Not much to say today, nor much time to say it! The past week I've been bouncing around the same weight, and there's likely a couple of causes. Yes, I still have a calorie deficit going, but it is smaller than I'd like due to a few social overeating occasions (and yes, I enjoyed them thoroughly and don't regret them one bit!). I have continued to exercise less than I'd like, and I would say that is contributing to the lack of loss. Sodium and stress also continue to impact the number.

And sometimes, the scale just doesn't move, even when math says it 'should'. The good thing is, if I continue down this same track it WILL eventually get going again, even if the losses are not as linear as I'd like. I am doing better this week than last weekend, which was where the calories piled up a bit. I did not go over my daily limits to maintain, and overall should have lost about a pound, so somewhere down the line I am sure that deficit will show up on the scale.

Life's just busy, and it has become busier with Peter's new work schedule. He is gone most weekdays from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm, and that is SO tough on me. I am grateful he has started a new business, it is a dream of his and will be a huge benefit to our family down the road, but it is up to half a year of not seeing him as much as we'd like, and that is stressful. In addition to all sorts of everyday stresses, that has been a weight on our shoulders that we are still adjusting to.

Darkness is also not helping. There is no snow on the ground, so despite slightly longer days than on the winter solstice this is THE darkest time of the year. The sun is not rising until at least 9:30 (mind you, I have been trying to wake up at 5:00, in complete darkness) and is setting around 4:00 pm every day. It's ridiculous, and with no snow to reflect the little amount of sunlight we're getting the days are dark, even with clear skies. I still love it here, but I am ITCHING for some snow. Trying to not eat out of boredom and get enough energy to move around is really difficult when everything in my body is screaming HIBERNATE! at me.

There's not much else to tell of late. I got some new cookbooks and will be transitioning to cleaner eating for the whole family this week (more grains than most nutritionists would recommend, but they are whole, low glycemic index, and being cooked from scratch daily) so I am probably going to have to tweak my daily meal schedule a bit to fit in the calorie differences and time these recipes will take. It is going to be a good change, but getting out of some comfortable cooking habits may be tough. I am focusing on phasing out the last bit of processed food from our daily diets and we'll have it only on the rare occasion at home or outside of the house, but not as a normal occurrence.

Wish me luck during this adjustment period!