Random Tuesday {7} I'm hungry...

So it's time for another Random Tuesday. And as I write this, I'm hungry again. Not the "oh my God, I'm so hungry I could chew my arm off" but the "Damn it, I got the munchies again" hunger.   I swear, at times I would rather have the first than the later - cause its the munchies that strikes  while I'm writing and just sitting on my butt.  It also packs on the pounds. Especially if I fall back on old favorites like  Reece's Pieces and Pepsi.  *glares at muse*  Don't even start! You're fat ass doesn't need candy! 


Whew...the muse is not to happy with my healthier lifestyle. She'd be content if I continued to drink heavily carbonated drinks and stuffed my face full of sweets.  But so far I'm resisting and have manged to shed a few pounds.  Below are my top five 'healthy snacks".

#5 - Bananas - easy to peel

Geez, no dick jokes please....but there is something really appealing about being able to grab one and start consuming it in less than 30 seconds.  

#4 - Single Serving Kettle Corn - just the right amount...

I absolutely love popcorn - since I was a child - to the point I'd eat a whole papersack of it. (Yep, my mom was one of those who used REAL butter and popped it on the stove.)  But now-a-days, when I want to something sweet and salty, I grab a bag of this from the cupboard...

#3 - Grapes and Cheese - sweet and salty...

I never thought I'd enjoy this kind of snack.  I love grapes, I love cheese...but together? It never crossed my mind until my local market started packaging them together in their deli.  Now, it's my newest junk food, and I can't get enough of it.  Maybe the Romans had it right?  

#2 - Pickles - tart and refreshing...

Hey, no jokes. I don't care if they resemble little penises or not. These are delicious and as long as I can keep my kids out of them, they are in ready supply at the Trace Household. 

#1 - Craisins (aka dried cranberries) - don't knock it til you tried it... 

These are my guilty pleasure. I love them. They not only are sweet, they are healthy, which means they satisfy my sweet tooth while taking care of my digestive tract.  I keep a bag of them on my desk for when those sudden munchies attacks happen. 

  

So did your favorite 'healthy' snack make my list?  If not, share! I'm always looking for something new to try.  

Dakota 

I've Begun a Journey

Last week a couple of things happened and is the way of life, one was really good, but the other not so good.  The first being that I stepped on the scales for the first time in over two years.  Combined with my higher than normal blood pressure, something had to be done about the excess weight I'm carrying around. 

When I left my job as a fork lift driver nearly five years ago, I was at 170 pounds, and just a little over weight for my 5 '1 frame. Due o the structure of my frame, my doctor at the time wanted me to lose about 30 pounds. I tried, then life got the better of me. I had my dream job of writing full time and being home but I was LAZY. I sat in front of my computer and snacked all day.  

Well, I'm sure you can figure out what happened. I gained some weight...a lot of it. My blood pressure went up and I'm now a candidate for Type II diabetes. (Something that runs heavily in my family.)  So I decided that I HAD to make some drastic lifestyle changes. No more 2 liters of Pepsi a day, and most of all, get off my LAZY ASS and exercise!  

I'll be forty next April and while I'd love to be at the same weight as I was in high school, I know that's probably never gonna happen. So instead I set some more manageable goals.   

Exercise Goals

To do 1200 minutes of Yoga in the next 30 days. Which works out to be about 40 minutes each day, and my yoga class is nearly an hour long.  I'll reevaluate in 30 days and see how I feel.

Weight Goals

Goal One - to be 190 pounds by the time I take my annual trip to Tennessee in October.  (Hey, that's only 13 weeks away...averages out to about 2 pounds a week)

Goal Two - to be 160 pounds by my birthday.  Why?  

MORE INFO HERE

Well, that has to do with my good news. I signed up last Monday for my first ever writer's conference. The Midwest Writer's Conference 2015. It's being held in Indianapolis, IN during the weekend of April 17th thru the 19th. (and about two weeks after my bday)   It's hard to believe I've been writing professionally since 2008 and haven't been to one.  

This one is actually being held close enough to my home in Iowa, that I can drive there in less than eight hours. *smiles*  So I'll be meeting up with one of my besties, Evelise Archer and a ton of other wonderful authors.  And heaven help me...I'll be all decked out in 70s garb for their theme party on Saturday night.  (Another reason to lose some weight.  Bell-bottom pants would not do me any favors at the moment.)  

Anyway, if you noticed, at the bottom of my blogger there are some new trackers that pertain to my health goals. They will be updated weekly as I continue to watch what I eat (via Weight Watchers) and exercise (via DailyBurn.com - the site I take my yoga classes on.)  

Perhaps when I'm brave enough (round the end of my thirty days), I'll post some before and after pictures. (I'm hoping some will be able to tell the weight difference.)  However in the end, whether it's because of the conference or health concerns, my goal is to be a better me. 

Wish me luck...my journey has just begun. 

©Dakota Trace All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.