When Did I Say I Quit?

For those of you (and there have been a few) thinking I quit because I posted a nice picture of myself, or because I'm not taking part in the September challenge:

Today's Weigh-In: 285.0, a new low
Calories consumed past two days: 776, 2,196
Perfect eating? Yes.

And here's a blurb from my post less than 48 hours ago:

I think I'm going to skip the September challenge, too. I need to do things for me right now. I haven't focused on my needs in this transformation over the last several weeks. I need to make sure I'm OK before I get back into the team thing. No offense to anybody, at all.

This is a battle with myself. It's not a war against fat. I'm the one who put it there. It's my fault. Wars aren't fought against bullets, but against the people shooting them at you. I've been shooting myself for a long time. I am not beating fat. I'm beating an unhealthy lifestyle, bad choices, lack of focus, scarce determination, and unimpressive drive. Those things are all 100% on me.

And now it's time for me to deal with it.

Where people get that I'm quitting from that, I have no clue. I've been through hell at times in this transformation, and I haven't quit once. I don't plan on it. Have I slowed down? Sure. Lost focus? At times. Considered not blogging? Oh, yeah. But I never once said I was done trying to lose weight. Not once.

Just because we all don't have the same passion or drive at all times doesn't mean we're quitters. In fact, those of us with struggles who keep getting back up and pushing forward might be the most inspirational of all.

If it's just concern, I appreciate it. But I feel I should get the same benefit of the doubt that everybody else gets. Especially after my last big post was a battle cry for myself. I vented, then got associated with the term "quit," and that's not acceptable. The truth is, this is a big reason why I'm still considering hanging up the blogging shoes. It seems that if I'm honest and discuss my personal struggles, people think I may quit. If I say I'm doing well, I get "good job, now don't quit!" If I were a quitter, I wouldn't be posting about my fights and struggles. I would have stopped the weight loss train months ago.

But people read and hear what they want to read and hear, it seems. It doesn't seem 100% fair. I'm sure I'm coming across like a whiner, but it's my blog, and this is where I vent. So, I'm venting.

Let me wrap this up by making it simple for everybody with any concern over my ability to move forward.

I don't quit.

I won't quit until I hit 260.

And even then, I won't really quit.

Will I trip up? I'm sure I will. Will I put weight back on? I hope not, but I may. Will I blog about having a tough time? Probably. Will any of those things give anybody a reason to think I'm a quitter?

No.

And that should be where this story ends.