If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. But that’s not always good advice. Sometimes, the smartest course for ourselves and for our families is to choose to quit
Karen Nussbaum of Detroit was thrilled with her progress.
After her last birth, she’d been determined to lose weight. She hightailed it off to the gym every day — a half-hour drive away — and worked out for two hours before returning home hot, sweaty, and bursting with endorphins and pride.
She lost 50 pounds in six months, and was only 15 pounds away from her weight-loss goal. Her goal was so close, if she worked out like that just a little more, she’d undoubtedly reach it.
Though she liked what she was seeing in the mirror, Karen felt torn. As soon as she stepped in the door, her four young kids began clamoring for her attention, her kitchen needed cleaning, her husband had to run to Minchah, and everything was chaos. “I realized I just couldn’t do it all: Be there for my kids, maintain a clean house, and keep such a rigorous workout regimen. I had to scale back,” she said.
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