Meditation. Say what?

Gandhi once said, “Today is going to be a busy day.  I must mediate twice as long.”

Mediation doesn’t mean much to me.  I even hate the word!  Sounds creepy and cultic.  During my last session with my nutritionist, Anna, I was given the homework of meditating.  Like most of my dramatic reactions, I rolled my eyes, huffed and replied, “I’m not into that new age-y stuff.”

But meditation means “to listen.”  So prayer is to talk to God, and meditation is to listen.  There are definitely people out there who take the whole meditation thing way too far.  But for someone like me who stays busy literally every minute of the day, quieting my soul isn’t such a bad thing.  So, I looked at Anna with one eyebrow raised and reluctantly agreed to give it a shot.

I sat on my bed cross-legged.  Anna told me that there is no right or wrong way to mediate but to be sure my spine is straight.  Why?  I didn’t ask.  Can I at least lean against my pillows?  I laughed at myself for trying to cheat.  So as I positioned myself appropriately (or the way I’ve seen in the movies) I closed my eyes and quieted my mind.  Anna said to just listen to my breathing.  At first, all I could hear was the teenage quarrel taking place on the sidewalk outside my window. (BTW, in case you’re wondering–Latrina ain’t gonna let her baby daddy sleep with her best friend, Kemesha. Dat ain’t gonna fly no mo).  But as I really listened to my breathing, I tuned everything else out and my breath got deeper and slower.  I became more relaxed that I think I’ve EVER been.  I told myself I’d try this for 5 minutes.  But by the time I looked up, over 20 minutes had gone by.  I listened for God’s voice to boom through my ceiling and wanted so desperately for Him to give me some huge revelation like who my husband will be.  But instead He told me that He loved me and cares for me.  After a long while of just listening, my mind began to talk to God.  I told Him that I loved Him, too, and that I want to be the woman He has destined me to be.  Conversation took place for a long time without me moving my lips once.  It was an odd, yet satisfying experience.

The bible says “pray continually.” (1 Thess 5:17).  Meditation and prayer go hand in hand, I think.  I will certainly try this again and hopefully get good enough at it to be able to do it between clients at work where the noise level is very high.  There are many benefits to taking a few minutes and “checking out.”  It helps restore, rejuvenate and refuel your body and mind.  Give it a shot.  What could it hurt?    

staying single

Let’s face it:  We all want to eventually meet a mate that we can have a committed, long term relationship with.  I recently had a meal with a friend and it sparked this blog.  This person is a pretty wonderful person in almost every way but this person does one thing that is totally inexcusable.   So I put together a top list of things that will keep you single (in no particular order):

1. SMOKING– I don’t even need to explain this one, people.

2. DRUG USE–Again, no explanation needed.

3. OUT OF SHAPE–Look, not everyone can be Mr. Olympia, but you can certainly exercise every day and keep your figure looking good.

4. DRINKS A LOT–This is a sore area from some people.  What defines “a lot?”  To my standards if a person needs to drink at many or all occasions, then that’s a lot (emphasis on the “need” part).  And if they’re certainly getting drunk a lot then that’s just not cool.

5. LAZY:  Again this is my standard of what “lazy” is.  Example: I have a friend who has been jobless for MONTHS!  He complains that he can’t find work, yet every time I call him up and ask, “Hey, whatcha doing?”  He answers, “Oh, just relaxing.  Just chilling out and taking a break.”  I wanna jump through the phone and strangle him.  I wanna scream, “What the heck are you relaxing from?  You don’t DO anything!  You sit around all day.  Take a break from what?!”  So, look, accomplish something, people.  Be productive.  Lazy moments are fine when you work hard.  But don’t do it all the time.

6.  BE A KNOW-IT-ALL:  These are people who constantly contribute with unwanted information or unsolicited advise.  It’s annoying.  Don’t do it.

7.  BE A STORY TOPPER:  Yes, a story-topper.  No matter what you say, this person will tell a story right after yours that is just a little more dramatic than yours.  The problem is, they will either interrupt you or barely let you finish before they start in with theirs.  It’s rude to ignore or not respond to another person’s story and it’s rude to always take the wind out of their sail.

