August 17, 2020

75 Hard: Week 4 Recap (with progress photos)


Four weeks in! This is the longest I've stuck with anything I've set my mind to doing in a very long time. Other than writing a blog post every day (my new year's resolution), I am constantly making goals and then giving up on them after a few days at most. The fact that I'm on Day 29 of 75 is pretty miraculous!

Thank you for the kind comments on yesterday's post. Posting the anniversary photos was SO hard for me because I was so unhappy with how I looked. It did, however, give me the courage to finally post some of my 75 Hard "progress photos" today.

Nothing notable happened this week, so the recap isn't much different than usual.. but here goes:

Drink one gallon of water every day.

For some reason, I had a hard time with this one this week. I think it's because I've gone back to chewing ice throughout the day (I always prefer to chew ice over drinking water). When I first started 75 Hard, I made a rule for myself that I wouldn't chew ice until after I drank my full gallon of water every day. So, this week I'm going back to that rule.

Take a progress photo every day.

I'm still taking a mirror selfie every day. I'm so glad that I've been doing this, because I didn't see any progress on the scale for the first two weeks. However, I could see a big difference in my photos--a lot of people who do intermittent fasting will tell you that it took a while to start losing weight, but that they lost clothing sizes and inches as their body composition changed. I think that's what happened with me.

I have been dreading posting these pictures because they are incredibly unflattering and my "before" picture reminds me of my 253-pound "before" picture! I know that I'm nowhere near that weight, but I feel like I look that size in my Day 1 photo. Anyway, here are a few different comparisons...

First, here is a comparison from Day 1 to today (Day 29):


This comparison below is probably the most surprising to me. My weight was only down two pounds, but I can see a big difference in how my clothes fit:


In these pictures, I'm wearing the same shirt on Days 1, 6, and 24:


And again, same shirt below... only a two-pound difference!


So, while there aren't huge changes, I'm happy with the progress so far. (I'm also very happy to see that my hair is growing out! I miss my messy bun.) I'm really surprised at what a difference the intermittent fasting makes in changing my body composition. In the past, when I'd start a "diet"--counting calories, counting points, etc.--I would typically drop 6-8 pounds the first week. Water weight, of course, but it was still exciting to see such a big drop on the scale.

With intermittent fasting, however, my weight didn't BUDGE for two full weeks. But you can see from the photos that my body was changing. I'm so glad that 75 Hard has a mandatory "progress photo" every day.

Diet of choice + no alcohol.

Intermittent fasting gets easier and easier as I go. I don't really get hungry at all during the day, and I still don't feel ravenous when it is time to eat. I definitely eat a large meal when I break my fast, but I don't stuff myself in fear that I'm going to be hungry later. 

Breaking my fast anywhere between 3:00-5:00 is the norm lately, depending on what I'm doing. The only difficult part of the day for me is if I'm bored at night. I know that I'm not truly hungry; I just want to eat. So, I try to stay as busy as I can. I'm still working on trying to go to bed early, and it's getting better, but still not ideal.


Read 10 pages of a non-fiction/self-improvement type book.

I'm still reading David Goggins' book 'Can't Hurt Me'. Because I'm such a slow reader, I only read the minimum 10 pages per day. But I really absorb the words and I highlight things that speak to me. It's a fantastic book! I'd been bugging Jerry to read it for a long time, and he finally started it last week. He's glad he did, because he really likes it, too.

Work out 45 minutes twice a day (one must be outside).

Out of all the parts to doing 75 Hard, this one surprises me the most about how I've integrated it into my life and it doesn't feel like a "chore" (most of the time). I've really started enjoying my walks, especially in the morning. I discovered a route that is a pretty perfect 45 minutes long, and I've been doing that route daily. I know the scenery will get stale eventually, but right now, I've been seeing "regulars" out and about (people walking dogs, people on bikes, etc). 

One person I haven't seen in a very long time is Floyd. He was an elderly man that I would see walking every single morning--sunshine, rain, snow, ice, whatever--he was out there walking. We always exchanged a friendly "Good morning!" and then one time he asked me if I was training for something (back when I was marathon training). 

One day, I was running and saw him on his walk--I stopped and and asked him if I could walk with him and get to know him a little. So we chatted for a little bit. I learned his name, that he was divorced and lived alone, he was in his 80's, and that he walked every single day to stay healthy (I think he said five miles a day, but I could be wrong). Anyway, he was super nice! 

I haven't seen him at all lately, so I really hope that nothing happened to him. If I knew where he lived, I'd go check in!

Anyway, here are this week's stats for my two workouts a day:

I'm pretty happy with how Week 4 went, and I'm hoping that Week 5 will go well! :)

11 comments:

  1. Love your progress pics, you can totally see a difference, even just with between 2 pounds, wow! Keep up the great work!

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  2. Just a science thought you probably know, from what I saw on TV, fat around the waist is the most dangerous for your health, as it's probably also internal fat around your vital organs. That is the fat you often lose first and so means you are definitely healthier. Due to all the exercise you probably added muscle which means no short term weight lose but increases metabolism so should help longer term. Sorry hard to describe what I'm trying to say in a short comment but mostly your absolutely right health is not all just the scales.

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  3. Hi Katie.
    Thank you for sharing the photos and your view about the 75 Hard. One can see the changes to your body in the 29 days. Proud of you and appreciate the inspiration. Keep going! You got this.

    Sherry

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  4. Thank you for posting the pictures and feelings with the intermittent fasting. I’ve been trying it (not as extreme as you, I have an 8-10 hour eating window...which is still a lot better than my previous start eating when I wake up at 530am and stop around the time I go to bed at 1030pm-but I digress) and I have barely noticed the scale move, but I have been fitting into smaller shorts and I feel like there’s a difference in my progress pics too...I just hope the scale catches up soon ;-)

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  5. Wow I think you look fantastic!! Just proof that ultimately, the scale usually knows nothing! It's all about how you feel! So glad to hear things are going so well for you!

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  6. You're doing amazing! I can absolutely tell the difference in the photos. I'm right there with you. I started a workout program a few weeks ago. I can tell the difference in how I feel doing the moves and my clothing even though the scale hasn't moved that much. Have you considered doing any sort of weight training for one of your workouts. For some reason I think you'd enjoy it. Especially a total body, compound-type plan.

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  7. You're doing great! Use that ice chewing habit in the evening when you're bored! I wish I liked to chew ice because then I feel like I'd want to snack less. :)

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  8. You’re doing fantastic! You inspired me to start 75 Hard and so far I’m loving it. I’m only on Day 17 but so far so good. The excessive peeing is my only complaint. I’m also reading “Can’t Hurt Me” (bought it through your link) and it’s a great book! Keep it up!

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  9. Just an observation from following you through the years. You seem to really excel with hard challenges/goals, but struggle with the easier ones. Sounds like this was just what you needed!

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  10. You're rocking this!! So inspiring (as always)!

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  11. I saw the difference in person yesterday and 2 pounds may seem small but the difference in your face and waist were obvious to me right away. Tomorrow is Day 38 for me, so I’ll be over the hill/halfway done. In just a week from now you’ll be the same.

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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