My Sister's 75 Hard Transformation

(If you're not familiar with 75 Hard, I would go back and read this post on my blog. I explained it all there.)

In August, when Jerry, the kids, and I went up north to my sister's cabin, it was shortly after I started doing 75 Hard. I stuck with my plan while I was there, even though it was--well--hard. I had to switch up my routine and going out for my second walk of the day every afternoon was tough (mentally). But I did it and I'm glad I was able to stick with it.

I told Jeanie about 75 Hard and she was interested in it but said the timing wasn't good for her right then. And in general, 75 Hard is not for everyone! It's a super tough plan for mental toughness. It's not a weight loss plan--the whole purpose is to become very self-disciplined--but people usually lose weight while following the "rules".

Jeanie ended up starting 75 Hard and she took it very seriously. She's an occupational therapist and she's been working very closely with COVID patients all year. Her job has been crazy-stressful but she still managed to go 75 full days while following all of the rules of 75 Hard right to the tee. I was amazed when I saw her Day 1 photo next to her Day 75 photo. She looks amazing! 

I asked her if I could share her pictures and for some details about what she did because I knew people would be just as awed as I was. So, here is what she had to say...

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When I first listened to the podcast with Andy Frisella about 75 Hard and decided to do it, I picked out the Weight Watchers PointsPlus plan as my diet. That had worked well for me in the past and I found that I could access all of the PointsPlus information from a free app called iTrackBites. I think in the app it’s called the "carb conscious" program. Weight Watchers has since developed other programs and I never found myself as successful on them.

For workouts, I was originally planning on running, swimming, and doing the circuit at Planet Fitness. Once I started the first couple of days, I really had to find a groove of how I was going to stay organized for 75 days. I wasn’t sure if I should do my run first and then walk my dogs (I did not count the dog walking as a work out) or if I should walk the dogs and then run, etc.

I settled into a routine of getting up at 4 AM and taking the dogs for a walk, dropping them back off at home, and then going for a run. This counted for my outdoor workout. After work, I went swimming or for a walk or did the circuit.

After about 10 days, I ran into a major issue with plantar fasciitis in my foot. It has been acting up off and on since the summer but it got really bad after I started running on it. It’s a long story but I ended up seeing two different podiatrists and switching shoes and I had to stop running. So I switched to brisk walking to limit the impact on my foot.

I learned to set out all my waters and number them one through eight in a container on my counter the night before. I kept my empty bottles and put them back in the container so I could ensure I drank all eight at the end of the day.

I also downloaded the 75 Hard app and would check that in the evening when I was logging my food in the iTrackBites app. I think the 75 Hard app is a must because there were a few times I forgot to take my progress photo and then when I checked the app at the end of the day, it still gave me time to get all the tasks completely done.

As far as the diet goes, I eat a sensible breakfast--usually oatmeal or egg whites and a protein shake--and I would eat a protein bar at lunch. Then I just eat a typical dinner.

The Apple Watch or other tracking device can sync right to the iTrackBites app and will tell you how many Activity Points you’ve earned for the day. I know you can eat your Activity Points but I only chose to use a small portion of the points for food and I often had about 100 points left over at the end of the week that I did not use for food.

I also know on Weight Watchers there are no food groups that are eliminated but I chose not to have any sweets like cookies, cakes, pies, etc. The closest thing to sweets that I spent Points on was some Nutella in my oatmeal in the morning--but I counted the Points. I determined in the beginning that as long as I stayed on the program and did not go over my Points value each week, then that was considered "on track". 

I’m a picky eater and don’t like vegetables, so I feel like the Weight Watchers Points Plus program was perfect for me

For my second workout, I would just swing by the gym after work and swim or come home and walk. I found going to Planet Fitness to do the circuit was a little bit tricky because the hours are modified due to COVID. So I didn’t do much of that--maybe only a few times.

As far as organization goes, I even organized how I packed my gym bag. I had my towel and my clean clothes for after swimming at the bottom of the bag. At the top of the bag was my swimsuit and a towel for when I got out of the pool and my flip-flops to walk to and from the pool.

I only weighed myself once a week. I feel like I followed the program to the tee the way that I understood it from the first podcast when he talked about 75 Hard. He has since put out a second podcast on it and he states that you’re not supposed to use a Kindle for your reading and it’s supposed to be an actual book. But I believe this contradicts what he first said. Either way, I completed at least 10 pages of a nonfiction book for all 75 days.

