#75 Hard Challenge….err…#75 easy.

 Have any of you heard of the #75 Hard challenge?? It’s been floating around for quite a while now- at least a couple of years I think- and has made its way to my social media feeds numerous times by now.

If you haven’t heard of it, this is what it is:

*a “willpower or mental toughness” challenge (NOT a fitness/ diet/ exercise challenge) created by Andy Frisella. Andy Frisella is a podcast host and I think he is also some kind of business guru/ entrepreneur. I’m honestly not sure of all the details, but I listened to his podcast once and he sounds pretty bad@$$. The man does not mess around.

*What the challenge entails: 

Completing 75 days of ALL of the following, without missing a single item. If you miss anything at all, you have to start over at Day 1.

*Two 45 minute workouts

*One workout must be outdoors

*Follow a diet (you choose- whatever you want it to be)

*No alcohol or cheat meals

*Drink 1 gallon of water per day

*Read 10 pages of nonfiction, not counting audiobooks.

*Take a progress picture each day

Hmm. Okay, so that sounded interesting to me, when I first saw it on Instagram. I love me a good challenge. I’m a total upholder personality, and I get a sick amount of pleasure from “checking off boxes” from a list or a training plan. 

So, I decided to try it. Last July- meaning July 2019. And guess what? I totally failed. I made it repeatedly to like, day #7. And then I would miss something and have to start over. I did this many times, until I finally scratched it and basically decided this is just not for me. (Seriously though- the two 45 minute workout thing is rather unrealistic for a busy working mom. Not impossible, just really difficult many days and it just wasn’t worth the trade-offs in time.)

Fast forward to this summer. I started seeing it all over my IG feed again. Again, it intrigued me. I watched people share their transformative mental journeys and it seemed really inspiring. But I remembered how, well, HARD it was. (I think that is the point, but still!). 

I decided that I would make up my own, altered version that was more realistic for this stage in my life. I can guarantee 100% that Andy Frisella would call my version a bunch of BS, but you know what? Andy Frisella isn’t the boss of me. So there. 😉

This is what I came up with…..I’ll call it #75easy. Or, #75 easy-ish, because honestly, it’s still kinda hard to not miss a single item for 75 days straight.

*workout every day for a minimum of 20 minutes (aim for a regular 30-45 minute workout, but 20 minute minimum to meet the requirements)

*20 minute outdoor walk, even if rainy or cold. Has to be outside.

*Read min. 10 pages of non-fiction every day (ideally personal development genre)

*Drink 1 gallon of water every day

*Follow “my” diet (see details below)

*Take a progress picture everyday

A few caveats:

-Diet: 

For me, a strict diet is just no fun, but I could do it if I wanted to. However- my husband haaaaaates it if I try to follow a weird diet that affects HIM in anyway. (Ex. If I swear off all junk food, he will find it super annoying to watch me eat a salad while the rest of the family has pizza and movie night. I also really don’t feel the need to follow a strict diet right now. I’m at a healthy weight and personally am a big advocate of balance. Also, I love nachos and life is short.)

But, I could probably eat “healthier”, overall, so I decided on the following for my “challenge” diet:

•  If I’m alone or just w/ kids, I will eat only real, whole foods. No processed foods, no sweets, no exceptions. Also, cut out my weakness: BLTs (bites, licks, tastes- those little unplanned bits of food throughout the day, outside of normal meal/snack times, that can really add up). 

• If we’re together as a family, I can eat normally/ whatever we are all having. A cop out? Maybe. My challenge, my rules. 

-Workout:

Some people might say, “wait, 75 days of working out without a rest day?? Isn’t that crazy?” It’s a valid question. However, Andy even says- every workout doesn’t need to be super intense. A workout could be a yoga session, stretching, or even just a second walk. It just means intentionally moving my body for at least 20 minutes (hopefully longer) everyday. 

–Progress Pic:

I don’t really care about this part, but I decided to leave it in because it adds another layer to the mental piece. I have read that many people actually “fail” 75 Hard because they forget to take the darn picture!

So that’s it! The #75 Easy-ish Challenge. 😉 

I actually started this a few weeks ago, made it to Day 15 and then missed my outdoor walk one day…. and that was the end. 😞 I then totally fell off the wagon and have barely exercised OR drank any water since then….which is prompting me to start again. It really felt amazing to push myself and hold myself accountable. I was loving it (until I, um, failed.) 

Since today is October 1st and a fresh new month, this feels like a good time to give it another go! I’ve seen lots of people starting “100 Day” challenges leading up to the end of 2020, so this is my own little version, I guess you could say. (I was inspired by Sarah and her own Operation 100 challenge, too).

Do you like challenges? Anyone want to join me?? 😉 I will keep you posted on how I do! 

If you’re interested in Andy Frisella’s podcast episode #14 where he describes the real challenge in detail, listen here:

HERE

(Be warned…he kind of likes the F word…..)

He also has a new book out about the challenge and its roots, though I have not read it, so I can’t recommend it or not. 

Daily Gratitude:

Easy one today. I’m grateful for Enrique Igelsias’ “Bailamos” coming on the radio last night at 8:40 p.m. on our way home from swim practice. Man, did that hit the spot! If you would also like to transport yourself back to 1998, listen here. 😉