To look at Deborah Cook in a pair of blue jeans, boots, black sweater and black leather jacket, with long, sandy-blond hair draping over her shoulders, one might never guess what she does in her spare time.

This 44-year-old grandmother, who stands 5 feet 6‡ inches and weighs 117 pounds - with 6 percent body fat - just won the Monster Mash body-building contest at Miami University-Middletown.

She defeated 24 contestants half her age, placing first in novice competition, first in low weight and first in the masters.

"I was surprised," said the Fairfield Township mother of four and grandmother of eight. "This was my first time competing in a body-building contest."

She started training for the competition six weeks ago after she was convinced by her fitness trainer, Nicholas M. Ardizzone, that she had the genes for body building.

She first said no, but after talking it over with her husband, Jerome Cook, a fourth-degree martial artist, she decided to try it.

"I was also convinced that this was what the Lord wanted me to do,"she said. "I believed that if I won I could make a spiritual statement about how God is able to work through your body, your mind and your family to achieve what you want."

Mrs. Cook began the rigorous task of trimming fat (145 pounds of it) through regulated dieting, exercises, weight lifting, posing and flexing muscles, leg curls and extensions, squats, lunges and stomach crunches.

She went through three sets of weightlifting, starting with 15-pound bars with 12 repetitions.

"I had to gradually increase the weight while reducing the repetition; 25 pounds, 10 repetitions; 35 pounds, eight repetitions," she said.

Her eating habits went from three meals a day to six or eight, high in protein, low in carbohydrates.

A typical day of eating included six egg whites and half a bowl of oatmeal at 7 a.m. Half a pound of turkey with half of a baked potato at 9 a.m., no butter and no sour cream. At 11 a.m., 40 grams of a protein drink. At 1 p.m., a piece of baked salmon and a cup of broccoli soup. At 3 p.m., a protein bar. At 6 p.m., a small piece of chicken breast, a small salad and half a baked potato. At 8 p.m., a protein drink and half a baked potato.

"If I would get hungry after that, I drank water," she said. "During the six weeks training, I cut out all dairy products, no processed food, such as store-bought chicken or turkey. I bought 40 pounds of chicken a week from Danny's Poultry in Hamilton because they brought it in fresh."

She said the training took a lot of discipline and determination.

"I think you have to have a dream and believe that you can accomplish that dream through your determination," she said.

Mrs. Cook works as a chiropractor assistant for Dr. Robert Pottete. Body-building has become sort of a family ritual.

She and her husband have started a karate studio in Hamilton. They also teach self-defense classes at 7 p.m. Tuesdays at the Fairfield Township YMCA.

Mr. Cook is the administrator in the Clerk of Courts office in Butler County.

They have four children: Shauna, 27; Justin, 23; Phillip, 21 and Karli,15.

Mrs. Cook also teaches toddler ministry at the Vineyard Church in Hamilton.

"My first love is God and my family," she said. "I am very domestic. I love cleaning, cooking and gardening."

She offers very sound advice about dieting and controlling body fat.

"When you eat three times a day, you eat more and the food stays in your system longer and is harder to digest, creating more fat. When the eating is spread out as it was when I was training, the food is processed better, giving more energy and less fat," she said.

She has resumed normal eating habits now. She said how far she will go in body-building depends on whether she gets a sponsor.

She can be contacted at 894-9663 or 863-8610.