8.  TALK TOO MUCH:  Being a Terherst, my whole family talks a lot.  I became aware of this early on and decided to be more like like dad, a counselor, who is an EXCELLENT listener.  I’ve worked on it for years and now, it’s one of my best traits.  But my friend at lunch was talking CONSTANTLY with no breath and didn’t once ask me a question.  To not acknowledge the other person is so totally rude.  If someone asks, “Where did you go to college?” Then you don’t go into a 17 minute conversation about your college days.  You answer briefly, then throw the ball back with, “How about yourself?  Where you did attend college?”  No one is gonna wanna be with you if you can’t throw the ball back during conversations.  No one likes a ball-hog.

causes of cravings

Since I’ve sort of battled with cravings lately, I thought I’d blog this list of things that cause cravings that I got from–you guessed it–my nutritionist, Anna.  But her list is really in depth and hard to understand so I kind of paraphrased things a little for you.

CAUSES OF CRAVINGS:

1.  WATER:  if you’re on the verge of dehydration, your body is not gonna tell you that.  Instead, it’s gonna tell you that it’s hungry.  So instead of eating right then, drink a full glass of water and wait a few minutes.  

2.  UPSET WITH OTHER THINGS:  Ok, sorry for being so vague but look, this means that if there are other things going wrong in your life like your stressed, bored, bad relationships, hate your job, don’t go to church, don’t exercise, etc…then you’re gonna look to fill the void in your life with crazy cravings.  So get balanced!

3.  SEASONAL:  Your body craves foods that balance out the elements of the season.  For example, if it’s hot outside, you’re gonna crave foods that cool you down.  Or if it’s Christmas, you might crave egg nog, candy, sipping wine in a Tahoe ski chalet…sorry, what was I saying?

4.  LACK OF NUTRIENTS:  If you’re not getting adequate nutrients, you’re gonna crave foods that have those.  Like, if you’re sodium levels are low, you might crave some salty foods. Also, if your energy is low, you might crave something like caffeine to give you a boost.

5.  HORMONAL:  Pickles and ice cream.  Enough said. 

Cristy’s new baby!

Well, if that title doesn’t make your butthole pucker, I don’t know what will.  I will let you all wonder what I’m talking about.  But those of you who know me well know that if I were expecting a real baby, I would have already been halfway down the long plunge off the Brooklyn Bridge.  Besides that, God already did the whole impregnating the virgin Mary thing so unless I’m having sex, it ain’t happening…and unless I’ve found “the one,” I ain’t having any sex.  So… now that I’ve shared too much information with ya’ll, back to my baby.

I got a dog.  Well, a puppy, really.  I’ve been searching for months and months and it’s been something I’ve wanted since I left Memphis back in 2005.  It has taken a long time for me to finally make this decision.  Now that my business is stable and steady, and now that my schedule is consistent, it was time for a dog.  Looks like he’ll be delivered to my house here in New York around the 3rd of May.  I can’t tell you how excited I am about this new chapter in my life.  I’ll update you later with all the details about him and I’ll enclose a picture.  

My trainer wins the Golden Gloves

My trainer, Ngo Okafor, won the novice heavyweight division last night in the finals at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden.  This was the 81st annual Daily News Golden Gloves, a highly respected and coveted amateur boxing competition.

T’was no easy feat.

Ngo weighed in each fight at barely 190 or 191 in a division where most of the guys were weighing close to 200 LBS.  He was the lightest guy in each of the fights leading up to the finals, yet he dominated each time he stepped in the squared circle.  Ngo fought more than any other golden gloves competitor, having never drawn a bye.  

Ngo put on a pair of gloves for the first time only 2 years ago and he’s one of the most talented boxers I’ve seen.  It’s too bad he never started sooner (he’s 33 yrs old now) and he has no plans to lace them up again now that he’s sporting the beautiful gold and diamond gloves around his neck.  As I can relate, the training has seriously taken it’s toll on him physically, mentally and financially.  Ngo runs his own personal training business and it has taken every last inch of energy for him to see this through to the end.

The the payoff was worth it cause he looked great.  Fast, strong, good combinations, and lots of pressure on his formidable opponent.  Unanimous decision.  I thought I was going to come out of my skin.

I couldn’t be more proud of my trainer who deserves every single drop of alcohol he consumed last night during the celebratory bar-hopping he made with his large group of friends appropriately in tow.  I am BEAMING with pride.   

