This may be a record for me on recent challenges and attempts at a restart, but I actually made it through the first week of the 75 Hard Challenge! I will take that as a win! Seriously, how many times have I babbled on about a new plan and then failed to get past the first week! So I'll take 1 week as a win! You can read more about this on my recent post.
The Challenge Rules
1. Follow a Diet Plan
2. Exercise 2 times a day one of which HAS to be outside. The indoor workout HAS to be 45 minutes or more. The outdoor one is preferably 45 minutes or more but I can be as short as 30 minutes. (Altered from the original 75 hard which is two 45 minute sessions)
3. Drink 64 ounces of water (altered from the original 75 hard which required 1 gallon of water)
4. Read 10 pages of a non fiction book daily (I read digitally and have no pages....so I am aiming for 10 minutes a day)
5. Take a progress picture each day
But lets talk about the particulars of each day!
Day 1of 75 Hard
I nailed this day. 100% slayed it! For my indoor exercise I completed 45 minutes on the exercise bike. I didn't ride like a bat out of hell, and my butt was so incredibly sore but I finished those 45 minutes like a champ! My legs were a bit wobbly when it was done, but it was done with a smile. It snowed all day and we ended up with about 6-8 inches. It was still snowing toward evening, but I went outside and shoveled for my 45 minutes of exercise. (Luckily we only got another half inch after I shoveled so I didn't have to redo much, just swept those areas.) I felt like I was drowning but I managed to get my full gallon of water down my gullet and my calorie count was 1354! For my reading, I started the book "The Diet Trap Solution: Train your Brain to Lose Weight and Keep it off for Good". (Amazon Link) It was a great start!
I started this on a whim and while I was determined, I was totally skeptical about the chances of my success due to my many failures!
The snow had finally stopped and it was time to shovel ourselves out. I manned the shovel, Jason used the snowblower. I went out two times and each time was just about an hour of shoveling (56 minutes and 51 minutes). I am counting shoveling as my exercise. I drank about 80 ounces of water, which is a win, I continued reading the same non fiction book and I had 1446 calories. For some reason I was just hungry. (Or maybe I imagined myself hungry, whichever the case may be.) But even at the 1446, I was still under my goal of 1500! So a win!
Day 3 of 75 Hard
This day took planning and thought. I went into my mom's to work on painting the house with my brother. I didn't know what lunch would bring, so I tried to keep my breakfast lighter and spent some time looking at my dinner plans to see how much I could shave off of my dinner to create more calories if needed. Therefore, when I did go out to eat for lunch with my brother, sister in law and two of their kids, I knew exactly how many calories I had available for lunch AND how many calories I could squeeze out of dinner. (It was Taco Tuesday at our house and I swapped my meal from Tacos to a taco salad which used less meat but more salad stuff. Calories saved. I also crunched up 2 taco shells instead of 3. Calories saved. And I also only ate 1/2 cup of the rice dish instead of 1 cup!) I also intently looked at the menu when we arrived at the restaurant (thank heavens they had the calories listed on the board, it made it easier than pulling out my phone) and I chose wisely. And honestly, was probably happier with my options than had I gotten the traditional burger and fries! I ended the day with 1493 calories. I did not finagle the numbers any more than making the above adjustments. After I got home I went in and made the adjustments that I had planned and it came to 1493. Squeezed that one out by the skin of my teeth! I did drink a diet coke whilst out at lunch, but I pounded the water the rest of the day and got my required water done!
I also had to plan and think about my exercise and work to get it all done before I left the house at 9! The planning of the exercise was the easy part. It was the temps outside that made it yucky! The outdoor temperatures took a nose dive and it was COLD. I was dreading my 'outdoor' exercise! I did it though. I was out tramping around with the dog and my toes were frozen but I marked off 30 minutes outside! I also got my indoor workout checked off by completing two different workouts back to back. I did half with Body Groove and the other half with Zumba Sula. I continued reading the same non fiction book and ended the day with a win!
Day 4 of 75 Hard
Day four was another day where I had to work on planning a bit more. I had a lunch date with a friend and I wasn't sure where we would be going pretty much the last minute. But knowing that, I did two things. I had a simple banana for breakfast and for dinner I planned to make a meal that I do not eat but that Jason loves! I knew that I could fill up on veggies and whatnot if I didn't have the calories for more. And if I did have the calories, I could make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (the ultimate sandwich) or a grilled cheese (second ultimate). I also wanted to get my exercise completed early because my friend and I hadn't seen each other in ages and we expected to spend a few hours together catching up. Therefore, by the time I headed out to meet her for lunch I had already completed 30 cold minutes outside with the dog and 45 minutes of cardio with the youtube channel, CDornerFitness. I had taken my daily picture and read my 10 minutes of non-fiction. The only thing I had left to worry about was drinking my water and eating within my calories.
