Building a Balanced Life: Fitness, Health, and Mental Well-being

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Hi Friends,

I cannot believe it is February already. Where has the first month of the year gone?

This year I admit, I have a long list of goals, hopes and dreams to realise. It sounds a little over the top, but why not. Last year I hosted my Annual Vision Boarding Luncheon at my home and had about 8 ladies in to do their own vision boards. Usually I collect magazines from year to year in order to have a batch of them ready to go. I decided to do my Board for TWO years as even then, I know I had a long list.

House Goals

This is the year we intend to purchase a home we are in love with. I have been obsessed with Pinterest of late, having created a very detailed Board about a light refurb once we purchase the home. The categories are kitchen, pantry (yes there is space for a Butler’s pantry); new sunroom windows and doors, A Potting Shed, Loft light refurb, attic light refurb (where my office is); and backyard where we intend to put in a small pool and completely redo the landscaping. It is a huge piece of land that can easily house components of a pool, herb garden, BBQ deck and fire-pit area. I cannot wait. I have pictures saved on Pinterest, but also on my Vision Board which I look at each and every day. Manifestation comes from holding those images and thoughts close to you and the energy you put out there with those images, eventually happens.

The ”after” of The Attic Office, not much to do – simple and fresh!
The final look of the backyard after small pool and English Style Landscaping -this is an AI image from an APP but exactly how I want it!
Fire pit. Section of the Backyard

Building my Business and Fitness Brand

I have been thinking about my Brand. I launched a Company last year to do digital marketing and have a list of clients (luxury boutique hotels in the Caribbean) to pitch to. However, I am also passionate about fitness, wellness and health:

  • How to live a balanced life, getting workouts in without extremes
  • Using macro-nutrients to help with keeping meals healthy with the right amount of protein + carbs and fat.
  • I love working out in the Gym but do not like boot camp type exercises. I started lifting in 2015 and never looked back. My Program will be based on lifting, whether lightly or heavier.
  • My weight stays in a healthy range all year around. I know for sure that is from lifting that has caused my metabolism to increase ten fold.
  • I intend to start coaching online this year, and taking clients. My Fitness certification now becomes me stepping up to become a personal trainer – that Course starts in March, woot woot!

My Mental Health

The year started out very strangely as I am sure many of you had the same experiences. The wildfires affected me terribly and I have not been able to sleep thinking about this, as well as all the other tragedies unfolding around the world. As a result my sleep has been seriously affected. It does not help that I am on strong meds to prevent estrogen production. This was due to the breast cancer in 2023 being hormone receptive. I must say it is a challenge from day to day having to deal with the symptoms emanating from being on this medication. I read up on Instagram about SO many women going through the same on this medication! Loss of sleep, and extreme joint pain are two of the hardest. I have been on it now for almost two years and just at the point of asking the Oncologist if I can come off of them now, and what is the risk factor for me at the age of 58? Mental health is so important for me. To wake up and feel happy and positive is something I have always been accustomed to until these meds came into my life. Sometimes I have to talk to myself and say God is looking after you, you are strong you can get through this! The ways I help alleviate the downside of the medication or any “blues”:

