75 Hard

So after completely spiriling from a very minor family/work incident I fell into a deep depression for about a week. I quit my job, wouldn't talk to anyone, and didn't want to leave my bed. I told myself I was going to move away, start a new life and cut everyone off. Have a fresh start and completely reinvent myself so inevitably in five months another minor inconvience would send me down the same funnel of drama and angst.

Instead I sat with my sadness, let it consume me and then I decided I was going to do something about it. That something would be 75 Hard.

For anyone that doesn't know what 75 Hard is, it is a fitness challenge with a very strict set of rules you must follow for 75 days straight. No mess-ups, no cheat days or you're back to day one.

Here are the rules:

1. Two 45 minute workouts a day, one must be outside.

2. Drink one gallon of water daily.

3. Pick any diet and follow it.

4. No alcohol and no smoking.

5. 10 pages of a non-fiction book daily.

6. Take a progress pic daily.

Now here are my rules:

1. Two 45 minute workouts a day, one outside (this one stays the same).

2. Drink half my body weight in ounces.

3. My "diet" is fruit at breakfast and veggies with every meal.

4. No alchol and no smoking (also the same, smoking being my biggest vice).

5. 10 pages or 30 minutes of any book daily.

6. Just one before and after pic.

Maybe more like a 75 medium-soft? I really dont know, but what I do know is that I've been on this mindset for a week and technically, even with my modified version, I'm still on day one. I haven't hit my water goal once, I smoked in the middle of the week, took a rest day yesterday and the only vegetables I had for dinner today were french fries. No those don't count.

I call it a mindset because that's what it really is, a mindset and eventually a lifestyle change for better health and mental wellness, at least according to me. I'm not letting these small hiccups take me out, this is the most movement I think I've ever done, and I'm proud of that.

Next week my top goals are to hit my water intake 3x and complete all my workouts. I feel good after this week but technically tomorrow will be day one, again! I'm learning to give myself grace and take it day by day, even if I don't follow every rule to a tee I know I'm heading in the right direction. I know there will be up and downs and when I take a step back I see how much more I have left to do. I also see the big, and I mean big strides I've made. Going from a self proclaimed couch potato to a 4x gym go-er in a week, once again I'm going to pat myself on the back.

Also I might just very susceptible to the placebo effect but even after my first attempt at day one I could feel the endorphins being released through out my day and I'd love to keep that going.

If you want to join me on my search for mental wellbeing or just watch my fitness journey follow me on Strava (I promise this whole post wasn't just a long winded way to get you to follow my socials but admittedly it would be nice to have a follower 😅) and send me some kudos.

Thank you & I hope you were able to find some joy reading my post.