Half way Through #75Hard
Eeeeeek! Today is the day! I’m half way through the #75Hard program I’m doing. I still have HALF WAY to go, so I’m not celebrating yet. However- I wanted to give you guys a little insight on what I’ve been up to the past 38 days. If you follow me on Instagram (@teachersgonestrong) you’ve probably been seeing my daily updates, but I wanted to share more about the program and WHY I’m doing it.
The rules of the #75Hard program (created by Andy Frisella- he has an entire podcast about it if you want to listen to it) are that for 75 days straight you have to:
1) Read 10 pages of a non fiction book
2) Complete 2 workouts. Both have to be at least 45 minutes and one has to be outdoors.
3) Stick to a diet. (For me this means I’m sticking to my macros)
4) Take a progress picture
5) Drink 1 gallon of water
*If you fail to do any of these, you have to start back over at Day 1.
*Also no alcohol (which is easy for me since I’m pregnant lol)
*DISCLAIMER: This is a mental toughness challenge- not created for physical results. Obviously I am pregnant and in no way looking to lose weight. I assure you I am eating PLENTY so that baby girl can continue to grow and we are both extremely healthy. Remember that just because someone is tracking macros doesn’t mean they are “dieting” or in a caloric deficit. I am not. Tracking macros while at a surplus of calories because #growingahuman just means I’m tracking my intake and making sure I am eating the right amount of proteins, carbs and fats daily. If I were in a caloric deficit then you could say I was “dieting” because I was eating less than I am burning. That is not the case. Sticking to a diet just means sticking to a diet- whatever that looks like for you. Your diet is what you eat daily. I am doing two workouts a day which is a lot- but I’ve found that it helps me not be so sedentary during the summer months when normally I’d be sitting in my office working majority of the day. For one of my workouts I’m doing strength training (about 5-6 days a week) and the other workout I’m doing a 45 min walk outside with Atlas. My doctor is aware of how active I am and she encouraged me to continue to be as active as I can :)
Obviously, if your main goal was to build muscle or even just lose weight- I would never recommend you to workout 2x a day. It’s NOT necessary at all and definitely isn’t the most effective when trying to put on lean muscle. It’s a lot of cardio (the way I have it set up anyways) which would not be ideal for most people. However, remember that I’m not doing this because I’m trying to get ripped or lose fat. It’s all about the mental aspect and what it teaches you throughout the process.
I feel SO incredibly good and can’t believe how amazing this pregnancy has been thus far. I am 30 weeks pregnant as of yesterday and have NO swelling, NO issues sleeping, my energy level is normal (other than how tired I was at the end of the school year but that’s to be expected), NO back pain and etc. I am aware that I could just be REALLY lucky, but I really think it’s from how active I’ve been. At the beginning of my pregnancy I worked out about 3-4 times a week (because I was exhausted ALL the time) and definitely ate like garbage. It was really hard for me to stay focused because I was letting being pregnant be an excuse and just eating WAY too much. I also developed REALLY bad back pain for a couple of weeks and with the help of a chiropractor and I swear all this walking, It’s completely gone! I only went to the Chiro twice, and started this challenge a week after. #75Hard is exactly what I needed to get my butt back in gear, overcome some mental battles WHILE also staying healthy for baby and I!
If you’re like me then having a goal and more structured plan really helps me stay more committed. Again, I am NOT doing this challenge for physical results (however if you weren’t pregnant you would achieve results from the additional exercise/being in a deficit). It is a mental toughness challenge designed to be HARD. It was created to show you what you are capable of. When you commit and do these things for 75 days straight- It’s transpires into every other area of your life. Not quitting. Not giving up just because you’re tired that day or because you’re packing your classroom up. Not stopping because it’s raining outside. Nobody cares! I’m not doing this to prove anything to anyone, but myself. It’s amazing what you can actually achieve when you stop quitting every other day.
It’s NOT easy to workout twice a day. It’s not easy to drink a gallon of water a day. It’s not easy to workout for 45 min OUTSIDE when it’s pouring down rain (that has only happened to me once so far, knock on wood!). But that’s the point! It’s supposed to challenge you. You may think all of these things don’t seem that hard, and in isolation they aren’t. However- doing them ALL, every single day for 75 days straight IS ridiculously hard. Sticking to my macros is HARD when I want to eat a huge bowl of ice cream from Cold Stone instead (that definitely won’t fit my macros lol). Sometimes even reading 10 pages or taking a progress picture is hard because I’m already laying down and almost forgot! It’s about following through- even on the simple things you said you would do.
Now that the school year is over and I am working from home, it is a little bit less intense. However- I did this for 25 days while still being a full time teacher, ending the school year, packing up my entire classroom and still working on Teachers Gone Strong (which is quickly becoming a full time job in itself). It’s already shown me just how much I am actually capable of and I’m only 35 days in and 30 weeks pregnant!
This challenge will take me to when I am about 36 weeks pregnant and unless something happens that I don’t have control over baby wise, I will finish it!
Some other small things I’ve noticed: Look at the progress with my apple watch rings! I started this challenge on April 29th and you can see a HUGE difference in my rings from before that to now! I’m pretty pumped about that :-)
I can be a person who chronically “starts over” or starts something but doesn’t finish it. I’ve noticed that a lot with my business and other things I take on. This challenge is helping me see that staying consistent is the number 1 most important thing- in any area of your life. Show up daily. Show up even when it’s messy. Take action anyway.
This challenge isn’t for everyone. Most people won’t be able to finish. Andy even mentioned in his podcast that it’s likely 2 people will actually finish this challenge. You can’t make substitutions and you can’t make it “work for you”. If you do that, you’re missing the entire point of the program.
I hope this post inspires you to check out more about the challenge or just to stop giving up in your life in general. We are SO QUICK to throw in the towel when things get hard. PUSH THROUGH! Your future self will thank you for it.
Thanks for reading and happy Wednesday!!
With Love,
Brooklyn