The temptation, when you're trying to be healthy, is to eat the same things over and over, day after day

When I started working with my personal trainer Kirk a month or two ago, he mentioned that I should be eating roughly half my body weight in grams of protein every day.

I weighed a little over 200 pounds at the time, so the goal was about 100 grams of protein a day.

I was actually already getting much closer to this amount than I realized, but because I am so goal-oriented, I immediately leapt into action to ensure I would exceed those 100 grams.

I added Greek yogurt and low-fat cottage cheese (both solid sources of protein) to my diet. I also began drinking a protein shake a day, and I changed out my leafy green lunchtime salads in favor of turkey breast sandwiches.

Mission accomplished. I've probably been averaging 150 grams of protein, which is a good thing when you're regularly strength training and trying to build muscle.

The problem is that, having enjoyed success with this regimen, I'm sticking with it through thick and thin.

My dinners vary, but my breakfast, lunch and snacks are all the same every day.

The food choices are healthy, but I know I need more variety. Consuming essentially the same thing on a daily basis almost inevitably means I'm eventually going to fall short on my intake of certain vitamins and minerals.

Or at least I believe that to be true. I haven't consulted a nutritionist about it.

The point is, healthy eating should not be formulaic eating. I've not gotten sick of anything in my new diet to this point, but I'm also depriving myself of the joy of variety and experimentation.

I will have to fix that.

I just so relish the feeling of accomplishment when I get to check the box on my daily to-do list that says, "Eat 100 grams of protein."

Social isolation is the price I pay for eating sauerkraut and sardines

While I spent much of 2023 eating too much food, I will take some credit for at least eating healthy food.

Most days you can count on me to ingest plenty of fruits and vegetables, some leafy greens at lunch, a lot of whole grains and nuts, and at least a small portion of fish.

There are two downsides to eating healthy like this.

One is that it is expensive and somewhat inconvenient. I make frequent shopping trips just to keep myself stocked with healthy stuff, and I am consistently taken aback by the price of, say, berries. Berries are expensive. So are many other fruits, especially when you buy organic.

But then you ask yourself how much your health is worth, and that admittedly takes some of the sting out of it.

The other drawback is that, in my experience, there are some healthy foods that simply stink. I mean, like, they literally smell.

For example. I try to take in some sort of fermented food every day, either in the form of sauerkraut or kimchi. I like the smell and taste of both, but neither of my housemates agrees.

The same holds true for sardines. When I want to crack open a tin of sardines, I take it out to the garage and stand there with a fork eating it to avoid getting sardine smell in the house.

I do this out of courtesy to Terry and Jack, even though I feel like a smoker huddling in front of an office building getting a nicotine fix.

Ten years ago, I never would have imagined myself a social outcast for wanting to eat tiny fish. I guess when I'm 120 years old and still ticking, I'll have the last laugh.

I'll be standing outside eating sardines, of course, but I'll still be laughing.