Tough Talkin' Trainer

A recent conversation with one of my teletraining clients (no--NOT you!):

TC: Keri, this isn't working.
ME: What isn't working?
TC: I gained two pounds this week.
ME: Okay. That could be a couple of things . . . how did the week go? How was your food tracking?
TC: Well, I didn't really do that. I've got a handle on it now, and writing every bite I eat down isn't necessary any more.
ME: I see. What about your exercise? Did you stick to the plan you made for yourself? The one we reviewed twice to make sure it would work for the week?
TC: Pretty much. I had to miss Wednesday. And Friday--honestly, I just forgot.
ME: I see. So you didn't manage your food according to plan and you didn't get in the exercise.
TC: Well . . . no.

I realize that at this moment a couple of dozen readers are cringing because they've had this conversation with me or someone like me. As a big propronent for planning ("Structure is Sexy!") and environmental change (creating the space to achieve what you want) I do you and my clients a disservice if I don't point out the obvious. Plans NEVER work--they are static lists on paper. People work. If you fail to achieve what you set out to do in 2009, it will either be because factors in your environment prevented you from meeting the goal (what we in the profession call "excuses"), or because you CHOSE not to follow the plan.

This is good news, believe it or not. You are in charge! Not me. Tough talking trainers (even by telephone) are contract employees (part of that environmental change), even if we project a certain bossy air. You get to decide how 2009 is going to be for you. So use your creative imagination to think big, and your problem-solving skills to make your dreams happen. And if you need a triple-T or a little yoga boot camp to make it happen, you know how to find us.