Bodybuilding champion serves as Pentagon chaplain assistant

Serving as the only chaplain assistant at the Pentagon Chaplain's Office -- responsible for facilitating religious support to 25,000 service members and civilians from all branches of the military -- you wouldn't think Staff Sgt. Denises Veitia would get bored easily. When it came to her physical fitness, though, she felt she needed a new challenge.

So, she became a competitive bodybuilder.

Veitia is the sole chaplain assistant responsible for facilitating religious support for all faith groups for thousands of civilians, Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines assigned to the Pentagon. The Pentagon Memorial Chapel hosts weekly services for Catholic, Protestant, Episcopal, Hindu, and Jewish adherents, as well as daily Muslim prayer services. The Pentagon also hosts large-scale celebrations for major religious holidays.

Though her Army assignment keeps her busy, her physical training routine left her wanting more.

"I was already bored with the daily workout routine," Veitia said. "Then I started doing Crossfit for a little while. Then I got bored, too. So basically, I always got bored. I got the hang of it and needed something to challenge myself."

Bodybuilding entails building muscle through weight training and diet. In bodybuilding or figure competitions, participants pose in lineups and routines before a panel of judges, and are ranked on symmetry, muscularity, and conditioning.

"I had always liked it, but I never thought I could look like those girls I saw," Veitia said. "It was something I decided to do to just to challenge myself."

To prepare for her first competition in April 2013, Veitia spent at least an hour and half at the gym every day. But the hardest part of the 16-week preparation period was the dieting. She worked with a trainer to follow a carefully crafted diet plan, which included weighing her food for every meal and eating six to seven times a day to keep her metabolism high. At one point, she ate lettuce and chicken for every single meal, morning to night.

"There were some days it was tough. I was a grumpy person at times," she said, "But every Saturday was my cheat meal - and that just energized me. When I woke up, I thought 'it's one day closer to Saturday and I can eat whatever I want.'"

Her "cheat meal" was always the same: "Pizza. Papa John's. With the garlic dip. Oh my gosh I would smother it," she laughed.

The last few weeks of training, though, there were no cheat meals. And no sugar. And no carbohydrates.

"It was tough. I lost any sense of taste - I was just eating for the nutrition. In a way I feel like this all sounds horrible - like why would you put yourself through it? I guess it's just something to challenge yourself," she said.

At times, her roommate wasn't very helpful, putting doughnuts in front of her. Through it all, though, she had a close friend who served as a battle buddy.
http://www.army.mil/article/121385/Bodybuilding_champion_serves_as_Pentagon_chaplain_assistant/
 Megan Doyle, Chaplain Corps
Retrieved 10 Mar 14.