I Did the 75 Hard Challenge!

If you’re looking for something that will challenge your willpower, your grit, and your determination, then 75 Hard is the challenge you need. This challenge isn’t just about losing weight, but sticking to a plan and committing to it for long haul.

Haven’t heard of it 75 Hard before? I hadn’t heard of it either until lifestyle blogger and digital influencer Dayna Bolden shared that she was starting the challenge on her Instagram. She is a new mom just like me, and trying to get a handle on her life and get on track with taking care of herself. Which included eating healthy, staying active, and building herself up on the inside – all things I was looking to do as well.

75 Hard sounded like what I needed in my life, so after planning for a couple of weeks, I started the challenge on August 3, 2020. I finished on October 16, 2020. Here’s my first and last progress picture.

What is the 75 Hard Challenge?

75 Hard is a 75-day challenge, started by Andy Frisella, where you complete several daily tasks with no exceptions. If you miss any task, you have failed and must start back at Day 1. For more details, check out Andy’s website dedicated to the challenge.

The daily tasks are as follows:

• Follow a diet designed to change your body
• Two 45-minute workouts; one workout must be done outdoors
• Drink 1 gallon of water
• Read 10 pages of a self-help, non-fiction book
• Take a progress picture
• No alcohol or cheat meals

Interestingly, these daily tasks are things that will only benefit you, but most of us have a hard time committing to doing them for this amount of time. Three or four weeks maybe, but 75 days? It’s tough, and that’s the whole point – developing mental toughness and grit.

My Regimen for Challenge Success

The diet plan I chose to follow during 75 Hard was WW. With WW, there really are no ‘cheat’ meals, as long as you track your points. So for me, I tracked everything I ate and made sure not to go past my daily and weekly points. Going beyond my points would have been a ‘cheat’ and not following the diet plan.

For activity, I usually walked outdoors for both 45 minute workouts. Sometimes I did HIIT, strength training, or yoga/deep stretching as well. There were times when it was raining, but I got my outdoor workouts in every day. I really found a love for walking during this challenge!

To finish a gallon of water a day, my strategy was to drink 8-16 ounces in the morning when I take my medicine, 80 ounces while at work, and 40 ounces in the evening after work.

I read three books during the 75 Hard challenge. I would read at night before bed since that is my routine already with my son. Most nights, we would both read our books and then go to bed. Every morning before my morning shower, I would take a progress picture.

For more on my 75 Hard experience, check out my YouTube video!

Have you tried the 75 Hard challenge? If so, how do you feel about it? If no, would you try the challenge?