To be honest, I really love the whole structure of the program. I treated it like a job. When my alarm went off it was just non-negotiable to get up and start. I learned to love the morning routine of walking the dogs and then having 45 minutes to myself to listen to a podcast while I walked outside.

Being that it was so early in the morning, I was sure to wear a reflective light and I also chose to carry my own protection as far as pepper spray and a concealed carry gun.

The things I wish I would’ve done differently are 1) I wish I would’ve at least put my hair in a ponytail for my before picture but I had no idea I was going to be sharing that with anybody; and 2) I also wish I would’ve taken side and back photos in the beginning.

But the bottom line is that I love the program and I actually love the simplicity of the rules. Doing them for 75 days is another story but I found it motivating and never really dreaded doing a work out.

I am taking this week off between Christmas and New Year’s but I’m not going totally wild with diet or anything like that. I’m at our cabin up north, enjoying myself but don’t plan to drink alcohol at all this weekend and I’m still drinking my gallon of water and going on a nice walk.

My next focus is going to be getting to the gym and starting to do more strength training to tone up. I think it’s important as a middle-aged female to get in some weight bearing exercise to help prevent bone and muscle loss.

Basically, I plan to continue with a modified program. I plan on only taking my photo one time a week and to read just for enjoyment and not a particular amount or type of book per day. I want to continue with the two workouts but I don’t want one of them to have to be outside. And I still plan to follow Weight Watchers and drink a gallon of water each day. I’ll check back in in 75 days and see if we can tell a difference with strength training!

I lost weight consistently every single week for 10 weeks. In the end, I lost 24 pounds total.

My advice to others, which I read from people who had done the program, would be "don't overthink it". I think there are a lot of varied opinions on how strict the program is and what Frisella means by "following a diet" and all of that--it’s easy to get caught up. So I think that just sticking to the basics and your interpretation of some of the information he says will get you through.

I think it was great to have a mental focus and a physical checklist of stuff to do. There was some guilt sometimes because I was so exhausted by the time my day was ending that when my husband was working 12 hours and didn’t get home until 7:30 at night, I was already ready for bed. I tried to make sure I was getting 7-9 hours of sleep at night because I do not function well on less than that.

The challenge has definitely boosted my self-confidence and I find that my mentally conscious time is not spent wondering if people think I’m fat, or if I’m breathing heavy while talking to a patient after I just ran up the stairs etc. I feel like I do have more confidence and self-esteem. And it’s been fun to try on clothes I haven’t worn in a long time and find out they fit!

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Doesn't she look amazing?! I was stunned when I saw her photos. And her self-discipline... it motivates me for sure. Jeanie and I both love sweets, so when I learned that she didn't have any dessert for 75 days, I was very surprised--that's extremely difficult. I'm so proud of her for finishing!

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When You're Walking and You Lose Track of Time/Distance

First, I want to mention that I tried the tapenade hummus I posted about recently yesterday, and it's AMAZING. Like I said, I adore olive tapenade, and I can't believe I never thought to combine it with hummus before. I ate it with pretzels and it's my new favorite appetizer/snack during my intermittent fasting window.

As I have mentioned a trillion times lately, I have loved listening to audiobooks when I do my morning walks. Ever since I finished 75 Hard, I have been doing a longer walk in the morning (5 miles) instead of 45 minutes twice a day. The five mile walk typically takes me about an hour and 20 minutes to an hour and 25 minutes.

I've been doing a specific five mile route--the perimeter of all four neighborhoods on the peninsula--because it's mindless, simple, and I get to see a good variety. Today, however, I accidentally skipped the street I was supposed to turn on, and I made a last-minute decision to go into my favorite neighborhood try to walk every single street.

It's not just a block system; there are several blocks separated by a triangular park in the center. I had no idea how long it would take me, but based on my previous walks, I guessed it would take roughly an hour. 

As usual, Joey was bouncing to go out the door at 6:30 AM, but I've been waiting until it gets light out at around 7:45, so I read a book for a little bit. 

I used to only really listen to memoirs on audio, but I listened to a thriller and then I wanted to keep listening to them.

I'm currently listening to a psychological thriller called 'An Anonymous Girl' by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. (FYI, the books I mention in this post are Amazon affiliate links, which means if you buy them through the link, I may get a small commission. But I encourage you to check your library--that's where I borrowed them for free!)

