I SURVIVED the 75 Hard Challenge for a week so you don’t have to!

So have you ever heard of the 75 Hard?

A diet challenge is trending hard.

A challenge. I've never heard of the 75 Hard challenge. It is a fitness challenge. If you do 75 Hard, it will change you. So the 75 Hard challenge was created by Andy Frisella back in 2019. This program has 5 daily tasks that you have to complete for 75 days consecutively. Number 1, drink a gallon of water. Number 2, complete 2 45-minute workouts, one indoor, one outdoor. Number 3, read 10 pages of a self-improvement book once a day. Number 4, follow a certain type of diet. Now that can be a diet of your choosing, but there can be no alcohol and no cheat meals. And understandably, some sort of a healthy diet, not necessarily like a water diet or a junk food diet. And number 5, take a progress picture each day. I'm gonna be really honest with you guys. I do not wanna do this like at all. I've mentally been battling with putting together this video because I just don't, I don't wanna do it. And because I really don't want to do it is exactly why I'm doing it. And it's not because I don't want to live a healthy lifestyle. I mean, I already do a lot of these things. I just don't like following hard and fast rules. But I do think it's valuable to push ourselves to do things that we absolutely do not want to do from time to time. So here I am trying out the 75 Hard, even though I really, really don't want to do it. So one important thing about the 75 Hard is that if you fail one of those 5 tasks for your day, you have to start over all the way back at day 1. And I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna have to start all the way back. So I'm going to make sure that I plan ahead for my 75 Hard and make sure that I am getting my ducks in a row so that I'm not falling short here. So what I'm actually gonna do is put these things in my calendar for each day, especially the workouts, the meal prepping, the progress picture, just things that I needed to remind myself 'cause I live and die by my calendar. So if I allocate the time there in my calendar, it's more likely to happen because if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. So time to time block.

All right, you guys, so it is Sunday. I am about to do some of my meal prep for the week ahead, um, for trying out the 75 Hard for a week. I'm a big fan of trying to get all my meals prepped for the entire week ahead if I can. I'm gonna at least do most of my lunches today and get that underway.

So I'll bring you guys along with me so you can see what I'm doing.

All right, guys, so it is 5:45 in the morning. I just woke up. This is usually about the same time I wake up, and I'm gonna go ahead and make my coffee and get my protein muffins that I made for the morning all together, and I'm gonna just get a head start on my gallon water jug. So yay, bottoms up! Look at that, we already made a little dent.

Woohoo! Just gotta get some makeup on, get ready for the day, and away we go.

Alright, so it is 12 o'clock on a Monday and about to go out for workout number 1 of 75 Hard. Thankfully, my loving husband's going to come with me for a few minutes around the block, so I won't be totally alone.

But I would normally run as part of this workout because to me, walking doesn't really feel like a workout, so I'm going to try to increase my pace a bit.

But I do have an Achilles issue going on and I'm not supposed to be running right now, so this is my option as a workout. I'm going with it. Something is always better than nothing, right?

Always. So gonna make do with what I can do and, uh, keep you guys posted.

So workout 1, day 1, 75 hard. Just finished, um, the first 45-minute workout, and I got my jug of water, so I'm just gonna drink this up. All right, so for lunch I made a homemade tomato vegetable chicken soup. So, um, very healthy, um, all made from scratch, and I'm very excited to eat this. Um, it's got a lot of protein in it. This still kind of aligns with the Mediterranean-style diet that I'm going for. And yeah, we're gonna dive in because I'm starving.

