I hand't thought about milestones until I weighed myself yesterday. I also hadn't planned on writing about this today, but it's shorter and more food related than my other options so there's that. 

Last week I weighed the same as the week before. Yesterday the scale showed that I've lost 2,3kg this week (that's 5lbs for my friends across the pond). Good news first: my current weight is the lowest in the last 3 years and in just a few grams I'll be getting rid of the 90s. I know this because I started logging my weight 3 years ago, probably with the intention to lose some weight but I see now that it was hope, rather than intention. Not so good news second: this doesn't make any sense. I've done almost the same during both weeks. I've been carrying all this stress and snacking for about 6 weeks now. I even put on a little weight along the way. Not understanding why or how I'm losing weight doesn't help me at all. In fact, it adds to my stress. 

Today I realized that I'm failing to take hormones into account. Sometimes I think about them and sometimes I just forget but it's something I should always keep in mind because they have a powerful effect in weight. For us females folks out there it's not only about feeling bloated. Actually, it's not a feeling at all. It's been proven that, depending on where you're on the month you can gain up to a 5% of your body weight due to hormonal changes. Just imagine doing everything right and gaining 4,5kg (10lbs) in one week without explanation – which also translates to a couple sizes of difference in your clothing, which is a whole different problem itself. Or, on the contrary, stuffing yourself and loosing an almost unhealthy amount of weight. It's insane. And all this without considering the famous cravings, that may last a day or ten. 

I think that finding a balance between accepting it for what it is and not letting yourself get too carried away is key here (like with all thing in life, duh). Let's say you're craving a certain snack for two days in a row and you know it's hormonal. In my case, fighting it does more damage than good because I end up craving it harder so I think it's best to just allow it and get a hold of my good habits again the next day. On the other hand, eating unhealthy for a whole week and blaming it on hormones it just avoiding your responsibility towards yourself and your choices. 

Another key would be not getting too hung up on your weekly weight logging and looking at the bigger picture. In this case, I know that eating almost the same for two weeks and seeing this much difference is not showing a realistic image of my journey. On the other hand, comparing my current weight with what I weighed a month ago or at the beginning shows a better picture of my real progress. 

There are also many hormones that affect not only females but all of us and that have an impact not only on our weight but also on our overall health. I'm talking for example – but not exclusively – about stress produced hormones. I'm no doctor and don't pretend to be but I think it'd be wise for anyone who cares about their health – either physical or mental – to take a look around the internet and learn a little bit about hormones and their crazy effects. A word of caution when researching things online, though: use trusted sources, double and triple check everything and, most importantly, don't do absolutely anything that can affect your health without consulting with your doctor first. 

As always, thanks for reading.