I can't explain what the book is about without a ton of spoilers (everything you think is happening is probably wrong--I was so sure I had it figured out immediately). I had previously read 'The Wife Between Us' and then listened to the audiobook of 'You Are Not Alone', by the same authors.

I listened to 'You Are Not Alone' while walking and was obsessed with that one as well (I looked forward to my walks so much!), and when I was finished, I was thrilled to see my library offered 'An Anonymous Girl' . 

Anyway, I am super engrossed in 'An Anonymous Girl' and was excited to head out for a walk this morning. As I turned into the neighborhood, I mentally tried to plot out a general route in my head to be able to walk every single street. There were some streets I had to walk on twice to be able to round corners onto others; it was kind of fun to have this goal in mind!

I always have my watch covered with my sleeve, so I had no idea how far I'd gone or how much time had elapsed. I just concentrated on my book and on walking all the streets. Every so often I'd hear a beep from my watch, alerting me that I'd just hit another mile. 

When I was nearing the end of the neighborhood, I heard a beep that I thought was mile five. I knew that I'd have roughly another half mile to get home, so I figured the timing worked out pretty well. It wasn't until I sat down to write this blog post that I noticed I'd walked much farther (and longer) than I'd thought!

I was super bummed to see that I missed two sections of one of the streets in the neighborhood (where the yellow arrows are pointing). 

I had covered 6.45 miles in 1:49:41 (a 17:01/mile pace). That's the longest walk I've done in... well, I can't even tell you how long. Years! 

I stopped wearing my heart rate monitor a while ago. I just don't care what my heart rate is--I don't really care about my stats at all, other than the duration that I walk. It's nice!

The transition from 75 Hard to my Cookies Fall Challenge has been pretty seamless. I've not checked off everything on my list every single day, but I haven't skipped a workout (walking) and I haven't forgotten to do a progress photo. My progress photos haven't really "progressed", unfortunately, but I know the things I need to change in order to make more progress--which is what I'm working on now. Here is today's photo (in my new favorite tights):

I'm trying to keep posting full-length photos so that I don't get too embarrassed to post them again. I still have to work on not feeling so self-conscious of the weight I've gained, and posting pictures is a good start. I hate posting them, but I hope that I'll get more comfortable with it if I keep doing it.

When I got home, I immediately got to work on the landscaping. I've been using a shovel to pull up the grass that was next to it, so that the entire area from the edge of the sidewalk to the house will be landscaping (next year--I'm not going to plant anything now). It was a ton of work! Now, it's just pure dirt along the front of the house. (I will try to get some pictures together soon, honest.)

I am 100% wiped out from all the walking plus the yard work. I'm going to try to find a movie for Jerry and I to watch tonight :) Have a great weekend!

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75 Hard: Day 75!

Today was the final day of 75 Hard!

I don't want to mislead anyone, and as I've said before, I haven't followed it 100% perfectly as it's supposed to be done. The "rules" say that if you miss even one item on the list, you have to start over from Day 1.

I did the first 31 days without missing a single item. Then I learned of a podcast that explained the challenge a bit differently than the one I'd listened to, which made me question if I was doing it "right". So, I decided to continue doing it, but I did it the way I interpreted the challenge from the podcast I'd listened to. And I didn't start over when I "messed up". Therefore, take what you will from it.

I have been far from perfect for the duration of the last 75 days! Whether it's eating outside of my intermittent fasting window, or forgetting to journal, or forgetting to read 10 pages, or something else, I have missed several things here and there. BUT, I've continued to work on it every day and doing this challenged has really changed my way of life.

There are only two "rules" that I did not break even once: 1) Taking a progress photo every single day, and 2) Exercising for 45 minutes twice a day, with at least one of those being outside.

Here are all of my progress photos in a very-squeezed-in collage:

There are a few where I was up north, and only pretended to hold up my phone for the sake of consistency. Haha! My sister took the picture while I posed the same as always.

When I started the challenge, I knew that the most difficult rule for me would be the exercise. I wasn't doing any exercise at all at the time, and to go from 0 to 90 minutes a day? Yikes! But I wanted to try it. So, I chose to do "light" exercise--walking, riding my bike. In the end, I ended up walking for all but a handful of the workouts; the others being riding my bike.

I know that I would have better physical results if I'd done better with the diet portion of the challenge. I've done really well with intermittent fasting, and I eat within my four-hour window nearly every day. However, since I've been super stressed out for the past month or so, I've been overeating. *Technically*, I was following my "rule" for intermittent fasting--eating in just my four-hour window--but I was eating for emotional reasons as well as hunger and I ate too much.

