Layered Graham & Yogurt Dessert

I found a delicious looking dessert on Pinterest yesterday and figured with a couple swaps it could be more healthy. I tried it today and it was delicious and super easy. All you need to do is layer reduced fat graham crackers and fat free vanilla Greek yogurt (start and end with graham layers, 4 graham sheets). Melt dark chocolate in the microwave and pour over the top. Refrigerate for 6 hours then serve.

Maybe TMI?

Just a forewarning on the following post. It maybe too much information for some of you out there. Some of you already know me well when it comes to my training and lifestyle as well as my approach to nutrition. Some of my first time clients were taken back when I'd question there poop. Yep, that's right, I asked about their bowel movements. Paying attention to your digestive health is very important. Your urine and bowels tell whether or not you're getting optimal nutrition and supplementation. Checking the color, consistency, and how often you hit the John can give an clue into your overall health. If you haven't already seen the poop episode of Dr. Oz you should google it and watch. Basically you want to be pooping at least once a day, it needs to be a brown color, and it should form a "s" or "c" shape in the toilet. Some things that aren't normal and should get checked out: blood in the stool, days of diarrhea, going a week or longer without having a bowel movement.

The reason I'm going over all this is because I really believe in practicing what I preach. For the past 6 weeks I've been absolutely exhausted, have had heartburn and nausea, not to mention diarrhea a couple times a week. THIS IS NOT NORMAL. I couldn't understand why a healthy person like me was having these digestive issues. After visiting with my doctor she stated she believes I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. She suggested I try taking a probiotic for 6 weeks to see if it clears up and if it didn't she was going to refer me to a Gastroentologist.

So I'll keep you all informed as to if these probiotics do the trick. I'll also be following a IBS friendly diet and increase my "bulking" foods. I already eat tons of fiber and stay away from dairy so the IBS diets aren't too different than what I normally eat. I've also been doing some reading and IBS can flare up because of stress which is my only guess as to why I'm having digestive issues. Confusing for me because I've never really had too many issues in the past. Hopefully I just need some of the healthy gut flora provided by these probiotics to clear up the issue.

So like I said, this might have been TMI for some of you but this is none the less important information for your health. Start looking in your toilets people and ask your doc if anything is bothersome.

Less Training Means More Free Time

So since I've chosen baby that means my lifestyle changes. That means two things different for me, more food and less training. Sound funny? Believe it or not if your bodyfat is too low and you train too intensely your body will not want to support a human life. For me this means sacrificing my "train hard" gym sessions for a different approach. Training not for muscle and a lean physique but for a healthy bodyfat while staying moderately strong and cardiovascularly fit. I plan on hitting the gym 4 times a week, lifting for 40 minutes and cardio for 20 minutes. My caloric intake also increases about 300 calories a day but in the form of healthy fats and some additional carbohydrates. I must admit, I went to Trader Joes yesterday for my groceries and I was very excited to throw peanut butter filled pretzels and the ingredients for tacos into the cart. I'll continue to eat clean of course, but it'll be much more relaxed in terms of food choices compared to my competition preparation.

With all this free time I started a couple projects that I've been putting off. First one finished: refurbished cellphone cover. I got the idea from Kandee Johnson whose blogs I follow. She's such a sweetheart and she is very artistic and creative. Check out the before and after photos along with a picture of my little helper.

And the decision has been made...

Baby time.

Maybe in a future post I will explain my decision. Or for those of you who are already mommies out there you'll already understand. ;)

A Sign From God?

So today is decision day, do I keep training and dieting for the November 3 Figure Competition or do I move forward with family plans of adding a new addition to the family? For the last couple days I've been so undecided often flipping back and forth on the matter multiple times a day.

This morning I woke up to what are the signs that I'm ovulating. I was surprised to see it but in the same thought I took it as a sign that it's time to try for our latest addition for our Finney Family.

About 2 hours later I was at Golds Gym working my arms and calves. I'm a regular there and everyone already knows Kellen and I even though we've only been going there for a 3 weeks. Since I frequent this gym almost daily I recognize if anything is different. Well today something was different at Golds. They added a huge poster for the upcoming Bodybuilding/Figure Competition on November 3. It wasn't there yesterday... Another sign, am I supposed to compete? Now I'm really confused. Needless to say, these signs aren't helping and I'm in the exact same predicament that I was on Tuesday. I'm taking the weekend off of training and I'll start it off tonight with a delicious burger from Bachi Burger which my brother informed me I had to eat since we moved to Vegas.

