diff --git a/server/db.go b/server/db.go
index 66d2ea5..bfad818 100644
--- a/server/db.go
+++ b/server/db.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
 	"os"
+	"time"
 
 	_ "github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql"
 )
@@ -23,7 +24,8 @@ func InitDB() {
 		return
 	}
 
-	dsn := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s@tcp(%s:%s)/%s?parseTime=true&loc=Local", user, pass, host, port, name)
+	log.Printf("[DB] Using timezone: %s (Local=%s)", os.Getenv("TZ"), time.Local.String())
+	dsn := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s@tcp(%s:%s)/%s?parseTime=true&loc=Local&time_zone='Local'", user, pass, host, port, name)
 	var err error
 	db, err = sql.Open("mysql", dsn)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -35,6 +37,21 @@ func InitDB() {
 	}
 
 	log.Println("Connected to MariaDB successfully")
+
+	// Verify and enforce timezones
+	var dbNow, dbTZ string
+	err = db.QueryRow("SELECT NOW(), @@session.time_zone").Scan(&dbNow, &dbTZ)
+	if err == nil {
+		log.Printf("[DB] Before setting: NOW()=%s, session.time_zone=%s", dbNow, dbTZ)
+	}
+
+	if _, err := db.Exec("SET time_zone = SYSTEM"); err != nil {
+		log.Printf("[DB] Warning: Failed to set session time_zone to SYSTEM: %v", err)
+	} else {
+		db.QueryRow("SELECT NOW(), @@session.time_zone").Scan(&dbNow, &dbTZ)
+		log.Printf("[DB] After setting: NOW()=%s, session.time_zone=%s", dbNow, dbTZ)
+	}
+
 	createTables()
 }
 
diff --git a/server/step_manager.go b/server/step_manager.go
index 7d42d8b..d71fb22 100644
--- a/server/step_manager.go
+++ b/server/step_manager.go
@@ -93,6 +93,10 @@ func (sm *StepManager) SaveTripState() {
 }
 
 func (sm *StepManager) saveTripStateLocked() {
+	fmt.Printf("[StepManager] Saving trip state for %s: StartTime=%v (%s), LastSync=%v (%s)\n",
+		sm.userID, sm.tripState.StartTime, sm.tripState.StartTime.Location(),
+		sm.lastSyncTime, sm.lastSyncTime.Location())
+
 	_, err := db.Exec(`
 		INSERT INTO trips (user_id, start_date, start_time, start_day_initial_steps, previous_total_steps, target_total_steps, last_sync_time, next_sync_time)
 		VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)