Training update/staying motivated

On Wednesday morning I did 10 of my 15K run with two incredible running friends. Even though the weather was cold we all didn't seem to mind as there was plenty of good conversation to keep us going.
Today I completed 10 sets of hills with another friend who is also training hard for the Mississauga Marathon.
Having great friends to run with has helped keep my motivation high and this brings me to real reason I wanted to post today and that is "motivation."

Some of my clients at the gym are having a hard time staying motivated and most of what I do there becomes a motivational session which I enjoy. I've often said that I can KEEP anyone motivated but it is up to the individual to GET motivated. When people tell me that they read my posts and get inspired to run or workout it's flattering and also overwhelming. I honestly don't see what I do as anything special as I know that there are plenty of people out there doing the same thing.

This week I was challenged a few times by some clients who were not following the plan that I laid for them and also complaining that they weren't losing weight either. I realize that many of them want me to accept blame for them because it takes away their own accountability. This is something that I will never do. The best I can do is to give them a workable plan to follow and then it is up to them to make it work. Having struggled with my own weight issuses, I know that it is not an easy thing to do BUT I also know that it can be done.

Unfortunately, most people want a quick fix and don't realize that it took time for them to create their unhealty habits and it will also take time to reverse this process. Diets count on the fact that people will fail over the long term because it just means that they will return again later. However,when they do return they usually have even more weight to lose.

Changing a habit requires discipine and a "want to" in order to be successful in the long-term. Some of my clients only eat 1 or 2 meals per day so I start them off by just increasing their meals by 1. The most common problem I see is people skipping breakfast. Their goal, then is to eat breakfast regularly for 1 week. I don't change anything else but instead focus on this small change. Once this becomes a habit then I'll tackle another meal and so on. By taking these smaller steps I'm instiling a structure where previously there was none.

For those of you working hard on your goals, whatever they may be, I wish you the best of luck!