Code Red misses the mark

For the past week, I’ve been thinking about my next blog and what I could sit down and write to you guys that would cause you to have this huge epiphany.  I’m so hung up on really making a difference and making a mark in this world.  But nothing creative was coming to mind (as creative as my blogs get anyway).  

I got an angry email from a friend (a former friend now after the exchange of nasty emails) who told me I “need to get over myself.”  I didn’t know what that meant because I am an expert in my field, studied this in college, compete in the toughest sport professionally, and practice what I preach daily.  Although I’ve been involved with health and fitness for over a decade, I’ve had my bouts with being fat and out of shape.  I know how hard it is to lose weight.  But the difference is I didn’t make excuses AT ALL.  I admitted I was fat and was like, “Ok.  What have I gotta do here to get fit?”  And I did it.  

But this week, something happened to me.

All week I experienced uncontrollable, unexplainable, unreasonable cravings for large amounts of food.  I have cravings like you guys do, but this was different.  I couldn’t stop eating.  I just wanted more and more and more food.  Anything I could get my hands on, I would eat.  The urge was greater than I’ve ever felt.  Every night this would happen.  It was like I was having an out of body experience.  I could see myself reaching for the fridge and I knew I wasn’t hungry.  But I did it anyway.  At one point I collapsed on the kitchen floor with my head in my hands and yelled out loud, “What is happening to me?  Why am I doing this!?”  

My nutritionist, Anna (see past blogs for more about Anna) told me that when I have a craving, try to identify why it’s happening.  What is off balance in my life?  Something was “lacking” for things to go awry like they did.  Well, shoot, I mean, that could mean a lot of things, but the point is I really sat down and re-evaluated things and I’m back on track now.  I’m lucky I was able to get ahold of this behavior before I gained weight or threw myself out my 4th story apartment window from depression.

My point is that although I haven’t pushed a human fetus out my vagina, I have and do experience the all of same things you guys do.  That’s why I’ve opened myself up to you so that you’ll see that I can relate.  I go through the same struggles and I miss the mark on many occasions.  I get comments from people all the time who look at me and say, “Look at how good you look.  You can’t possibly understand what it’s like to be me.”  But I make it a daily point to put my health and wellness at the top of the list.  I work hard at it.  It won’t be the last time I have a breakdown like that, I’m sure, but I’ve learned how to identify and handle them when they do.  So can you.  Equip yourself.         

try this for a change

In America, we are constantly bombarded with society’s opinion of what’s pretty, skinny or fit.  No wonder so many folks have eating disorders and low self esteem.  My clients come to me wanting change their appearance because they don’t like what they see.  So often we need to change what’s inside us before we can be happy with what we see in the mirror.  During the course of my time with my clients, we talk about how they view themselves and how we can rehab our self-destructive thinking.  

So here’s your new assignment:  Be thankful for what you DO HAVE.  Instead of putting yourself down all the time because your thighs bulge or you’re on your last belt loop, say “I’m thankful that I have no back problems.”  Or “I’m thankful that my legs are strong enough to carry me to and from work.”  Being a professional fighter, I’m prone to injury but I am SO BLESSED that I have made it this far in my career without any.  I am constantly thanking God for giving me this strong body.  Once you focus more on what you DO HAVE going for you, you’ll find that the weak points start getting stronger. 

runnin’ ragged

Today was near perfection.  

No, not because it was my birthday.  I’m talking about running.  Before you roll your eyes, read on.  I have learned to love running.  I used to hate it until I saw that I was able to fit into smaller clothes and fight 10 hard rounds in a world title fight in China because of it.  So I learned to embrace running.  There really is nothing else that will slim you down quicker than running, not to mention all the cardiovascular benefits.

Today, I woke up to beautiful blue skies and 51 degrees.  I strapped on my gear and hit the road.  I felt so free and fast.  I ran 7 miles and I felt fantastic.  A little Fatboy Slim in my ear as I weaved through cabs and tourists and I could’ve run to Vancouver.  

Here’s the deal:  You don’t need a gym membership; you don’t need fancy equipment; you don’t need a degree in Exercise Science.  You just need a pair of shoes.  I know this sounds a little “Forrest Gump-ish” but it’s simple and true.  It doesn’t matter what you look like, what you’re wearing or if your makeup is on.  Just put on your shoes and go.  You can run no matter where you are–that’s the beauty of it.  My life has been transformed by running. My client’s lives have been transformed by running.  Thanks to Under Armour, I was able to run outdoors all through winter and I felt so alive!  (Yeah, my snot was frozen to my lip but by-gosh I was alive!)

