler graduate, took first place in the lightweight division and the overall title at the Upper Ohio Valley NPCbodybuilding event in Weirton, W.Va., recently.

The 5-foot-3 DeRose competes in the weight class up to 125 pounds. First-place awards are given in that lightweight class, along with middleweight and heavyweight divisions, then an overall champion is crowned.

One week later, she captured first place in the lightweight division at the NPCPittsburgh event held at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial in Oakland, the largest bodybuilding show in the east.

"Even though I didn't compete during the past three years, I still dieted and I still trained,"DeRose said. "Bodybuilding isn't a sport. It's a lifestyle."

She said the lone difference between preparing for a competition and staying in shape is dieting to lose body fat.

Her specific pre-contest diet starts 16 weeks before the competition and involves precise, home-cooked, clean foods.

"I take my food with me wherever I go,"DeRose said.

"It takes years and years to develop muscle," she added. "We're talking 24-7. You have to be totally committed to be a bodybuilder.

"It's not weight loss, it's toning and reshaping your body. The fat turns into muscle, and, while you may only lose a few pounds, your body becomes leaner."

DeRose first got involved in bodybuilding in 1999. She began going to the gym just to get in shape and noticed some people involved with the sport.

She became interested and decided to give it a try. Her first competition was in 2001.

"It was a really small show in Monroeville,"DeRose recalled. "I took third place, I think. But I got my feet wet."

In 2003, DeRose won the Upper Ohio Valley meet's middleweight division. She claimed the Best PoserAward and finished fifth in the Pittsburgh competition.

Judging is done on the appearance of a competitor's quadriceps, abdominals, etc., along with symmetry and presentation.

"I didn't do anything competition-wise from 2004 to 2006 because I wanted to work on other things and my job kept me busy,"she said.

DeRose is the co-director of patient flow at Butler Memorial Hospital. She usually works daylight hours Mondays through Fridays.

"I'm in management, though, so I'm here as long as I need to be,"she said. "Basically, I'm on call 24 hours per day."

DeRose is in the gym for 90 minutes per day, five or six days per week. In her mind, that's the easy part.

"Anyone can go to a gym and train for an hour or so,"she said. "It's the other 23 hours that take discipline. The diet is 85 percent of this.

"High protein, moderate carbs and moderate fat — that's what you eat. And you have to get eight hours of sleep a night."

DeRose said a person's muscles grow while the body is at rest.

Her recent performances qualified her for Junior Nationals. She could receive a pro card from there.

"I have two years to decide whether to go after (Junior Nationals)," DeRose said. "That would be my next goal."