I completed the 75 Hard challenge and it wasn’t *exactly* what I expected
I did it. I successfully completed the 75 Hard Challenge. To be honest, I had no doubt that I could do it. As an Enneagram 3, Type A, eldest daughter — I’m very disciplined, rigid and consistent. When I commit to something, I go all in. For good or for bad.
I’ve known about 75 Hard for many years, and know people who have seen life-changing results from it. As a fitness instructor who takes a body positive approach, I’ve been extremely critical about this challenge in the past because many of the “rules” go against what I firmly believe in. But how can I truly judge something that I’ve never done?
After going through some body changes last year (hormones, aging, yay!), I decided that I needed to hit the reset button on some of my habits if I’m going to continue caring for my body through the ebbs and flows of life. While many people see drastic physical changes after completing 75 Hard, it’s more of a mental toughness challenge than anything. It’s hard, as the name suggests, very hard.
Here are the rules. For 75 days you have to:
Do 2 workouts per day (45 min each) — 1 of those must be outside no matter the weather conditions
Drink 1 gallon of water every day — no flavored water or additives, just plain old water
Abstain from alcohol
Take a daily progress picture
Read 10 pages of a physical book (non-fiction/motivational) every day — no audio books
Follow any diet of your choice
So let me share how I managed each of those rules and what I learned from them.
2 workouts a day
I’m already very consistent in my workout routine, so this rule just forced me to get creative. Here’s what my weeks typically included:
Monday: lower body strength training (gym), outdoor walk
Tuesday: outdoor walk, upper body strength training and Zumba (gym)
Wednesday: outdoor walk, stretch (home)
Thursday: hot yoga (gym), outdoor walk
Friday: upper body strength training (gym); outdoor walk
Saturday: outdoor run, stretch (home)
Sunday: upper body strength training (home), outdoor walk
One thing I loved about this challenge is that it got me into consistently walking. Just being outside in nature felt so good! It gave me the chance to clear my head, listen to a podcast or music and enjoy low impact movement for my body. In 45 minutes, I could typically get in just over 2 miles. So that, plus a weekly run, put me at about 15-16 miles a week with an average of 12,000 steps per day. Moving forward, I plan to keep walking a few times a week, so this part of the routine is definitely sustainable for me.
Thankfully stretching counts as a workout, and was much needed with all this exercise. I admit I often skip stretching, so it was good to get me back into this rhythm. There are lots of stretching or gentle yoga videos to use on YouTube so you don’t have to figure it out yourseld. Another unexpected part of this challenge is that, in order to get in 2 workouts a day, I needed to start getting up earlier. This got me into the routine of doing 5:30am workouts a few times a week, which seemed awful before, but now isn’t bad. I actually feel really great getting it done before the sun rises!
So there was a lot of good here, but there are also some cons. I have never subscribed to the “no days off” mantra. I think rest days are very important for your recovery and to reach your goals. Working out 7 days a week indefinitely isn’t a good strategy and will eventually lead to burnout or, worse, injury. Doing 2 workouts a day is even more unrealistic. As a working mom, there were plenty of days where I had a jam packed schedule and simply couldn’t get in my second workout until 10pm. In those moments, I should have prioritized sleep and rest for my body. Instead I “had to” work out, ultimately making exercise the unhealthy option. I also found that doing 2 workouts was “easier” during the week, but it really got in the way of spending quality time with my family and friends on the weekends. I absolutely do not plan to keep going with 2-a-day workouts.
If you’re starting from ground zero, with a very inconsistent routine, this rule will be one of the most challenging.
1 gallon of water
At first, this was the hardest part of the challenge for me. I have always been so bad about my hydration, so I needed a strict program like this to give me a reason to stay consistent with it. The first week felt impossible, but it got easier with time. No one told me how much you’ll have to pee though. Enjoy endless trips to the bathroom!
I tried to spread out my consumption throughout the day, drinking 25 oz. around these times: before breakfast, mid-morning, lunch, mid-afternoon, dinner. When you’re drinking this much water, you have very little room for any other drinks though. It was hard to also squeeze in my morning coffee and protein shake. So I did miss getting to have other things, like a Poppi, occasionally. And it was really annoying to take my water cup everywhere, even restaurants, because if I didn’t, I’d lose track of the ounces.
My best advice is to front load as much of the water as you can so you’re not getting up 3x a night to pee. And make sure the water is room temperature or cool, never cold. While I may not hit a gallon every day moving forward, I think I have gotten into a much better habit of staying hydrated.
No alcohol
Before I started 75 Hard, I was already sober-curious. I’ve started to notice that as I get older, alcohol is affecting me differently. Every time I drank, even if it was only 2 glasses of wine, I’d wake up feeling awful. It just wasn’t worth it to experience 45 minutes of “fun.” I already knew this deep down, but I’ve started to come to terms with the fact that alcohol is poison and literally has zero benefits to the body, but a whole lot of dangerous side effects.
