For those of you that don’t know, Heath Miller is the starting tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So what is it that I have in common with this professional athlete?

He was born in in Richlands, VA and went to the University of Virginia. I was born in Pittsburgh, PA and went to Allegheny College.

After college, he was taken in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft. I went to graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University.

He’s a professional athlete who won the Super Bowl last year. I’m a writer/editor/Web marketing guy who wine blogs on the side.

He’s 6’5". I’m 6’3"

He weighs 256lbs. I weigh 256lbs.

You read that right, 256lbs.

Whether it’s my under-active thyroid acting up, post-wedding gain, the fact that men always gain weight when their wives are pregnant, the dozen or so bottles of wine I drink review every week, or the fact that my life has become nearly completely sedentary, 256 is way too big a number to see when I stand on the scale.

They say the first step in solving a problem is recognizing it. Maybe doing so publicly here on LENNDEVOURS will jump start me doing something about it. As any food or wine blogger who isn’t blessed with the metabolism of a marathoner knows, it’s easy to gain weight when your primary hobby is culinary.