75 (Possibly, Incredibly) Hard (Days)
I like to think of myself as a pretty active person. Sure, I’m not working towards an Iron Man or anything, but I do enjoy my Orangetheory sessions, and I pride myself on my 10k times. However, every once in a while, I like to change it up and take on a personal challenge. My latest one is 75 Hard, and I’m currently on day three. Gulp.
75 Hard has seven points to follow for (you guessed it) 75 days:
1. Two work outs a day, at least 45 minutes each.
2. One workout has to be outside.
3. Take a progress picture each day.
4. Read ten pages of a nonfiction book.
5. Drink one gallon of water.
6. Follow a diet.
7. No cheat meals—including no alcohol.
I don’t for a minute believe this will be easy. Honestly, nothing that’s truly worthwhile comes easily—I mean, that’s a simplification because sometimes good things do come easily, but to maintain the good takes work… But let’s talk philosophy in a later post, shall we? I do believe that certain parts of 75 Hard will come easier than others. For instance, I’m looking forward to reading 10 pages of nonfiction a day. I’m hoping to use that as a catalyst to propel me forward in my dissertation. I am not, however, excited about the water. FML! I hate water—hate it! You can’t even add flavor packets per the 75 Hard rules. Crud. If you have suggestions, please send them my way! I have a 32-ounce Hydro Flask that I carry with me, but I must drink four of those a day! Oh boy, this one’s going to push me.
The diet piece is flexible, and I’m grateful for that. I chose to cold turkey eliminate some specific foods. My gastroenterologist and allergist have been after me to try some eliminations due to some recent gut health issues, anyways, so I’m using 75 Hard as my excuse to eliminate these foods. Goodbye, dairy! Goodbye, cocoa! And because I’m trying to push myself a bit further: goodbye, lunch and dinner desserts! The “no alcohol” is a piece of cake for me; I’m not a drinker (pretty much got that out of my system once the clock hit 26 years old). And you can have coffee (I’ll just use non-dairy creamer) and diet soda (yes!). But, really, water. Oh, that water.
If you see me looking longingly at some ice cream or at a chair (two workouts a day is going to require quite a bit of preplanning!), remind me that I got this, and that I wanted to do this. That is true: I do want to do this. I may only do it once, but I am going to do this, and I am going to do it 100% (or 75) HARD.