My 75 Day Challenge – I Did It!
My 75 Day Challenge
Happy Friday! Today is day 75 of my challenge. I DID IT!
I mentioned it briefly on air a few times… but I haven’t done my best about keeping you updated!
What is the 75 Day Challenge?
Basically, I built my challenge off of Andy Frisella’s 75 Hard. But I did make some slight adjustments for myself. With Andy’s challenge– it’s two 45 minute workouts each day. I just made sure to move my body at least 1 hour a day. My workouts usually are a combination of things: gym/weights, running, yoga, walking my dogs, etc.
Also with 75 Hard, you’re supposed to follow a diet. But, I don’t diet. I think any time I restrict myself, it makes things harder. If I say, I can’t eat chocolate– know what I’m going to constantly want? CHOCOLATE! Instead, I just kept an eye on my portion sizes and tried to stay under a certain amount of calories. I tracked my food with MyFitnessPal– a great free app that can keep you accountable!
As for the rest– I pretty much followed Andy’s 75 Hard. Taking progress pictures every day, drinking a gallon of water, reading at least 10 pages a day, and no alcohol.
These were my “rules”:
Giving Up Alcohol?!
Honestly, I thought the no alcohol thing would be a lot harder. I don’t consider myself an alcoholic, but I know my relationship with alcohol hasn’t always been the best. Using it to “relieve stress” after a bad day, or drinking a bit too much on the weekends was a pretty common thing for me. BUT, I haven’t even craved it. And honestly, I don’t know how I feel about drinking again. I’m considering just setting better boundaries for myself- maybe limiting myself to 2-3 drinks a week? I haven’t figured that out yet. We’ve talked about going out for Mexican (which I haven’t done this whole time… to avoid the temptation of my margaritas) tomorrow night. So I may try out a small margarita… And then see how I feel.
I will admit, I have enjoyed waking up feeling pretty good each day! No hangovers, no bloating.
And I actually lost about 12-13 pounds. This was NOT in my plan. Totally unintentional. But I honestly believe a lot of it came from not drinking alcohol!
My Thoughts and Reflections
Overall, it wasn’t quite as hard as I initially thought it would be. Some days were of course harder to get everything in than others. Weekends tend to always be harder when it comes to eating, getting in enough water and the whole alcohol thing. But I persisted!
Morning Routine
I LOVED creating a great morning routine. And any time it didn’t go as planned, I could always tell! During the week I’d get up and go to the gym (we did struggle with consistency on this… but we’re getting back to our routine!), I’d walk my dogs, get in a run 3 days a week, maybe do some yoga. During the last 25-30 days, yoga became a daily thing. I kept my 3 runs a week too.
Workouts
After my workouts, I’d fix my green smoothie (more on that in another blog!) and sit down to do my reading. I’d also take this time to fill out my notebook- Making my daily checklist- Progress Picture, Workouts, Read, Diet, Water, No Alcohol. Then I’d write a brief little summary of the previous day- how it went, how my mood was, etc.
Reading
I love to read anyway– but reading 10 pages of personal development daily has been incredible! I’ve always been a fan of personal development books– but haven’t always made the time to read every day. This daily reading is something I hope to maintain even now that my challenge is over.
The Rest Of The Day!
From there, I’d get ready for work, fill up my gallon jug and start my day!
My poor water bottle got quite the workout the past 75 days. I also can’t tell you how many times I’ve spilled my water either!
Results
Of course– physically, I’ve felt pretty good. Over the summer our gym schedule got off… so I felt like I lost some strength and muscle tone. But I’ve been getting back to building. Kinda felt like starting over– but I’m okay with that. I want to make sure I have proper form and prevent injury. The gym and my workouts are something that I definitely will maintain. I’d already been doing most of it, but I want to make sure to keep up with consistent workouts!
Mentally– this was the BIGGEST part of my challenge. It truly is more of a mental challenge than anything else. I’ve struggled with my mental health for a while, and maybe I’ll share more on that later. But I have noticed a great improvement on my mindset! The things I’ve read during the challenge have been encouraging and helped me to focus on a more positive mindset. I have always been a pretty motivated person, but I think this challenge really gave me more to work towards.
Will I do this again?
Probably! I think with Andy’s, they recommend taking at least 30 days off before restarting (there’s also like 3 or 4 of these you can do throughout the year, I think– I didn’t research his methods much to be honest).
I am very happy I chose to challenge myself and complete the 75 days! There are so many things that I will take with me after this- and continue to maintain most of my morning routine.
I tend to be the type that loves a good challenge– and honestly this one scared me at first. But when I set my mind to do something– I like to be able to say I completed it.
Most of all, I learned a lot about myself and my habits– and created new habits that I will continue.
Have you ever done a health or fitness challenge? Would you be interested in doing a 75 Day Challenge with me? Shoot me an email!