So giving it all up for this challenge wasn’t a big deal. And with all the water, I had no room for alcohol anyways. Because I’m insane, I decided to start this challenge mid-December, so there was a whole lot of temptation during Christmas and New Year’s. As my therapist said, “Of course you would make 75 Hard HARDER.”
Through this process I found that I do enjoy having some mocktails, which makes me realize it’s never been about the alcohol; it’s about having a “fun drink” to consume socially. I plan to continue my sobriety from here.
Progress picture
I don’t really like before/after pictures, as they can cause a lot more harm than good. Not to mention all the factors at play — angles, lighting, time of day you took the photo. But I followed through with this for the sake of the challenge.
I absolutely refused to weigh myself however. I haven’t known my weight in a few years, and it’s been really good for my mental health. So I have no clue if I lost weight in this challenge, and I wasn’t exactly expecting major physical changes. I do see some minor changes in the size of my belly, but it hasn’t really impacted the way my clothes fit. In fact, because I’ve been working out so much, I’ve likely put on more muscle, making my clothes even tighter.
I finally caved and bought some new pairs of pants, and they are so much more comfortable. This was a good reminder that clothes are meant to fit us, not the other way around. When I look at the old jeans that no longer fit, I’m just reminded that the girl who wore those couldn’t leg press 460 pounds.
Read 10 pages
I’ll admit: I’ve never been much of a reader. If I do “read,” it’s listening to an audio book while I’m driving to/from my kids’ school. So slowing down to actually read a printed book was quite a change for me. But this has been really great and I’m very happy with my book selections. I’ve read over 700 pages between 4 books and they each had a positive contribution to my life. Here they are, ranked:
Atomic Habits by James Clear: I’ve heard about this book for years and LOVED it! I would definitely read it multiple times because it has so many practical tips for self-improvement. It’s all about how small, almost microscopic, changes every day can reap drastic benefits. These changes aren’t meant to be overwhelming; they’re small enough for anyone to do. In my opinion, this is THE perfect book to complement 75 Hard.
Try Softer by Aundi Kolber: It’s kind of ironic that I read a book about trying softer while doing a challenge focused on going harder, but this book came highly recommended by a few mental health counselors I know. This book gives practical ways we can slow down, be present in the moment and honor the experiences and feelings of our bodies.
The Eldest Daughter Effect by Lisette Schuitemaker & Wies Enthoven: This book is pretty niche, but it’s a great read if you’re the oldest daughter in your family! The authors did a ton of research on this group and drew some conclusions on similarities. It was so eye-opening to see how so much of my experience as an adult is similar to other eldest daughters.
Good Vibes, Good Life: How Self-Love Is the Key to Unlocking Your Greatness by Vex King: This book was gifted to me by a friend and worked great for 75 Hard because almost every section/chapter is 10 pages long. I liked a lot of the principles in this book: like surrounding yourself with people who build you up and have a positive outlook on life.
Follow a diet
Anyone who knows me knows that I am anti-diet culture. Food is fuel and, I believe, meant to be enjoyed. Too much restriction often isn’t sustainable and can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. That being said, I feel like in the last year or two, I’ve gotten out of the habit of listening to my body when it comes to food. I’ve fallen into a pattern of eating very quickly and not stopping to see if my body is full. I’m often guilty of not ordering french fries myself but then eating a handful from my husband’s plate, or finishing off his soda. So for 75 Hard, the “diet” I chose to follow was based on intuitive eating, and I also chose to cut out fried foods and soda.
What I re-learned through this challenge was self control. When I slow down and sip on some water after I finish my plate, I realize that I’m full and don’t need seconds. Same goes with the fried foods. If I just slow down while eating my own food at a restaurant, chances are I don’t really have room for my husband’s fries.
Moving forward, I will allow myself to have fried food or soda when I want, but I now feel like I can do it with more control. In my sober era, I’ve also been exploring other “fun” drinks like Bubblr, Poppi, Olipop, Recess. So I feel like I now have more options when I want to drink something socially.
Final thoughts
Would I do 75 Hard again? Absolutely not. While I think it was a good experiment, and I did establish some good habits, I found other parts of the challenge to be very unhealthy (even for a short amount of time) and overall unnecessary to see success in my fitness journey.
Should you do 75 Hard? Maybe. It really depends on your goals. I will just caution you on a few things: (1) Don’t expect drastic physical changes. Sure, you will see some, but remember that once you go back to your “normal” routine, your body will shift too. (2) If your mental health starts to suffer, quit. Many women I know look back on when they were at their leanest/fittest, and say it’s actually when their mental health was at its lowest. Nothing is worth harming your mental health. (3) Consider the 75 Soft Challenge, which includes 1 rest day a week and only 1 workout per day, making it much more realistic for most people.
