Hi Friends!

I hope you are well and looking forward to the last four months of the year, the “BER” months, and my fave ones! For me it has been a month to month process, healing, building up my fitness strength, and enjoying moments in life that mean something.

Building back the lean muscle “Gains” Slowly

As per my last post, I joined back the Gym in November 2024 with hopes of going 5-6 times per week like I used to…but after a month I realized it was literally almost impossible. There was a bunch of challenges, one being the extreme joint pain I was experiencing from the Letrozole (aromatase inhibitor given after breast cancer, which you have to be on for 5-10 years) – little did I realise that the extreme joint pain was pointing to something more than just “joint pain.” – I pushed ahead anyway and ended up lifting 3-4 times per week, albeit suffering from delayed onset soreness more than usual. Finally, after having a situation with my right thumb (it would not move) I went to the Oncologist and she asked me to get a Dexa Scan so we could delve into what could be happening with my bones and joints. Turns out I had osteoporosis in my hips (especially the left one), spine and wrists! This can happen when on these medications, if you are not taking a massive amount of calcium. I had not been.

Dexa Scan and Pushing on

After seeing the dexa scan results and speaking to my GP, he suggested amongst other things, that I stop lifting asap. Yet my Oncologist thought it was a good way of helping to build back my bones, so I erred on the side of “down the middle” and decided to continue to lift, but very carefully. My wrist seemed very sore most of the time, and I ended up having an x-ray which showed something to do with my tendon, and a slight hairline fracture!

This was also stemming from the Letrozole. I was switched over to Tamoxifen (which I dread as it has so many risks) and begged the Oncologist to allow me to take half a tamoxifen for the first three months to see how it agreed with my body and she said yes….so nine weeks later, I am still only on 10 mg each day, and feel SO MUCH better from day to day. I have much less joint pain, am sleeping very, very well (sometimes 3-4 hours of deep sleep!) which for me is insane as usually 30 minutes of deep sleep was my norm. I am now able to lift heavier, except we still have that “wrist problem” which I am going to have to have surgery to rectify. That will happen in two weeks.

Building Glutes and Shoulders Post Dexa Scan

For the past four months, I have been focused on building my glutes and shoulders and even upped my calories 200 per day to allow for this. I actually started back at hip thrusts on the Smith machine, albeit not heavy – and deadlifts. I have already noticed the lift in my glutes based on two glute days / sessions per week. Needless to say, progress pictures really make you see the difference. I discovered recently the seated abductor machine, and let me tell you that has been a game changer in my sessions and glute growth. It hits right at the glute medius and burns if you do them right. Every glute session I incorporate abductors. Even as a finisher. Shoulders have always been my strong point, but I wanted to grow them more, without a full cap – this is a requirement for bikini bodybuilding.

What I love doing – what makes me HAPPY! The Mental Balance

1. Celebrating a special & lovely friend’s Birthday in style! 2. The largest sunflower in my new sunflower garden 3. A group of fabulous souls chatting and giggling at GoldenEye (Tyler Whiteside Picture) 4. My sweet & special little “old world” neighborhood beach 5. A special playlist by me on Spotify – follow along (DJ Neenie Sounds!) – music makes me very happy 6. I made a very cold, divine basil gin martini last week to test it for posting (I did not post it, I drank it instead…balance!) and finally one of my fave Quotes found on Pinterest. **The basil was picked from my own herb garden started in May**

Be that Kind Soul that makes everybody feel like a somebody…

There comes a time in your life that you look around and say to yourself “what else am I here to do” “who are the people I want in the next segment of my life?” – and this I say with MUCH respect, but also due to what I have been through. I want gentle souls around me, people who care and people who ask how am I doing from time to time, without me having to remind them if they are my good friends, that due to breast cancer for example, the medication gave me osteoporosis.

This to me, is an important fact, not an opinion, and the circle around you should feel an organic need to comfort you in hard times, plus visa versa. I thought long and hard about this for about six months and it is a learning process. I know one thing, I am moving forward into my future with the type of person who makes me laugh, includes me in things at times, does not judge and is easy going. If they are needing a shoulder, I am there. I find myself gravitating to anyone who loves animals and helps with the stray animals in Jamaica, which is a problem. I find myself gravitating to anyone who does not judge as that is not for them to do, advice however, is a good thing. I find myself gravitating to persons who care about themselves enough to feel confident wherever they are – and to feel good about themselves. It is a tribe I am building, and after having had breast cancer, it is hard to describe why you feel this way, but it is probably because you have been been through a battle, and do not have the energy to battle any strange energy, or vibe – or feel bad about yourself from anyone on this planet – we need to come together and be kind!

The Future…

My future I have always felt would have something to do with saving the beloved stray dogs in Jamaica and being part of setting up new laws on protection of strays, and stronger, harsher punishment for poisoning them. That happens a lot here. Surprisingly a lot more than we think. My Aunt and Mother just lost their precious fave dog when they let him out one morning for a quick run – by the time he came back he was gasping to breathe, that is how awful & strong whatever it was they left out for him was. A terrible, horrible thing. We need to change the laws and have police charge persons who do this. Enough. Next, I have opened up my own Marketing Company and the premise is to continue to build it this year….the balance is of course all of what I have written about above.

Here is to living our lives with balance, good friends and experiences!

One love,

Neenie