Showing posts with label cancer survivor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cancer survivor. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

#36 HOT OVER 40! HOT HEADED BABE 10/31/12

OH, NO YOU DI'NT!
OK SO ITS HALLOWEEN, A TIME FOR TRANSFORMATIONS AND WEARING COSTUMES CHOSEN TO REFLECT ONE'S ALTER EGO'S, SELF IMAGE, INTERESTS OR JUST PLAIN WISHFUL THINKING...
A GOOD TIME TO THROW SOME EGGS AROUND TOO.
SNARKS 'n SNOOTERS BE- AWARE!
I UNDERSTAND THAT THOSE WHO FEEL THE NEED TO FEEL SUPERIOR ARE REALLY JUST MASKING THEIR DEEP INSECURITIES....  

USUALLY I CAN OVER LOOK SUCH BLATANT  IMMATURITY.
(can we get past highschool? really!)
HOWEVER AT TIMES, AS DAD ADVISED, YOU HAVE TO TAKE A STAND.
Bad behavior is bad behavior-this ain't the stage its real life.
(I am a Bronx gal - we don't take crap from anybody)

The snide aside can be overheard.
HAHAHA, QVC, HOHOHO, BRAZIL WHAT LIFT? TEEHEEHEE.   HMMMMM........
YOU WANT TO LAUGH? DISPARAGE? MOCK?
I GAINED WEIGHT BECAUSE I HAD CANCER AND HAD A HYSTERECTOMY SO WITHOUT OVARIES - I BALLOONED 40 lbs.IN 2 MONTHS! That's how my body reacted to zero hormones.

I don't need sympathy just maturity. Jeez, get a life will ya!

IT TOOK ME 7 YEARS TO DISCOVER HOW TO LOSE THE FINAL 25 lbs. AFTER ONLY BEING ABLE TO LOSE 15 ON MY OWN.
THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND. 7 YEARS
I wasn't a potato chip munching coucher either. I was really trying.
NOT 2 OR 4 MONTHS
BUT 2,555 DAYS OF HAVING TO GET DRESSED, DISLIKING THE IMAGE THAT WAS REFLECTED BACK AT ME. (perhaps, privately you can relate?)
It affected my work opportunities and my interactions with people.
 
I WAS EXERCISING AND EATING HEALTHILY SO I THOUGHT I WAS DOING ALL THE RIGHT STUFF. I WASN'T.
BECAUSE MY ENTIRE CONSTITUTION  HAD CHANGED.
I HAD TO LEARN HOW TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF IN A DIFFERENT WAY.  A MUCH MORE INTENSE, VIGOROUS, DISCIPLINED WAY LIKE NEVER BEFORE
I NOW REALIZED I COULD TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED.
Not one "ok a forkful", not one " I want to sleep in today," not one " I am just too, too busy."  Now none of that was - or still is - allowed.

BRAZIL BUTTLIFT CAME INTO MY LIFE AND VIA DILIGENCE,  AND LEARNING WHAT I NOW NEEDED TO DO, (WITHOUT THOSE HORMONES taken waaaaaaay before my time),
PLUS ALOT OF COMPASSION FROM LEANDRO (& Lara - she's low profile but pivotal too) 
I DID IT. I GOT BACK TO BELONGING TO MYSELF.

It was, and will always be, alot of hardwork however, I am so glad I found that avenue; so I don't appreciate anyone trying to make less of it. It takes commitment and discipline on a daily basis.  How many individuals can attest to that?
 
So, yes, the name might sound funny. Heck it is!  Saturday Night Live could have a blast with it...... I hope they do one day. I could be the butt of the joke. With pleasure!
Oh, and let me remind you I CAN CLIMB 20 FLIGHTS OF STAIRS as a cardio warmup - and do it 4 more times in a row ---- for the nay sayers, "can you?"

"Maybe somebody was cruel to you
So you think that's what you're supposed to do
One day, it might be you
When you need a friend, but you no longer cool  ....." (Rachel Crow)

And now that my "oh no you did'nt" moment has passed,  (its better to enunciate,afterall) if you feel poofy, bloated & out of shape - contact me.  I am always willing to help out. 

