For every single one of the past 75 days I did (2) 45 minute workouts (one had to be outside), followed a nutrient dense and gluten free diet, took a progress pic every day, drank a gallon of water, read 10 pages in an actual book and had zero alcohol. Andy Frisella’s program, 75 Hard was mentally and physically the most challenging, but rewarding, program/challenge I have ever completed.
I did it. I did it while running this blog. I did it when we bought the new house in Delray Beach and had to furnish it top to bottom. I did it while my kids were in a less than desirable cyber school program and I thought I’d lose my mind. I did it while I enrolled them and learned all about their new charter cyber school. I did it when I had a two day conference out of town. I did it when my daughter had major hand reconstruction surgery. I did it when my mom had major neck and spinal surgery. Yes!!! I freaking did it.
I am a wife, a mother of 3 (my kids are 24, 14 and almost 13.) I turn 43 on the 28th of this month (October).
Was it hard? Yes. Were there days I didn’t want to it? Yes. Was it the hardest physical challenge I had ever taken on? Yes. It was also the most grueling mental challenge I have ever taken on.
I needed to get my mental, emotional and physical strength back. I needed to find pre-Covid Kelly in a Covid (and politically) engulfed outside world. What better way to do that than eliminating most of the free time I’d spend reading (and reacting to) the endless negative Facebook posts?
75 Hard was actually my husband’s idea and I flat out told him “NO” at first. I obviously changed my mind. You can read some more about my “why” in this blog post right before I started.
I’m going to break down each part of the 75 Hard and tell you how I did it and the struggles and advantages I had with each one. I’ll start with the easiest and make my way up to the hardest.
As a blogger and someone that posts on social media often this was the least difficult of the required tasks. That’s not to say I didn’t have to jump out of bed on occasion late at night to snap a quick pic. I love to look back at the progress pics. I see why it’s part of the program. The evolution is remarkable and should be documented.
I already drank a lot of water before this started, but not a gallon. The water bottle I typically carry holds 25 ounces so I knew I had to drink 5 plus 3 ounces. I was probably averaging 2.5 to 3 water bottles before 75 Hard. The first week or two of a gallon a day was an endless cycle of trips to the bathroom. Luckily after a couple of weeks my body adapted and the visits to the bathroom became less and less.
Hydration is so important. It brightens up your skin, can make you feel fuller (less calorie intake), helps with workout performance and helps in various body functions like digestion, kidney function and temperature regulation.
There were many nights again that I crawled into bed and realized I hadn’t read. On some nights I felt like I was propping my eyes open with toothpicks to get it done. I read Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. This was at the suggestion of our podcast consultant who is helping Rob and I launch our podcast which was slated for fall but has been pushed back till the new year because we decided to buy a house on a whim. I also read the 10X Rule. It’s truly changed my mindset.
I chose to do a gluten free, nutrient dense diet. I’d had an inkling for years that I have an issue with gluten. Even though I had blood work done several times that said I didn’t have an allergy, I always felt bloated and blah after consuming foods with gluten. After completing a food sensitivity test, by Everly Well my intuition was correct, I did have a mild gluten sensitivity. I also found out I had a high sensitivity to egg whites and a mild sensitivity to egg yolks so I eliminated almost all egg from my diet. I also cut out most dairy. I did have cheese from time to time but not nearly as much as before. My main focus was on the gluten free/egg free diet.
I have always used intermittent fasting but prior to starting 75 Hard I had not been following it as regularly as I usually had in the past. I wrote a blog post, “Kelly, What Do You Eat?” when I first launched Forty Young that gives you a good idea of what that is and how I implement it into my lifestyle.
I ate lots of fruits, vegetables and protein. I avoided but didn’t eliminate chicken from my diet because of the sensitivity test as well. I never loved chicken to be honest.
I was surprised how easily I adjusted to my dietary changes. It truly wasn’t that difficult for me. My diet wasn’t entirely “bad” before but it definitely had gone off the deep end during Covid lockdowns and the mandates.
Anyone that knows me in real life or from social media knows that I’m a girl that enjoys her vodka/sodas, grape bombs, High Noons and tequila. I enjoy social drinking. I’ve never been someone that drinks daily at home. In fact, I hardly ever drink at home at all unless we’re entertaining. I love a good party though.
One benefit of doing 75 Hard right now is that socially there’s not a lot going on. No bars are open in PA and I was so busy in Florida with the house that I haven’t even been to the beach let alone have the desire to go out for a night for drinking.
There were a few nights while out to dinner that I wanted to have a drink, but with what I had on my plate these last 75 days and the lack of social events in general, it wasn’t nearly as hard as I anticipated.
This was by FAR the most challenging part of this program.
Before I started 75 Hard I worked out 3-5 times a week. To be very honest, since the lockdowns began I’d been doing the bare minimum. I was by no means “out of shape” but I wasn’t “in shape” either. I was just kind of cruising along and not really pushing myself outside of my very comfortable zone. That all ended when I started 75 Hard.
Before I started I thought it wouldn’t be that challenging. I was wrong. 45 minutes seems like a short amount of time until you set your Apple Watch timer and…..GO.
I did a bunch of different workouts. I cycled, walked, ran/walked, core workouts, strength training, barre and high intensity interval training (HIIT).
This part of the program was the most challenging because you knew that the next day 2 more workouts needed to be completed, just like the day before. With no end in sight. You get zero rest days during 75 Hard. None. You get a break when the 75 days are over. This is where I gained my mental strength during this program. I worked out at 10pm, I worked out at 5am. I worked out in the sweltering heat. I worked out in a monsoon with Rob in Florida. I worked out in the rain, cold and wind in PA. WIth every passing day and completion of my workouts I grew mentally and physically stronger.
At the completion of my 75 Hard I lost 11.9 pounds. Not only did I lose the Covid weight I gained during the lockdown but I lost 3.9 pounds more. I lost 3.1% of body fat and my BMI dropped by 2.
I’m noticeably thinner and while this wasn’t the sole purpose of 75 Hard it feels pretty damn good to be back at a weight that I feel comfortable at. I know I wasn’t overweight before, but I know what I like to be to feel healthy.
Even more important is how I physically feel. I feel great. I sleep better at night. I’m not constantly bloated like I was all the time. I have lots of energy and I’m faster and so much stronger than I was before starting 75 Hard.
The short answer is, yes. If you commit. You have to go into knowing there will be pain, sacrifice and maybe even tears involved. You can’t have one foot in and one foot out. You have to be all in. Do you want to do something that not many people can say they’ve done? Do you want to stop being like everyone else and earn the right to say you did it? I can’t answer those questions for you, only you can.
Early nest week my blog post will be all about the mental gains I’ve made and the lessons I’ve learned from 75 Hard. It’s the really, really good stuff. So many lessons learned. So much internal growth. I can’t wait to share them with you!
