Why I am doing the 75 Hard.

You’re probably wondering, what is the ‘75 Hard’ anyways? I thought the same thing when I first saw it on social media but I was very curious so did a bit of research.

In summary, the 75 Hard is a challenge to complete over the course of 75 days that is for your mindset. Some even call it “an iron man for your mind.” These are the rules:

1) Complete two 45 min workouts a day, one needs to be outside

2) Stick to a diet of your choice, it can be anything but once you set it you have to stick to it for 75 days. No alcohol or cheat meals are allowed.

3) Drink 1 gallon (3.8L) of water per day

4) Take a progress picture daily

5) Read 10 pages daily, of a non-fiction/ self development book

6) Meditate everyday (I added this one for me)

7) If you miss one of the above on any day, you have to start over from day 1

At first glance this looks very much like a “get fit in 75 days” challenge but actually sticking to the goals set on day 1 for 75 days is really what it is about and if you become stronger or fitter in the process that is just an added bonus for what completing 75 days of unbreakable goals will do for your mind.

To be honest, at first I wasn’t so sure I agreed with the concepts or that I “needed” to do something like this but the more I thought about it I realized the benefits of the completing the challenge and I decided I’m going to complete it but with my own twist.

Last year I had 6 months off (in two 3 month blocks with 3 months of client work in between them). The second half I went travelling and then came back straight into a busy season at PwC, then I went back home to the US for Christmas and came back in January to start a new role at PwC. At the same time I’ve been teaching cycling (between 4 and 10 classes a week) and working on launching my holistic health coaching business. I do feel like the last year has been a bit of a blur because it has flown by. My plate has been so full (in a really good way, mostly) but I notice that my habits aren’t where they once were or where I would like them to be- this is why I am going to complete the 75 hard.

My thoughts/ reflections as I head in (actually I am half-way into….day 2! woo-hoo)

1) Completing two 45 min workouts: I am definitely not doing this challenge to motivate me to workout more, that is definitely not what I need. I workout plenty because I genuinely love to move my body and know how good it makes me feel (or how crappy I feel if I don’t!). I often will complete 3 workouts in a day (i.e. when I am teaching but also doing my own workouts, also I include yoga/pilates as workouts- not recovery) but then I have days where I will just go for a walk (or maybe not even!). This will get me moving more consistently and also get me back into the regular cadence of outdoor workouts that I LOVE (ocean swimming and road cycling with friends). I will be counting a 45 min walk outside as a workout on some days.

2) Stick to a diet of your choice: first I want to say that I am not ‘going on a diet’ I am making dietary changes that I know (based on my previous experience) make me feel my best. Since I went to Europe….last year…! I haven’t managed to get back into my eating routine that works best for me (read as: I am still addicted to croissants). I am going to use the next 75 days as a way to motivate myself to get back into those dietary habits that nourish my body, provide good mental clarity and keep my gut happy.

For me this will look like: 100g of protein, no sugar, bread limited to sourdough made by me, no caffeine and a fasting window of 12 hours.

Explained….

at least100g protein: I do eat a fair bit of protein and probably eat 100g most days but I want to measure it and be sure I am getting enough. I weigh 150lbs so I really should be eating 150g but I am going to aim for 100g for now knowing that I need to meet this EVERYDAY for 75 days.

no sugar: OH MY GOD, if you know me you know I rant about this all the time….but then take a bite of cake! I quit sugar for 10 weeks in October 2021 and I felt amazing. After the first 5 days or so I didn’t even want it and when I did get back into sugar I could barely eat a piece of milk chocolate without HONESTLY feeling like it was too sweet. I have a massive sweet tooth so this was new for me.

bread limited to my own: also feels like I need to be honest here, so far I have made only one successful loaf of sourdough but I am guaranteed to get better now…! My mouth loves bread, my gut doesn’t. Gluten makes me feel sleepy and bloated so this will be a good way to help me cut back. I also quit gluten back when I quit sugar and so was probably part of why I felt amazing. I am keeping bread made by me because I am not a sadist and I want to have some bread in my life! Plus I will be trying to make my bread with extra love- that counts for something!

no caffeine: I gave up caffeine back in October 2021 and never looked back…until recently. I switched to cacao lattes and decaf when I am at a cafe and I love it but a few months ago I started dabbling with caffeine again, felt the buzz and so really enjoyed it. If you’ve taken a spin class with me after caffeine you might know the buzz I am referring to! Anyway, it also makes me run to the bathroom and then disrupts the amazing regularity I had going before I brought caffeine back in. So its gotta go. Again.

fasting for 12 hours: I love my morning drink (cacao latte with nut milk and collagen peptides) and it is what gets me out of bed! Sometimes I am having this at 5am before I teach which means I am only fasting 8-9 hours (sometimes less). I read ‘Fast Like a Girl’ a while back and really believe in the benefits of fasting when female hormones are properly taken into consideration. I don’t see myself doing long fasts anytime soon as its just not in season for me right now but I do feel that fasting for 12 hours will be beneficial. Mostly, I am going to try and eat earlier because I notice on my WHOOP how much better I sleep when I haven’t eaten less than 3 hours before bed.

no alcohol or cheat meals: all good on the cheat meals but alcohol is not something I need help cutting out of my life. In this current stage of my life I can take it or leave it so I don’t think that I need to make an effort to avoid it for 75 days, I have gone way longer than that in the past. I have a trip to the Adelaide wineries planned with friends in mid September and I definitely plan to enjoy wine in a beautiful setting with great company.

3) drink a gallon of water daily: easy, I’m thirsty af. I sweat like A LOT so I am pretty sure I drink about this much anyway. I might regret this confidence when reminded it is a DAILY thing for 75 days.

4) progress pics: I am not doing this one. I don’t need a daily progress pic. I will take one in the early days and one at the end just to see but the goal of this challenge is not to change my body and I don’t want to take daily progress pictures that make it about that.

5) read 10 pages: looking forward to this one. I have been sleeping with my phone upstairs for a few months now and I read most nights so I am hoping this will be semi-simple to do everyday.

6) meditate everyday: I still haven’t managed to get this back as a daily habit :( This is going to sound pathetic to some but I broke by seven hundred sixty something day streak flying to Switzerland last year and since then I haven’t been able to get a streak longer that 30 days. Streaks matter to me, don’t judge me!

I’m looking forward to completing the challenge and I am hoping that writing all of this down keeps me committed to my why for doing this.

I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going. Wish me luck!

And of course, if this is something you might want to do, I would love to be your support partner if you’ll be mine!

xx Victoria