Okay, so I just got to the gym and I gotta be honest, I am absolutely not feeling like being here. I'm really tired. Today has been a long day in so many different ways. So I had to bring my car into the mechanic, which was the whole thing. I didn't really like fully anticipate that would add so much time like into— out of my work day and into doing that. And then on top of that, like, for those of you guys that don't understand this, like, I'm about to start my cycle, which is adding this whole other layer of exhaustion. Um, and it's just not fun. Like, I'm not feeling— I'm not feeling like I want to do this. And I am a person who loves to work out. I'm a person who loves to lift. I love to be active. But today I just want to go crawl up in a ball at home and finish up my work because I have so much work to finish up on. There were some other things that happened work-wise that, um, like just some fires to put out that got in the way of some other things that I really needed to get done. So I have a lot to do when I get back home still. It's 4:30. Um, my original intent was to do my lifting program today, uh, one of the 5 lifting days that I have. I'm going to take my freebie day and do my mobility day today instead because I just do not have it in me to do an hour and a half long workout, which is what my lifting days are scheduled to be. So I'm gonna do a mobility day, I'm gonna hit the 45 minutes, but I gotta be honest, on my drive over here, even on day 1, I was really debating like just starting tomorrow, uh, and just like putting the kibosh on the second workout for today because I'm so exhausted, um, and I have so much left to do for the day and I just don't feel good like physically, um, But part of this challenge is the discipline, and you know, this is just part of my experience, and I really feel like it's important to share because like even myself, somebody who again enjoys working out and is a healthy individual, I'm still struggling with this, and I was having these mental battles on the way over here. So I'm still gonna do this thing. I'm gonna do my mobility day. I'm gonna get my movement in. Um, I'm gonna hit my 45-minute target. I'm gonna go home, I'm gonna chug some water, I'm gonna eat some of my healthy prepared meals that I made this weekend and read my 10 pages and finish the work that I have on my plate. I'm gonna make this happen. We're gonna do it. So let's just, let's just do it. Let's go.

Just got home from the second workout of the day today, and I'm exhausted. Um, this has been way more challenging than I thought to fit into my schedule, uh, and I way underestimated it. But I still have to get through the rest of the day, the rest of this week. It's just the beginning. It'll be okay. I'm gonna keep chugging my water. I'm gonna read the rest of my 10 pages. Um, I got some work to finish up on unfortunately just because the day got a little messy, but, um, we'll tune back in towards the end of the day as well and give you guys my thoughts about like how everything else went during the day. But we're making it.

So tonight what we ended up making was, uh, salmon puttanesca, and I meal prepped this so that there's enough for the week.

Um, and I will progressively make the salmon throughout the week.

So I'm all about meal prepping ahead of time when I can, at least the components that make sense to meal prep ahead of time. And this is what we got. Yum, yum!

So it's kind of fitting the Mediterranean-style eating plan that I'm going off of for the 75 Hard. Really looking forward to diving into this. I still have a lot of water left to drink though, and I'm kind of getting nervous because at this point I'm gonna have to just we're gonna have to chug.

It's, it's gonna be a lot.

All right, so it's about 9 PM and I am just about to finish my 10 pages of reading. I'm reading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. It is really good. Um, It's just a really good book and it's having me reevaluate a lot about the rushing in my life and how chaotic life can be. But I'm only, you know, 22, 23 pages into it, so I'll keep you guys posted on any of the learnings that I have about the book. But I'm gonna finish this up and then try to keep chugging the water, which is just— it's sitting right there, ready to be finished. So I'll get to that shortly.