Winning Combination

Today I felt like something a little different for lunch. My usual is chicken and gluten free bread (either Udo brand or Ezekiel) with tomatoes and spicy mustard. I opened the fridge to grab my usuals but noticed the hummus and almond cheddar calling my name, they sounded way better so I decided to eat them instead! I made a sandwich using two toasted slices of Ezekiel bread, 1 ounce sliced almond cheddar, and 2 tbs hummus. My mouth was watering thinking about the flavor! I thought something was missing though so i opened up the fridge and spotted the Jicama my mom brought when she came to visit. DON'T MIND IF I DO. This lunch knocked my socks off, plus chicken just really didn't sound appetizing at the moment.

If you're not familiar with almond cheese it's a non dairy alternative to cheddar. I found it at Whole Foods a month back for Kellen (who is currently on a dairy free diet) but I immediately was addicted. Hummus is also a delicious healthy spread/dip option that originates from the middle east. It's made from chick peas (garbanzo beans), garlic and olive oil but I've seen many different versions. And as for Jicama, it comes from Mexico, I used to eat it often when I lived in Tucson and San Diego. Yum yum yum.

not sure what's for dinner but I've been in moods lately where chicken sounds so boring. So maybe we have some chili adobo steak? Baked zucchini? And then some Coconut Crack for dessert?

Let's Be Honest...

I started my competition preparation 2 weeks ago, which would be 10 weeks out from my November 3 Las Vegas Muscle Show. I stayed fairly lean throughout the summer therefore I felt I could take my time slowly without killing myself in the gym NOR starving myself. My training and diet have been going well but something bothersome happened.

Actually, multiple "symptoms" where happening. You see, I would hit a brick wall around 1pm. My energy was zapped and if I laid my head down I was bound to fall asleep. I was having crazy vivid dreams at night. I also had mild abdominal cramping. Then my period was late. I waited a week but Aunt Flo never showed up. So then I thought, "what if I'm pregnant?" So I bought a 2-pack preggo test. The first one said negative. Then I waited a couple more days and took the second one, which was completely blank (that means the stupid thing is defective). I immediately called my nearby medical clinic to schedule a blood test. I took the test on Friday and the Nurse Practitioner said I'd have to wait 2 business days before getting back the results. Well guess what, this was Labor Day weekend so my wait was 4 friggen days.

This whole weekend I started thinking, "well if I'm pregnant than I obviously can't compete on November 3. Am I ok with that? Of course I am! I love my son and my husband, I'd be more than elated to add another to our family." I began daydreaming about my baby, wondering what he/she would look like. Then I started thinking of names, and baby clothes, and maternity clothes, and nursery ideas. And well, you get the picture. The competition completely left my mind and I was immersed in thoughts of babies! Then Tuesday came, and I got a call, and the blood test said I was not pregnant. I thanked the woman for calling and immediately went on to my lunch.

As the afternoon started unfolding I realized I was actually quite upset. I wanted to be pregnant. I texted my husband to inform him of the "negative" news and he said he was really bummed. By 5pm, I was depressed. Mike came home from work and suggested we go out and get sushi. Even though I'm currently dieting for the competition, and it's not a scheduled cheat meal, I decided we needed to enjoy dinner together and talk about how we were feeling. We had a nice conversation about our future family plans and what we both want. Because of my feelings on both the upcoming competition I've been training for AND my feelings on expanding our family I've come to the realization that... I better make a decision of which is more important to me right now! This Friday I'll make my final decision, move forward with competition which is in 8 weeks or move forward with our expanding the family plan.

See the thing is you can't have both. Not as a female figure competitor at least. As you bring your bodyfat down to get that lean stage ready look, a lot of females lose their menstrual cycle. This has happened to me before and on more than one occasion. And I'm actually thinking that my bodyfat level right now is why my period disappeared. The question I now ask myself, "Right now what is more important to you? The competition or having another child?"