When you see a number on the bathroom scale you don't like...

One evening a month or so ago, I decided to weigh myself.

This isn't an especially remarkable occurrence except for two things:

1. It would be the first time I had weighed myself in 2025. I hadn't done it at all this calendar year.
2. When I did get on the scale, the number that came back was one I had never seen before.

220 pounds.

Yikes.

Now, to be fair, it was late in the day after I had eaten, which isn't the ideal time to weigh yourself. And the weight I've gained over the last year or so is partially fat and partially muscle from strength training.

There's also the fact that no one would have looked at me and guessed I weighed a lifetime high of 220 pounds.

My face was fuller than it normally might be, and for the first time I ever remember, I had a bit of a belly. But I do carry weight well, and at most you probably would have said I weighed 195 or maybe 200.

No, 220 it was. I was a little stunned.

I knew I hadn't been eating well. And I knew, for the sake of my health, I needed to get back on track when it came to my diet. But I didn't anticipate that particular number on the scale.

Five days later, I found myself sitting in a Weight Watchers workshop for the first time in more than two years.

Weight Watchers has always been the most effective method of weight loss for me. Their point system works well for someone who is goal-oriented and likes clear direction.

I am what's known as a lifetime member of Weight Watchers in that I hit my physician-assigned goal of 185 pounds back in 2013 and maintained it for a period of six weeks.

Once you do that, you no longer have to pay Weight Watchers a fee. You just need to weigh in once a month within 2 pounds of that goal weight and everything remains free.

I did that for a while, and then I thought I could do it on my own without Weight Watchers.

But I couldn't, and of course I gained weight, so I went back to WW in 2016 and lost even more weight than before (getting down to a gaunt 166 pounds at one point...that wasn't good).

I experienced more ups and downs with my weight over the next several years, and now here we are.

I have been following the WW program, and of course I'm losing weight. I always lose weight when I do this.

My goal is to get back to that 185 number, which may be more difficult than it used to be given my age and the muscle I've gained. The latter is a good problem to have, but the fact is that muscle is heavy relative to fat, so getting the number on the scale to drop can be tricky when you're lifting.

The real question, of course, is whether I can maintain it over the long haul. That's the challenge, and it's going to require a change in thinking.

I can't obsess over the number on the scale every week. It has to be about developing daily habits that get to me to my goal.

My high school track coach, the great Al Benz, always taught us to concern ourselves more with the means than the ends. That is, worry about your form, technique and training, and the end result (times/distances) will take care of itself.

I was never very good at that. Before meets, I always worried over whether I would break 20 feet in the long jump or get into the low 11s in the 100-meter dash. I should instead have been thinking about the steps in my long jump approach or perfecting my start in the 100 meters.

In the same way, my focus now should be on a balanced, healthy daily food intake and getting plenty of water, rather than the exact amount of weight I'll have lost by the time my Monday morning weigh-in rolls around.

If I do the first part, long-term success (with some inevitable small bumps in the road) is guaranteed.

So this is as much a mind exercise as it is about meal planning and label reading. It's about long-term health and a more satisfying pattern of eating.

It's about finding ways to feel good that don't involve late-night carbohydrate loading.

So far, so good. I'm making progress, and it doesn't need to be fast.

Maybe this time I'll figure out how to keep on doing the things I've always known I should have been doing in the first place.

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."

I should start giving blood again (and so should you)

Regardless of what the title might suggest, I don't mean this to be a preachy post about why you should get yourself to a blood drive and allow them to take a pint of  blood from your arm this very instant.

There are actually lots and lots of people for whom giving blood is not an option, for one legitimate medical reason or another. And I know that previous negative experiences with blood donation or needles in general can make it very difficult for others to give.

But for the rest of us, there's really not much of an excuse, is there?

According to my Red Cross blood donor card, I have donated 97 times in my life. That's just over 12 gallons I've given over the years, and I will say that I'm kind of proud of that.

In fact, I wish I could tell you that the primary reason I give blood is to help people. I mean, that is what I want to accomplish. But if I'm being honest, I'll tell you that what motivates me most to get into the car and head to a blood drive is not the altruistic nature of the process. It's to push my donation number even higher.

I MUST GET TO 100 DONATIONS. I MUST REACH 15 GALLONS, 20 GALLONS, 25 GALLONS. I MUST DO THIS SO THAT OTHERS WILL RECOGNIZE ME AS A GOOD PERSON.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: You don't have to tell me what a weird, terrible little person I am. I already know.

I do love the idea that up to three people may be helped by every whole-blood donation I make. But what I really want are those little donation milestone pins they give you when you hit a particular gallon milestone.

Several years ago I used to give via apheresis, where they take blood from you, remove the platelets, and put what's left back into your body. It takes a couple of hours, but platelets are extremely important to a wide range of people, from cancer and heart surgery patients to transplantees and traumatic injury victims.

My friend Peter Clausen gives platelets often. Like, really often. He makes his way downtown to the donation center every week or so and listens to classical music (often "air conducting" the piece himself) while they remove his platelets.

Peter has given hundreds of times. Who knows how many people are still alive because of his generosity and others like him?

I used to feel like that myself. But another fact my donation card reveals is that I haven't given blood since December 27, 2013. I would tell you the reason is that I've been too busy, but you and I both know I'm just rationalizing there, so why bother?

I'll you what: I promise I'll get myself to a blood drive in the next few weeks if you do the same. What do you think?

For all the blessings you and I enjoy, I'm thinking it's the least we can do.

Deal? Deal.