A viewer wrote to me the other day saying my suits looked tight lately. Another I met this weekend said “you look bigger in person.” A third was more direct via Facebook: “have you gained weight?”

Truth is, yes I have. For every viewer who wrote, there were likely many more who were thinking the same thing. I even got two e-mails from personal trainers offering their services. I guess I must look terrible on the news. Thanks, I think.

We’ve all heard of the “freshman fifteen,” that weight many people pack on when they go to college and eat dining hall food and learn about beer. There is also another fat phenomenon I’ll call the “fatherhood fifteen.”

I can’t help but finish my kids’s meals. If we go out to dinner and they leave a half plate of Mac and cheese, I eat it. An extra chicken finger? Yep, mine. Why throw it away? My mother used to say “there are people starving out there, clean your plate.” Now, that commitment to not wasting food has come back to haunt me.

I’m changing my eating habits and getting back to the gym and weights, running, and a little racquetball. After finishing off both my kids’ French fries Sunday, I knew it was time for a turnaround. My wife Kara ordering some brownie thing “to share” certainly didn’t help. Monday, I had oatmeal for breakfast and sushi for lunch the next day! The above photo is from this week. The one below 25 pounds and 25 years ago.

I’ll keep you posted when I’ve lost that fifteen, or maybe ten. Five?