HOWEVER, the main reason that I chose to do this challenge was not for weight loss (I was hoping to lose weight, yes, but it wasn't my main purpose). I really wanted to do this challenge for the discipline. I wanted to learn how to practice self-discipline like I had for so long when I was losing and maintaining my weight. 

In the sense of self-discipline, I absolutely think that 75 Hard did its job! While I missed some of the items here and there, I never, ever missed a workout. That is what is most notable about the whole thing. I exercised twice a day for at least 45 minutes each, every single day, for the last 75 days in a row! That is HUGE for me.

(I know this is impossible to read... but it's just a calendar showing the last 75 days worth of workouts. The blue boxes are my bike rides; the yellow are walking.)

Over the last 75 days, I've walked a total of 379.83 miles. That's more than I walked or ran in ALL of 2019, ALL of 2018, and ALL of 2017! (The grand total from 2017-2019 was 655.70--for all three years combined.) These numbers are stunning to me. 

Today, I celebrated the last day of 75 Hard by walking for 8 miles--much longer than usual! (I'm totally lying. I walked 8 miles, but only because I'm super addicted to the audiobook I'm listening to right now).

Will anything change tomorrow?

Not much at all, actually. I'm going to wake up and go for my morning walk with Joey... only I will walk 60+ minutes instead of 45 minutes. And then I'll skip the second workout of the day (unless I really want to go for some reason). 

The other habits have been good for me and not something that I want to stop doing. Oh! One exception... I won't be reading "self-help" type books (I just don't enjoy them). I'll read 10+ pages of whatever book I'd like (which is what I've been doing for a while now anyways).

I'm basically going to be following my "Cookies Fall Hard Challenge", which is based on 75 Hard. I really enjoy the "rules" and want to make them as much of a habit as I can.

So, I wish I had a more exciting post about 75 Hard, but there isn't a whole lot to say that I haven't said already--especially in my post about walking. I'm SO thankful to my friend Adam for introducing me to 75 Hard and for convincing me to try it. If I hadn't, I'm sure I'd have gained even more weight and continued not exercising, along with feeling worse and worse about myself. (In total, I lost 13 pounds, but I haven't lost anything in the last month.)

As it is, I wish I'd seen more physical changes, but I'm happy with where I've gotten. I know that to lose more weight, I have to be more careful about how much I'm eating during my IF window. Honestly, though, I am just grateful for the self-discipline habits that I've learned. 

Okay... I just have to share some extra good news, too. I saw Floyd today while I was out walking! Floyd is the elderly man that I used to see ALL the time when I was out running. We started out with "Good morning!" type greetings, and eventually we chatted a little here and there. I loved seeing him out and about. He walks six days a week, no matter what, and I find that super inspiring.

I had decided that for my final 75 Hard walk, I'd do a full lap of all four neighborhoods--a five-mile walk. If I hadn't decided to do that today, I never would have bumped into Floyd.

Since I started 75 Hard, I expected to see him all the time. However, I NEVER ONCE saw him out walking! As terrible as it sounds, I was feeling pretty confident that he probably passed away or was very sick and unable to walk. I really hoped he was okay.

I can't think of a better way to end 75 Hard, actually--seeing him out for a walk today was so exciting! I stopped walking and we chatted for a little bit. I told him I think about him every time I am out walking, and I am so glad that he's doing well. He said he thinks of me every time he walks past my parents' house (he admires their landscaping).

I didn't know exactly which house was his, but after it came up in discussion today, he told me it's easy to spot because he painted the door, the garage door, and the mailbox orange. Orange! We happen to share our favorite color. 

Anyway, I was so relieved to see him today and see that he was doing okay. He said he tends to walk mid-mornings, which is why I probably haven't seen him. I walk in the early morning and then again in the late morning or early afternoon. And now that I know which house is his, I can at least check in on him if I haven't seen him for a while.

It's kind of funny how a stranger (for the most part) can have such an impact on our lives. 

Tomorrow is Day 12 of my Cookies Fall Challenge. I'm looking forward to starting it with a long walk with Joey :)

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What I've Learned From Walking 90 Minutes A Day

EDIT 9/29: While I was trying to fall asleep last night, I realized that it was actually day 71 (not 70) of 75 Hard. My mind is just gone these days! ;)

I feel like this is a very odd thing to post about, but as I approach the end of 75 Hard (Friday is Day 75!), I've been thinking a lot about how all of this walking has changed me. (And I don't mean physically.) Here is my 10-week comparison. Not much change in the last few weeks--but I know it's because of the stress I've been under lately. I've been eating too much food in my eating "window" for intermittent fasting. I do love that my hair is growing back out!