  • I wake up early, always by 6:00 a.m. each day even on a weekend. I feel this is a great way to get ahold of the day and enjoy it to the fullest!
  • I make the best cup of coffee (Nespresso or Blue Mountain Coffee) in the prettiest cup, and walk outside into the garden just to breathe in the cool air and be in my garden
  • Looking at the flowers, plants and trees, I feel there is a bigger purpose out there, and that God wants me exactly where I am, to do what I put out there – I breath in and out knowing that my day ahead will be GREAT!
  • I spend time with my precious dogs, putting them out in the garden with me and enjoying their company
  • Writing. I go up to my attic and sit at a desk facing a window, with the breeze coming through and write down my goals, dreams, for the day and year – and also write pages for the book I am in the process of writing. This is also when I pray and meditate.
  • Starting work early. I start working by 8:00 a.m. and work consistently through to about 12:30 p.m. when I break for a quick lunch and then head to the Gym for a great workout.
  • By 3:00 p.m. after doing errands after my workout, I am back at my desk for my afternoon session, with fresh lavender or fresh herbs in a vase, and a lovely thermos of cold water….
  • At 6:00 p.m. I go downstairs, put the TV on a nice cooking channel and start dinner awaiting hubby’s arrival with the dogs.
  • We eat, watch tv and enjoy the peacefulness of the house with our candles burning, and the TV low volume. The curtains are drawn, but one window gives a glimpse of the pretty lights in the shrubs that we did (pink & white.)
  • Lights out by 9:30 / 10:00 p.m. the latest!

Like Minded, Creative Souls

I am looking to grow my “tribe” to add on to my already lovely, amazing friends’ circle – like minded, driven but creative souls who are true to themselves and know who they are. I have prayed about it, and see changes with new people coming into my life for a reason. I really do not care how old the person is, as long as they are wise, happy, creative, supportive as I will be, not covetous or envious at anything I am doing or have acquired, as like I am not of what others do. As we all have our own paths and journey! And that means we might not be on the same timing of what we hope to achieve. After having breast cancer I am now on guard for these behaviors when anyone comes into my life. Whether at work or in my personal life. Material things for example, and the excessive want for them, does not and cannot make you happy. You see the amount of wealthy & famous persons who take their own life as they were so unhappy? My point exactly.

Happiness really comes from within…

If you are not happy from within, try finding joy helping others, or learning a new hobby, praying, meditating and doing things in & for your community. I know when I wake up in the morning, I am happy with my own self, and what I have. Most of all my health but the simple, beautiful joys of life. I am not thinking about what I do NOT have, I am grateful for what I have around me. It could be that the garden is blooming, or a hummingbird flew into a feeder, the dogs are nearby or a good cup of coffee. You get this gist ❤️

I hope for each and every one of you, that this year blossoms into something wonderful for you. I would love to hear in the comments what your plans, hopes and dreams are!

With love,

Neenie 🌸

Rebuilding Strength: Fitness After Breast Cancer Surgery

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Hi Friends!

I hope all has been going well for you this year…literally it has raced by! We are almost at Thanksgiving. Where did 2024 go?

I thought I would give an update of where I am currently with my fitness journey. And what my future goals look like.

On-Going Staged Reconstruction after breast cancer

October 2024. I still have one more surgery to go for the other implant, but all is good and I am back to working out, not as heavy lifting but each week I get stronger. Pic by Alexandra Ghisays.

As you may know if you read my posts, read the first one here – the second one here, & the final one here – I was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, in April 2023. Thankfully I caught it early (I have always been very on top of getting mammograms every year) and it was diagnosed as hormone receptor positive, node negative (the node negative part was not known until after my double mastectomy that it had not traveled to my lymph nodes) & so I had initially decided right away after finding out, that I wanted to have a double mastectomy after reading up about the possibility of the “return rate” in the other breast. That was my own action. My surgeon thought that was the best recourse, and he also suggested staged reconstruction which would involve ‘tissue expanders’ at first, and then the final step would be the implant exchange surgery. We had some setbacks for this plan throughout 2023 as the right side (side where lump was) gave continuous skin healing problems, showing signs of “necrosis” with the tissue expander there. However after a long back and forth we chose to take it out altogether at the end of October and start back on the right side in 2024.

Implant Exchange Surgery – June 2024

After my surgeon who was my plastic surgeon for the implant surgery was confident that both sides were ready to “go” and fully healed – we set a date for June 11th, 2024 to exchange the expander for an implant on the left side, and put back the expander in the right side (which was now fully healed – meaning the skin.) – All went well!