So day 1 was, um, a little bit harder than I anticipated. I way underestimated how difficult doing this challenge is, especially on days when your schedule does not go how you expect it to go. And honestly, I mean What did I expect? Because life is life and there's gonna be at least a quarter of your days, at least a quarter, if not half, I would say that are gonna go unexpectedly, you know, different than what you anticipated. As far as what you're scheduling for work and your day ahead and unexpected things that just pop up, right? And yesterday was one of those days. I had to bring my car in. I was about to start my menstrual cycle, was not feeling good yesterday. And my shoulders were hurting, my Achilles was hurting. I've had some different injuries I've been dealing with recouping from playing so much volleyball lately. So double workouts in a day was feeling extra difficult. I had work things kind of blow up in my face. Um, I'm in the middle of kind of transitioning over into, you know, a different, uh, software. So there's just some things that popped up with that. And honestly, it was just way harder to navigate fitting all these things in when my day did not go as planned. Whatsoever. And let me tell you what the hardest part for me was, probably drinking that damn gallon jug of water. This, this, this thing. This was way harder than I thought. Um, look at me. Look at how far I got today. Much better than yesterday. It's only 3 o'clock and I'm killing it. But yesterday did not pace this out well and I had about up to here left by 7 PM. It was not a good, good evening for me. I might as well have just stayed on the toilet all night because I was just constantly peeing and that was not fun. So I— much better job today with pacing this out. I did a much better job, but that was much more hard than I thought it was going to be. So the other part that I definitely underestimated was the workouts. Right now I'm currently doing, like I mentioned before, the Volleyball Strength Coaches program. It is 5 lifting days and You know, most of the lifts are about an hour and a half. They just take a lot of time. And because of that, you know, and then adding in another 45-minute workout, that's been pretty tough to do, tougher than I anticipated. If I wasn't doing an hour and a half lift, like if I wasn't doing this program, I would probably still lift, but I would probably keep it to 45 minutes. And I would also do this 45-minute outdoor workout. That's how I would've separated it out. But I'm not gonna halt my program, you know, midway just to start the 75 Hard. I'm gonna continue doing my, my normal lifting program. So, um, that's, that's why it's been a little tough for me to fit that into my day logistically, especially with having to have them separated out. So what you're supposed to do is have at least 3 to 4 hours in between workouts. It's not like I can do a 45-minute outdoor workout and then parlay that straight into doing an indoor workout right away, which would be ideal to do it in the same chunk. As far as the book reading, 10 pages a day of a self-improvement or personal growth style book, that hasn't been difficult. I already was reading, you know, daily, um, much more than 10 pages a day, and I was reading more like fantasy type books recently, which has been interesting and totally like not my typical book. I'm usually reading personal growth and self-help books, so it's been really different to switch back as of lately, and I've been really, really loving my book of choice. I personally chose this book, which is The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. Um, it has been really like spirit and soul filling for me, which I've really loved. Something that I got burnt out on about self-help and personal growth and that style of book before was so much information to pack in. And my day is already full of so much like self-learning and different things that I'm doing to like teach myself different pieces of software and structures within my business and people's information I'm taking in and learning and helping coach them and all that stuff. So this has been really good because it's not too, too information heavy. It's story-based personal growth, which has been really, really awesome to dive into. Highly recommend this book. Um, it's just been— it's been really lovely. As you guys already probably know from watching my day one, I'm following more of a Mediterranean-style type of diet plan. That is what I have found to be more of the healthiest more sustainable plan that can kind of roll into patterns afterwards. It's already very similar to how I'm eating. I've just been more in tune with processed foods, so sometimes I will rely on like protein bars and protein shakes throughout the day. So I've eliminated those and opted for more whole food plant-based snacks, or, you know, lean protein-based snacks like carrots and hummus and things like that that that, you know, are less processed. But some of the main meals I made for this week that I prepped ahead of time was this tomato, vegetable, and chicken soup, which has been amazing. And then I also prepped a salmon puttanesca. So I used some gluten-free noodles and capers and olives and tomato sauce that I made, and then a piece of salmon. Some, um, roasted zucchini. So another like veggie protein dense dish. And then I made these delicious protein oatmeal muffins that I make with like whole oats and eggs and a banana and berries. And again, very like whole food forward, um, snack. So that's been a great protein forward breakfast to have as well. So it's been really good. I think it's been a good, a good lesson for me to not rely on some of those like protein supplements throughout the day or like pre-manufactured snacks, which there's nothing wrong with them, but there's definitely times where I can be over-reliant on them and be lazy in preparing some of my own foods. It's definitely convenient to have those on hand. So again, I'm not saying that those are bad or a bad part of somebody's lifestyle. They definitely can be balanced in. But I think it's always good to be cautious of like overly relying on some of those things in lieu of whole foods. Another water break. Overall though, I'm definitely seeing how this challenge is really helping me to show up for myself and not make excuses. And I, I really look forward to seeing how the rest of this week continues forward because of course there's days where I'm not feeling it or You know, again, I had a very chaotic day yesterday and things just get in the way. And I don't have kids, but I can only assume that that chaos expands like fourfold when you have kids running around and they have their own chaos that's ensuing that's creating chaos in your life. So props to all you parents out there who are navigating this challenge or are attempting to, again, make behavior change possible in your own life. It's definitely not easy, but it is worth it. And, you know, I think part of the, the cool thing about going through this and experiencing this is being able to force myself to do something that, again, I really did not want to do, but I'm doing it anyway. And it still is hard. I'm not saying it's easy. And, um, there will be good benefits from it. So it's kind of like one of those things where it's like D, all of the above. And yeah, I look forward to continuing it forward. I'm sure I'm gonna have more challenges along the way. I'm already foreseeing some, which I will handle when I get there. But, um, Yeah, we will keep on moving forward.

Workout number 2 of the day. I'm doing my 45-minute walk now.

We did it.

We did it so early in the day.

All right, so we made it to day 4.

We're on day 4 now.

Yay.

