putting my money where my mouth is

Yep.  I am.

I haven’t been to the boxing gym these past couple of weeks and consequently, Code Red has put on a few pounds.  Granted, I am kepping up my running each day, but I’ve been eating like CRAP and really downing the coffee lately like it’s heroin.  So without the boxing workouts and with all the junk food, I’m barely fitting into my jeans.  Barely.

So I’m putting myself up to a new challenge.  I leave for vacation to Mexico on August 18th.  Beginning August 1st, I will have 18 days to shape up my figure and lose this extra weight (10 LBS to be exact).  To make it fair and more realistic to your lifestyles and something that doesn’t require a “gym membership”, I will not be allowed to box.  RUNNING ONLY.  

SO………

I bet you that I can lose 10 lbs in 18 days using only running and eating well.  No drugs, no Hollywood juice, no workouts with a trainer, no nothing.  I must log in and blog each day with my weight, progress, what I did and what I ate.  I will not withhold any info from you–I’ll let it all hang out for you to see in plain sight.  I will even take pics of the scale and post them.  I know most doctors say 1-2 lbs a week is a healthy weight loss and I agree.  But I will do this a heathy yet aggressive way and show you that it can be done with only your sneakers and will power.  

Starting August 1st–HERE WE GO!

go ahead–sweat the small stuff

It’s pretty well known that boxers like to sweat.  Boxers and wrestlers (since we have similar workouts).  It comes from the fact that we have to make different weights for different fights.  Nine times out of ten you’ll find a fighter bundled up in 3 layers of clothing and a stocking cap hitting the heavy bag, sparring or running on the treadmill. An outsider might see that and think that we’ve taken one too many hits to the head…

(we have, but that’s another blog…)

I love to sweat–not in my Sunday dress, but during my workouts.  And since studies have proven boxing to be the number one hardest sport, boxing workouts are nothing less than a day at Leavenworth.  At the end of my sessions each day, my shorts are dripping like a wet diaper.  And that’s the way I like it.

Don’t be afraid to sweat, people.  As long as you’re staying hydrated, sweating is a great way to flush out your system.  Go ahead and throw on some under-armour and stink it up!  Plus, I don’t know if this is true (medically speaking) but when I feel a cold coming on, I’ll get right to the gym and “sweat it out” and I swear I’ll feel better.  Did you tie one on last night?  Hit the treadmill and sweat out that Jager!  Get that crap out of your system.  Again, don’t over-heat and have a heat stroke.  Boxers are pretty experienced at using sweat suits (plastic suits) and we’re supervised by our trainers while we wear them so I’m not suggesting you go that far.  But there’s something about getting done with a workout and you know you’ve just sweat out a gallon that feels refreshing.  Like a new start, a clean slate.  Of course, you want to immediately drink some water but it’s like all the impurities of the day are gone and now you’re replenishing your body.  Feels so good.

Look, just to give you an idea, it’s 12:30AM and I just got in from a run (cause I couldn’t sleep).  It’s 86 degrees and I had on 2 layers of clothing plus a stocking cap.  I was sweating buckets but I feel so purified now.  I’m not suggesting you go as far as I do (like I said, I’m experienced at this and I know my body) but I am saying to maybe wear a long sleeve shirt while you workout next time or maybe some Under-Armour under your shorts and see how you feel.  You might like it!

your reactions to my pregnancy blog

My favorite thing to do is stir the pot and let me tell you the “Code Red and pregnancy” blog took the cake.  I received mixed reactions from readers all over the country.  Here are a couple of the responses.  Being fair, I’m posting the good AND the bad:

 

• “Let me just say that your comments on pregnancy and woman who are pregnant were inappropriate and very judgmental…if your only reason for getting pregnant is to “show woman how it’s done” then you really need to re-evaluate yourself. No one should ever get pregnant to prove a point…You should consider that not every woman is on your level of fitness and that some do not want to be on your level. It is great that you have a great deal of passion for fitness but don’t assume that all women want the same thing…”                             –Anonymous (father of 1) Bronx, New York

 Cristy’s comments: I’m gonna purposely keep quiet on this one  

• “Kudos to your email regarding fitness and pregnancy!!!! I still trained for the IRONMAN tri while pregnant…I ran 3-10 miles per day until week 30, then I swam at least 2 miles a day…At my 2 week check up I already lost 35! I ran my first 5K just 6 weeks after delivery. And my first half marathon 10 weeks after an emergency c-section! So I’m currently 5 months out and smaller than I was before pregnancy!”      –Ashley Trent, R.N. BSN (mother of 1) Memphis, TN

 Cristy’s comments:  You are my hero, Ash.

 

•  “Ok. You know I love your blogs…But try a more motivational and supportive approach rather than Hell Fire and Brimstone. I swear people will be more receptive and less like “f**k that and pass the twinkies…”                        –Katie Everett (mother of 3) St. Louis, MO

Cristy’s comments:  Well, I doubt my blog is gonna make someone give up and get fat.  That type of person is just LOOKING for a reason to give up.  But thanks anyway, Katie.  And thanks for using astricks in the F word.  LOL 

 

• “Polite ladies never make history…”  

–Cari Ayres, M.D. (mother of 2) Clarkston, Washington 

 Cristy’s comments:  HA!  I love it!

 

•  “I thought it was funny…”

–Carole Terherst (mother of 3) McCall, Idaho

Cristy’s comments:  Well, there you go.

 

•  “You certainly push the envelope, Code Red…”  

–Robert Mladinich (father of 3) New York, New York

Cristy’s comments:  Thanks.  I don’t really know what he meant, but I take that as a compliment.  Like I do when someone says, “You certainly don’t LOOK like a boxer…”

 

 

• “Oh, Code Red, you’re really putting yourself out there on this one!  I wish I had guts to say things no matter what people think.  You say things that people are thinking but too afraid to say.  I don’t know you, but I’m a fan and I love to see what you’re going to write next.” –Ann Davis, Omaha, Nebraska

Cristy’s comments:  I’m either really gutsy or really stupid but I’m glad you’re reading my stuff, Ann.  I’m gonna have to come live with you when all my fans turn on me and I get run out of town!  Omaha, huh? Sounds nice…

God’s Pharmacy

A friend sent this to me. It’s been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish… all before making a human. He made and provided what we’d need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We’re such slow learners…

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

God’s Pharmacy! Amazing!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye… and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

 Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female – they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (mo dern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just l ike the mammary glands of the female and ac tually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body’s cells. Today’s research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

I can’t think of a title

Wow, would you look at that?  It has been almost a month since I blogged last.  I checked around and it seems that no one is really blogging lately.  Must be the heat.  New York summers are pretty miserable and it’s all I can do to just get through them.  Like my father, I prefer the cold weather and snow.  So I guess all I need to do is get rich so I can buy a winter ski chalet and split my time between New York and the mountains.  I can almost taste the hot cocoa…

Anyhoo, I hope ya’ll are doing well.  I’ve been working hard all summer working, training, getting my book published, motivational speaking, photo shoot, etc… and it’s my turn to chill a little before it starts back this fall.  So I’ll be heading out of town from mid August to mid September.  I miss my family tremendously so I’m heading back west to see them.  Most New Yorkers leave the city for the summer due to, you guessed it, the extreme heat so it’s a good time to leave.

I have a couple of new things to share but I haven’t quite received the green light to let the cat out of the bag so I’ll hold off for now.  Just know that I’m, once again, on to something new and exciting and I can’t wait to tell you.  

Hope you guys are all good and if I get inspired to jot down something halfway intelligent and somewhat helpful, I’ll do so. Until then, take care, ya’ll.