             I wish you LOVE AND GREAT JOY. JOANNA


oh and I do some really crazy ear tricks too...got me my first commercial with that ability. Sure it's not Chekhov, but a nice check nonetheless. Who would have thunk it?

HALLOWEEN and HOLIDAY EATING TIP:
don't deny, indulge but with only 1 or 2 candies --- Three Musketeers in small size can fit the chocolate craving, along with KitKats --- not too fattening or calorie laden compared to other candy treats.  Apple slices covered with cinnamon work well too.

more info:
IMDB www.imdb.me/joannabonaro

Saturday, May 12, 2012

#22 HOT OVER 40! SURVIVING CANCER - I RUN FOR ME, MY MOTHER, FOR LIFE 5/12/12


More info click onto

IMDB www.imdb.me/joannabonaro

I AM WRITING THIS FOR MY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY AS A CANCER SURVIVOR-- MAY 25th, 2002.
 I survived cancer. But hated the way I looked. 
I gained my life. But lost my self-esteem. 
For 7 years. 
Then - * I got the woman in the mirror I liked to see back again. 
I am determined to make up for those 7 lost years.
In between, I learned that we all really need and want to feel beautiful.  That society puts way too much pressure on woman to be skeletal skinny and prepubescent and that there is a huge prejudice for any woman out there who is a size 8,10, 12 or 14. 
 I had a conundrum. 
I feel magnificent as a size 4, fat as a size 10 --- so what can my philosophy be? 
"Are you a hypocrite?", I asked myself.
No.
My viewpoint is:
I am not advocating skinny, nor am I condoning too much fat.  Neither is good - both are reflections of poor eating habits and perhaps poor exercise regimes.
I decided to propose & promote a positive outlook --- 
to seek health and happiness based upon your own values.  Not Vogues.

The thinking that "taking care of yourself" is important.

A tall building won't stay upright without a deep foundation and strong supports.  The same goes for your body- it needs proper food and exercise to excel.  Take care of the inside and the outside will take care of itself. Your spirit needs to wonder and feel light.  That's why we love mountain aeries.  Feeling close to the sky transports you.  You must have moments in life when you feel as if you can jubilantly soar through the Heavens.
 
The more  you take care of yourself, the better and lighter you feel. Your mind and emotions need to feel inspired.  Creating new ways of eating, moving and then yes adorning, create a sense of well-being.

LIVING IS ABOUT HAPPINESS.

 I want everyone to look and feel as pretty as they can, based upon there own comfort levels. Because I know, I know that no matter what any woman says, she wants to look and feel beautiful.


The reason why I am a lunatic in the gym?  
Because I can be.
Because I am still here
I could have been LONG gone. 
I am grabbing Life and not letting go. 
No one can stop me. No one can pull me down. 
I won't let myself and I won't let anyone else.  
AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU.


No matter where you are in your journey to look good and feel beautiful, remember that you are alive and able. 
Just start.  It will become a wondrous adventure full of surprises. You will surprise yourself the most. 
I guarantee it.


 Sure there are setbacks.  Life is about "dancing in the rain" afterall. Any rebirth symbolism involved water; a sprinkle or a plunge, drinking or sweating, it's all the same.
When I am in a class and basically moving at 100 mph an hour while others drop around me.  I am not showing off. 
I am exhilarating in the fact that I can move,
that I am alive.
 
I am not competing -
I am exhulting in movement and breath and life. 
look in the mirror and I am grateful, incredulous and absolutely amazed.

Working out has become a celebration. 
So yes, I run  for my mom who has survived not one but TWO bouts of breast cancer, and I run for me
The scars on my body are my testiment, her testiment, every woman's testiment.  They say "I have survived." 
YES! I RUN FOR LIFE!
If  you are a cancer survivor I would love to hear from  you. 

   
Cervical Cancer Ribbon Heart

If you would like to read some other blogs about cancer, my fitness and weight loss journey and getting your groove back with Brazil Buttlift 
see blogs #1,2,3,6,8,10 & 14

Fitness tip: Brazil Buttlift w/ Leandro Carvalho  www.leandrofitness.com

*thanks Leandro - I may not be a VS model, but who cares? I feel like a gorgeous one and at my age --- that is enough for me!

More info click onto



IMDB www.imdb.me/joannabonaro