Things have been going good. Just a couple of updates. I've gotten even better at drinking the water earlier in the day. It's 2:45 and I'm almost, you know, almost there, almost done with the gallon. Um, workouts have been good. Um, still kind of tough to fit in when my day doesn't necessarily line up perfectly, but it's been okay. Been able to navigate that. All right. I feel pretty good about like how I've gone through these past 4 days. Now I've imagined like, oh my God, could, could I do this for 75 days? I think I could, but would I want to? No. And I know it's not supposed to be something that you like genuinely really want to do. It's, it's a test of your will and self-discipline and all those things. But man, like if you've made it to 75 days and done the 75 Hard like through and through, please, I wanna hear from you. Like how was it for you? Drop your, drop your, uh, comment down below. I'd love to hear like your journey and if you made it all the way through. So yeah, overall I'm feeling good though. Definitely been like tempted with some food things and feeling like, oh my gosh, I really could go for some chocolate right now. But I will say drinking a gallon of water really does kind of curb some of those cravings a little bit because you're so full of water that you, you're like, ah, I could go for some of this, but I'm like also really full right now from drinking this much water. So like, whatever, we'll just let it roll. I actually have really liked having an outdoor workout and a time for me to like reconnect with nature purposely throughout. My week. So I, I honestly might like try to continue that and try to do like a 45-minute block of something outside, whether it's walking or biking, or when my Achilles finally feels better, running. So far so good. So let's, let's finish this out though. Let's like, let's keep it going. All right, so this is day, day 7.

Um, I don't really feel like there's that much of a difference, but I know, again, I've only done this 7 days, so I don't I didn't really anticipate there to be that much of a difference. I mean, it's, it's meant to be done for 75 days. I could see how doing this for 75 days in a row would definitely make you feel like more in shape, right?

And just maybe a little bit leaner.

I could tell that I probably feel a little bit leaner maybe, but 7 days, hard to tell. So far feeling good though.

And that's a wrap. Well, at least for the first 7 days of the 75 Hard. And let me tell you, that was much more difficult and revealing than I thought it would be. The most challenging part really wasn't the diet or, you know, the reading or the water or the workouts themselves. It was more so staying consistent with all those things when life just throws you curveballs. You know, like when your schedule implodes and all of a sudden it's 10 PM and you still have to sneak in that second workout outside. And this was just 7 days. I can't imagine the types of curveballs that would come at you during the duration of 75 days if you were to complete the whole challenge. But here's what really doing this for 7 days really re-solidified within me, and hopefully can be a lesson for you as well. It's the concept that willpower isn't just something that you have or don't have. It's a skill that you practice, and it's a muscle that you can tone and firm up and get stronger. And just like you can't expect that you would walk into a gym and be able to deadlift 300 pounds, you can't really expect to have really great willpower without deliberate deliberately working on it. So if you're somebody who's tired of breaking promises to yourself and tired of hearing yourself say, well, I'll just start again tomorrow or start again Monday, then I think this challenge can offer you something really unique and special. And sure, you might get the benefits of the physical transformation, which I know a lot of people pursue the 75 Hard for that component, but I think there's something way more valuable in this process. I think it's about proving to yourself that you can do hard consistently. So would I recommend this challenge, and if so, to who? I'd recommend this for people who are ready to build some serious mental toughness, need a structured framework for change, feel like they want to prove something to themselves, and have some flexibility in their schedule to be able to commit, because it does take a considerable amount of time not to always do the things, but to plan for the things to make sure that they can happen within your schedule, and then also make sure they can happen when things don't go according to plan. Life isn't always comfortable, and this challenge really helps you to embrace discomfort in a structured way. Now I want to hear from you guys. So have you tried the 75 Hard? Have you been thinking about doing it? Like, what's your experience been with the 75 Hard? And if you've done it, you know, what were your results? I want to hear from you guys. So drop your comments down below this video and let me know if there's a certain experience or challenge you want me to take on next. And listen, if you're watching this video and you're like, wow, the 75 Hard sounds cool, but that is just like too intense for me right now. That's completely valid. Sometimes the best approach is one that's customized to you and your specific goals. And if that's you, then let's definitely chat. All you have to do is click the link down in the description below to book a call and we can find a sustainable plan that fits your life best. And guys, as always, if you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to the channel. I greatly appreciate it. And I will see you guys next time. Bye!