Choosing a smaller, rather than larger implant at 225 CC’s

I now have a little more than a B+ cup size which is what I had many years ago before I lost some weight over the years. We discussed a larger sized implant but Doc thought due to my small stature ( 5 ft 1 1/2 inches, 102-105 pounds usually) it may not be a good match…he would see what worked during the surgery. Right after I was wheeled into the recovery room I immediately noticed that there was literally NO pain on the the implant side, but alot on the side where the expander was put in on the right side…so I literally started all over again in terms of my own physio exercises to raise my right arm up and down, and so forth! This I am still doing, each day. To even lift a dumbbell on that side is still hard, but I am pushing through!

Doc gave me the “green light” to start walking around my neighborhood again two weeks after as at my check ups all was going very well. And then a month after he gave me the ultimate green light – to get back to the gym, starting back slowly with the weights! He asked me to focus on legs at first, then lower weight dumbbells, and to stay away from doing exercises involving the chest for a little longer – albeit I decided to do over the muscle implants and I can explain all of this and why I did in the next post!

Getting back to the Gym, August 2024

Slowly, but surely getting back to the physique I had before my breast cancer diagnosis in 2023. It takes time to build back the muscle – sometimes years, but I will have muscle memory as I have been lifting for ten years now.

Finally, after annoying my very patient Doctor literally via regular whatsapp messages about the possibility of lifting heavier (as my upper body had lost some muscle, which was bound to happen in the past year and a half!) he gave me permission to lift heavier but not too heavy. As a Fitness Professional of course I knew exactly what this meant and followed his guidance. I was anxious to get back to working out my shoulders, delts, biceps and triceps. Being a past bikini competitor these are areas that the judges look at for upper body, and also help to create & sculpt the type of physique for competing in this category. It is a known fact that I have spoken about my dream about wanting to compete overseas in the masters bikini category again, and really hoping to do this next year (2025.)

My workouts have not been anywhere near what they used to be before having had the double mastectomy. The stops and starts have not helped after each surgery and procedure I have had since June 2023. It has been hectic, but one thing that has kept me going is exercise. Both for my own mental health and physical well being. I will soon be recording my workouts and linking them here and on instagram, if you do not follow me there, here is the link!

The Future

My future goals for health and wellness are the same ones I had before:

  • To teach women especially women who have gone through menopause, how to stay lean via healthy eating and working out in an effective way that does not involve crazy boot camp style regimes!
  • Balance, and moderation helps in general, so you still enjoy the things you love! My plan keeps those things in place, so you do not feel a sense of loss, yet it is also a plan that realistically sets boundaries for very unhealthy foods.
  • The correct knowledge of macro-nutrients and what “macros” will work for you day to day, is also a HUGE game changer. Do you know how much Protein you need per day for your body weight in terms of grams? This is part of what I will teach.
  • What works to build muscle. What works to lose body fat %? I have been lifting weights now for ten years and have not looked back. I have never had to be on a diet and do not starve, or miss meals. In fact some people may even see me as eating on the healthy side…yet I know what works for my physique in trying to obtain a leaner muscle mass and healthy body fat % when not in training.

Coaching!

My goal in 2025 is to become a licensed health and wellness Coach so that I can help with viable programs of workouts and meal prep. I have been certified in fitness and that of course helps, but the more I know, the better I can be to help my clients. Stay tuned for this. Despite the setbacks, I look forward to the new way forward and that will mean that days are spent managing my new Company (that is another post!) which is a digital marketing company in partnership with a marketing company, and putting together my fitness coaching programs. I want to show women especially that a life of health is not hard to achieve, and a daily balance of good food, macro friendly, with fabulous workouts in the gym or out of the gym (my programs will cover both.)

My Special Message for October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month

My special message to all the ladies I know, and do not know – is to please get your annual mammograms. If you feel something is “off” then make sure no matter what, your Doctor gets you an appointment for a mammogram. This saved me.

STAY TUNED!

Love,

Neenie xo