I had a 10pm game tonight, which meant I had to leave the condo at 9pm.  Games are typically an hour, so that puts us at 11pm.  By the time I change and start to drive home, it’s 11:30pm.  I’m home by 12ish.

Then I shower and relax…for two hours.

Tomorrow shall be fun.

It’s incredible how I much I miss him.  I thought it’d be easier, as time went on, to deal with these emotions of not having him around.  But, it hasn’t been easier.  Sure, you go on with your day — you have the good ones and the bad, but when it comes down to it, the hurt is still so tremendous.

I miss that fluffy guy so much.

I’m down to roughly 188lbs from :gasp: 205lbs back in late January.  It feels good fitting into clothes again — they’re no longer glued to my stomach.  There are several factors into how I lost the 15lbs or so thus far.  It’s mainly exercise.  I’ve been going roughly 5x a week.  Though, I’ll be the first to admit that I sometimes fall off the wagon from week to week — but I’ve been good with making sure I’m at the gym at least 3x a week plus hockey.

Still haven’t had meat in months.  It still feels great.  I’m not as groggy (aka need a nap) after I eat a large meal and I’ve forced myself to continually try new things when available.  I’ve missed having bacon with my eggs, hotdogs at Yankee Stadium, and cheeseburgers.  But besides that, I don’t really look for meat anymore.

Another thing that has helped with the weight: not eating anything later than 8/9ish at night.  I was always good for a snack at midnight right before I went to bed.  I’ve cut this behavior completely out of my diet.

My goal is to be around 175-180lbs by my wedding in October.  That’s just about 10ish more pounds in 5 months.  I was 173 after my broken femur (who the hell breaks the femur, I mean honestly?) — lets see if I can get back to that point.  Not a broken femur.  Back to that weight, I mean.

When I tell people I’m trying to avoid meat, they often gasp as if it’s something they can’t comprehend.  But I have to be honest, I was once one of those people.  But not anymore.  It’s really not that hard to avoid meat.  You just have to have a different line of thinking.  Instead of thinking, “I can’t make something with meat tonight,” you just have to think, “what kind of veggies can I make tonight?”  And it will all come together. 

For one thing, it allows me to explore other foods. 

I ordered mahi mahi :gasp: the other night at dinner and really enjoyed it.  I’m anxious to try other fish, too.  And this is coming from someone who has avoided fish and seafood in general, with the exception of shrimp and crabs, for his entire life. 

I’ve been trying to cook with a broader range of vegetables, as well.  I’ve included mushrooms in just about everything I’ve eaten.  And I’m looking forward to making a few dishes with eggplant in the coming weeks, too. 

We’ll see how this all unfolds.  I haven’t had a huge craving for meat in quite awhile.  I mostly crave it during lunch when I’m in the mood for a good sub, cheesestake, or sandwhich.  But I’ve been pretty good at finding altetnatives to hold me over — soups, veggie wraps, etc.