My Personal Experience with 75 Hard- The Wrap Up
DONE! 75 Hard days in the books. 75 gallons of water consumed, 750+ pages of books read, 75 progress pictures taken, 75 days without a cheat meal or alcohol, 75 indoor workouts, 75 outdoor workouts- rain, shine, sleet, and snow. DONE!
If these couple articles have intrigued you enough to consider this challenge- my advice to you would be—do it! Life is hard, messy, crazy, and wonderful. Sometimes in the mix of all that we lose ourselves a little or we fall off the wagon, so to speak. This challenge isn’t centered around fitness or weight loss like most. Instead, it focuses on mental toughness and winning the inner war with yourself. There is no cost, no harm, no reason to not try it (Disclaimer: I did spend $5.00 on the 75 Hard app which helped me to track and check off all of my daily tasks).
I was an athlete my whole life until I graduated from college- abruptly stopping organized sports was a very difficult transition. Then add starting a family on top of that- life can get hectic real quick. I have said it before and I will say it again- I’ve always been a sucker for challenges. I like to push the envelope to see what I can accomplish. I guess I am a junkie for that awesome feeling of accomplishment at the end. This challenge was different than all the rest I’ve tried.
Between my personal life and the work I do for my career, I see and hear first-hand the excuses we have and the barriers we experience that hold us up from living our best life. There are so many demands on us and it’s easy to push our personal priorities like exercise, eating right, and mental health to the side. Well, what if someone guaranteed you could take hold of your life and change all of that in 75 days or less? Would you try?
I remember day #31 stuck out to me. I turned a corner. The tasks became habit and I was thriving on the routine. I was learning a lot from my daily reading, I was feeling more energetic from the 45 minutes of outdoor activity, sunshine, and the large dose of water I was consuming. I was giving my body real food that made me feel good and that also fueled my workouts. Day #45 my progress pictures really started changing. Seeing the change was an amazing feeling. Much better than looking down at a scale and feeling a high or low based on the number. This was slow and steady change that was felt and seen.
By my final day- day #75, I remember thinking that I didn’t want it to end. This was my life now. I was thriving and it felt good. The creator of the challenge, Andy Frisella, mentioned on his website (andyfrisella.com), that this challenge would amplify the following traits in your life: confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, self-belief, fortitude, and grittiness—and it did just that.
When speaking to my groups during diabetes education classes, I talk a lot about hopping in the driver’s seat, putting your hands on the steering wheel and taking control. Sometimes in life, we may find ourselves in the passenger seat, just cruising and watching life pass us by. But when we decide enough is enough- taking or taking back that control changes everything.
Final advice- don’t wait for the right year, month or day. The excuses will always be there. They will always be heavy and stacked against you. Choose you and choose today! I would love to hear your success stories and wins!
Comment below if you have ever tried/accomplished this challenge or any other. Let the good news roll in!
- Read about my decision to try this challenge: Starting a New Year’s Resolution to try the Hard 75 Fitness Challenge.
- Day 46 of 75 – read about my experience so far: 75 Hard Challenge Mid-Point Update
Back to May 2021 NewsletterOriginal Article
