Is it ever okay to give up?

Due to the flu last week and then my oldest son having the stomach flu on Thursday and Friday, I only got to the gym last Monday, so today was rough.  I had to start week 5 of C25K over again as I only got one of the three days in last week, so that had me running for five minute increments and it kicked my ass today.  Dang, I can tell when I haven't been working out even if only for a handful of days. 

But, even worse is that after a week of not exercising, the urge to forgo today was incredibly tempting.  They say a habit takes like 21 days to form or something like that, and I believe that.  But it certainly doesn't take long to break it.  I left work and had a mental argument with myself about all the stuff I could get done if I didn't go to the gym.  Thankfully, the lazy ass part of my brain lost the discussion and I went to the gym and busted my rear end for just over an hour. 

It is so easy to let it go, isn't it?  In a week I had managed to forget how much better I feel for exercising.  I had also managed to do some really bad eating over the weekend so I knew the gym needed to happen.  I just didn't want to go.  But then I remembered a few basic truths that I set for myself a long time ago.

The first is that I am never going back.  This girl...



...way does not need to come back. 

The other truth is that giving up is not an option.  Here's a fact:  I can eat more now than I could a year ago and I am hungry way more often than I was a year ago.  The honeymoon period is over and has been over.  But that doesn't mean I no longer have to bother with things; it means I have a focus more than I have since I had surgery.  I'm relatively normal now when it comes to the population of people who work out, and try to eat right to keep their weight in check.  Everything I put in my mouth is a choice and if I chose the item that is not the best food choice for me, my ass needs to be at the gym burning it off and then some. 

But giving up?  No way.  EVER.  I worked too hard to get apathetic about this.  I have seen too many people lose weight and then turn around and put it back on because they gave up or allowed themselves to fall back into old habits.  We have got to be responsible for our own actions.  We put weight back on, we are the only ones to blame.  The only way WLS surgery fails is if we fail WLS.  If you have one of these surgeries and lose weight and as soon as the honeymoon period is over, you quit trying, then you were looking for an easy way out.  Health is not an easy thing.  It takes work and commitment and responsibility.  You're not allowed to give up.  I tell myself that every single day.

And I need a new picture.  The last one was eight months post-op and a year has gone by since then.  I'm maintaining a 109 pound loss with hopes of eventually getting to goal.  I'm hoping becoming a runner will assist with that, but if not, it's okay.  I am happy.  I am healthy.  And I am way not quitting.