I ordered water with my lunch which helped me not get sidetracked from the water goal. I had them refill it three times.....so that on top of what I drank on the way to and from lunch and what I drank at home made getting my water to be a cinch! The food. I ordered a breakfast meal (we were at a diner) and carefully calculated and managed my calories the rest of the day. I ended the day at 1338 calories. YAY! Four days of success, can I really manage to do this? It was at this point that I started to actually believe that I could do this!
Day 5 of 75 Hard
This was a day of just blah. I was tired so I didn't do my indoor exercise at 5AM while Jason was in the shower. I did get my 10 minutes of reading in during that time. However, no exercise. I told myself, that I had no plans the rest of the day so I had 'plenty' of time to get it done. I settled in for the day and it would have been bad, but Zoey wanted to go out and play. So I bundled up and out we went for our 30 minutes! It was still earlier in the day so it was still cold! (Although the temps are rising!) Time kept passing the dog was sleeping so soundly and well, indoor exercise........................
Indoor exercise was done literally minutes before Jason got home from work at 6PM! But I did it!
I planned my food for the day and worked out my calories and I eat exactly what I had planned which equaled out to be 1354 calories. Water was tough. I was feeling super lazy all day. So when I settled into the recliner and realized that I had forgotten my water in the kitchen I didn't feel like getting up......and I didn't get up for a few hours. So I found myself at 1PM with having only drank 16 ounces. But not to worry I may have been guzzling water at the last minute, but I finished it! (I finished literally at the last minute, as in I was standing in the kitchen guzzling the rest and then went straight to bed!)
Day 6 of 75 Hard
One would think that I would learn my lesson with the water! And I did, somewhat! I remembered to take my water with me to where I was working. I spent the morning on the computer doing some stuff that is required of my by the unemployment office, looking for jobs and whatnot. It comes around to about 12:30 and I realized I had not taken a single sip of the water that I took with me. That means that I only had drank the 16 ounces of water that I drank with my breakfast.....the one that I put my Trace Minerals into. (Amazon link here....seriously, this stuff is amazing!)
There is nothing too exciting about the day. I checked everything off the 75 hard list and rolled through my day like a champ. I ended the day with 1379 calories. So I was happy with that!
Day 7 of 75 Hard
It was Saturday, but Jason had to work so it felt like a week day. That means that we were up at 5AM and I didn't let the fact that it was a Saturday derail me. I got that 45 minutes of my first workout completed early! By 6AM I was on the couch reading. I read for a while on my non fiction book that I chose to start my 75 hard challenge. I read that until Jason was leaving for work. I got outside and got the dog walk and some time outside with me walking and moving to knock off another cold workout. (Dang it has warmed up but I was still cold!)
This day I actually sipped at my water all morning and therefore didn't hit the afternoon with very little water consumption under my belt! I had a plan to get my water done early so that I could enjoy some diet soda in the evening, because I've been so behind the last few days that I haven't been able to enjoy that treat and I wanted it tonight! I finished my water right before dinner so I was able to pour myself a glass of diet soda! Woo hoo! (And yes, I realize how lame it is to reward myself with a glass of diet soda, but them's the breaks!)
I kept my calories in check for the day and I feel like I had a fantastic day food wise! My calorie count was 1297 so I was spot on where I wanted to be! Go me!
Reflections on Week One of the 75 Hard
I was hopeful, but still skeptical at the beginning of the week. But as the week progressed I started to feel a bit more confident that maybe, just maybe I could do it. I started to think that maybe I could make it to day 75 and complete this! In fact, I actually feel a bit disgusted with myself for making the adjustments that I made. I feel, well.... I feel guilty! I feel guilty for lowering my goal from 1 gallon of water to the 64 ounces. I also feel totally guilty about lowering that second workout to 30 minutes. I feel like I am cheating! However, I know that had I not made the changes, I probably would have missed the water by day three if not day two. Furthermore, there is no way I would have made the 45 minutes outside in that un-heavenly cold! So while I feel guilty, I know that I made the right decision in my alterations.
I have been sleeping SO much more soundly. I have had next to no instances where I wake up at 2 in the morning wide awake and unable to get back to sleep. I won't lie, I have woken up here and there but I'm right back to soundly sleeping in minutes if not seconds. There was one day where I woke up and I honestly thought that I was going to be awake the rest of the night. However, the next thing I knew the alarm was going off and I was waking up! The issue? Jason says that I have been snoring a lot more than normal this week. He has tried to tell me that the dog kept coming to the bed to check on me and that the dog finally gave up and left the bedroom! I have also been roused from sleep a few times while he is bumping me or whacking the bed to try to 'reset' me. Is the snoring related to the 75 Hard? Who knows! We were talking about it this morning and I laughed and said this is the best I've slept in YEARS. Maybe I'm just so sleep deprived from years of issues that I'm sleeping so deep that I'm snoring. OK, I know that is not it! But that is what I told him!
I found myself wanting to dance a little, wiggle my butt a little and just move a bit more after my exercise. Not every day, there were one or two days where I was just tired. But most days it kinda rejuvenated me! It kind of gave me a pep in my step!
So there you go....week one in the books. Week two? Ready.......Set....Go!