Give it a shot.  Even if you’ve never run before in your life, just try it.  Start slow.  Do a little at a time and before you know it, you’ll be cruising.  Make sure you invest in a good pair of shoes.      

I’m a bully?

My mom should learn by now that whatever she–or anyone–says to me can and will be used against them in Code Red’s blog.  After reading my last blog, “Stop Eating Out,” mom emailed me and told me that I was being a harsh bully.  She told me “not everyone feels the way you do, honey.”  Well, yeah!  I know!  Or I would be out of a job quicker that you can say “McNugget.”  

I guess I’m a little bit of a bully when it comes to health and wellness because I’m frustrated with–get ready, Mom, I’m gonna say it–MY RELATIVES–for not putting out more effort to lead a healthy life.  I have, like 200 relatives so I’m not pointing any specific fingers but I LOVE THEM SO MUCH and I want them to feel what I feel (and I want them to live longer).  Mom’s worried that I’ve offended someone in my quest to change the world.  

I’m sure I have.  

But my true and deepest heart’s desire is for people to wake up in the morning and be happy with what they see in the mirror.  And so many diseases and sicknesses can be prevented or treated if people just do the simplest things like stop drinking soda.  Or take the stairs.  Or not eat past 6PM.  So, yes, “my name is Cristy and I’m a health bully.”  But guess who people come to when they want to shape up?  Yours truly.  I might be strict, loud and demanding but my clients get results, have fun and keep coming back for more.  We don’t mess around at Code Red Fitness.  And at my prices, who can afford to?  I’m passionate about what I do and my clients know that.  

Hey, guess what?  My colleague and close friend, Dr. Ed Williams, just informed me that obesity is up 17% in New York City and 6% nationally (according to a CNN report 3/31/08).  How’s that for harshness?  Ouch!

People! Listen! stop eating out!

My blood boils thinking about this subject.  I can’t even believe how much people eat out.  I’m not talking just New Yorkers; I’ve got relatives in California who eat out constantly.  They’re all good cooks; there’s plenty of good food in the cupboards.  But no.  They’ll hit the road for some Applebees 5 nights a week.  My friends, co-workers and clients almost never cook.  When I was growing up, mom cooked dinner every, single night.  Every night we sat around the dinner table (and mom even worked a full-time job).  So it’s appalling to me that families–even couples–don’t do that.  I don’t care that we live in New York and that our apartments are small.  That’s no excuse to not cook in.  Don’t know how to cook?  Well get off your lazy butt and learn.  Take a class.  Read a book.  

Let’s think first of how much money you’re spending a day or a week on eating out or ordering in.  My friend, who owns a clothing store in SOHO spends approx $40 a day on food.  Ok.  So, let’s do a little math…x’s that by 5, take the square root, divided that by the reciprocal, carry the one, move the decimal and you’ve got…$1200 a month on food.  Holy Moly!  Sweet Jesus in heaven!  That’s a lot of money!  Now, take me, for example.  Do you know how much I spend on food?  $32 a week.  That’s all my groceries cost me.  Give or take $5 here and there for some fresh fruit off the street but there’s a big difference between $1200 and $128.  

So, now you’re gonna tell me you don’t have time to make your lunch.  First of all, don’t ever tell me you don’t have time for anything cause it’s not a pretty sight watching Code Red’s head explode.  There’s nothing I hate worse that hearing that.  It’s all a matter of priorities.  MAKE THE TIME.  Take the extra 15 minutes in the morning to throw a lunch together.  It’s not rocket science, people.  It’s a sandwich.  It’s a piece of fruit.  It’s a yogurt.  It goes in a bag and you go to work.  Not hard.  Do it the night before even.  And last, eating your own food from home is so much healthier for you.  Your own fresh fruit and veggies are not processed like the chicken parm from the corner deli.  Your own food will be lower in sodium and smaller portions than what the restaurant will give you.  

All I’m asking you to do is try it for one month.  Heck!  Try it for one week!  Brown-bag it for lunch and make dinner at home for yourself.  It will make going out to a restaurant more special and more fun.  Save those occasions for a reward to yourself for saving so much money and calories.  I want to hear back from you how it goes!