Not much to say here, just plugging along. I am having a difficult time keeping a calorie deficit as large as I want, as 1400 a day is really pushing what I can eat and still be satisfied, even on highly nutritious calories. I keep not getting enough calcium, and I am not a fan of extra-dietary supplementation with vitamins, if it can be helped.

So I have been 'overeating' my calories each day by around 300, which is just fine. It just means I lose at a slightly slower rate. I still want to chuff off as much weight as possible before another pregnancy, but I am not going to starve myself to do it. My basal metabolic rate should be around 2400 calories per day (to maintain my weight if I do nothing in particular regarding activity) and so anything I eat under that WILL eventually culminate to weight loss.

Tonight is a party at a restaurant with my husband's coworkers, essentially what the annual Christmas party was supposed to be, were any of us in town to celebrate it! I don't know what I'll order, but I am thinking a salad or chicken dish may be a better idea than a steak, from a caloric standpoint. I am not going to check myself too heavily on the eating, but I WILL focus on eating vegetables over that damnable bread basket and wine! Little cumulative changes make a bigger difference than the truly occasional indulgence, provided that indulgence doesn't wipe out the calorie deficit cultivated for the past week :) I know I can have fun with friends, eat good food, and not go out of my mind with overeating.

It just requires a little attention and accountability, and that has almost become automatic for me now. I feel GUILTY if I do not write exact quantities of food down. If I eat more than the half an apple I allotted for lunch, it niggles in the back of my brain until I adjust the quantity up to reflect reality. I've become very uncomfortable with the idea of 'cheating' and lying to myself about my food, and I think it is a HUGE development toward my own brain monitoring itself and not letting me fall into a state of food coma and denial. I WANT to journal my food and eat a healthy, balanced diet. This is a big, big step.

I am slowly but surely edging closer to lifetime maintenance habits, and it feels GOOD!