When I started the challenge, I expected to begrudgingly do the two 45-minute workouts a day just to get them done and check them off a list. And here I am, 10 weeks later, with a completely different attitude.

For the last 10 weeks, I've walked twice a day for 45 minutes or more each time (there were a few occasions where I rode my bike instead of walked, but I think that was only 4-5 total out of 140 workouts). 

I haven't put any pressure on myself to walk at a certain pace or get my heart rate up or anything like that. My only mission was to walk for 45 minutes twice a day--fast or slow, easy or hard. The main reason for this was because I was worried that by going from zero exercise every day to 90+ minutes per day, I might get injured. So I wanted to keep it easy if needed.

I never, ever thought I'd be saying this 10 weeks later, but I really love my walks now! I thought I'd be counting down the days until I didn't "have" to do it anymore. Because I was going to be doing two workouts a day, I made sure to do the first one as soon as I woke up. And that habit has stuck--I am always out the door within 30 minutes or so of waking up (except for when the kids have to go to school twice a week; on those days, I walk as soon as they go to school).

I didn't start out loving the walks. I started out the same way I always have when it comes to exercise--dreading it and wishing I was doing something else. Soon, I was indifferent about it. I didn't dislike it, but I wasn't looking forward to walking, either. And then at some point, I really started to enjoy walking.

A big reason for this change is that I've discovered that I love audiobooks! I had tried to listen to them numerous times before when I was still running, but I could never pay attention to audiobooks while running. I was always playing little mind games with myself to make the run go by faster. When walking, I get totally absorbed in my audiobooks. When I get home, I'm always excited about continuing the book on my next walk.

Living on a peninsula doesn't give me a lot of options as far as routes go. If I walk the entire perimeter of the neighborhoods, it's only five miles. It took some getting used to--when I was running, I knew all the three-mile routes, four-miles, etc. With walking instead of running, and measuring time instead of distance, I had to learn routes that would be roughly 45 minutes. 

I have a few "go to" routes, but occasionally I like to just turn here and there as I go.

I've learned all the houses that have dogs, what breed of dogs they are, and whether they'll be inside or outside, leashed or fenced (Joey has learned it, too, and gets excited each time we pass a house where he expects a dog in the yard).

I've learned where the squirrels like to hang out and I always try to have a few nuts with me to toss to them. I've seen several squirrel picnic tables, which makes me smile. 

I've learned that people notice me as a "regular". A few people have commented to me about how they've seen me walking a lot.

I've learned to rotate shoes to strengthen my feet and ankles. I stopped getting ankle pain when I started varying my shoes daily.

I've collected a LOT of change. Each walk is like a treasure hunt! ;)

I've met people that I wouldn't have if I hadn't been walking. A woman named Katie with two boys lives just a seven-minute walk from me (haha--I know how long it will take me to walk just about anywhere). There is a woman named Denise who has a beautiful Australian shepherd named Tucker--she plays frisbee with him on one of my routes, and I've let Joey off leash to play with him. We've also met a dog named Roomba (love the name!). She was SO curious about Joey and wouldn't listen to her owner to come (she wasn't leashed). I ended up letting Joey off leash to play for a few minutes before Roomba's dad finally caught up to her. 

Joey LOVES our walks...

Speaking of dogs, I've learned that most barking dogs can be quieted easily when I just say, "Hey, bud, it's okay" in a sweet voice. They usually start wagging their tails like crazy.

When trying to figure out what to do about my front porch, I looked at every single porch on my routes for ideas. And now I've been looking for landscaping ideas for when we're ready to do that.

Most importantly, I've learned that there are reasons to exercise that don't involve weight loss or calories. I don't burn many calories walking, but it does so much more for me. When I am having a bad day--feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or depressed--I like to walk while wearing a visor low over my eyes, looking down at the ground in front of me, listening to my audiobook, and shutting out everything else. It doesn't take away the "bad day" but it definitely helps me to forget about life for a little bit while I zone out.

Will I keep walking every day once I'm done with 75 Hard? Yes! I don't think of the morning walks as part of a "challenge" anymore. They are just a part of my life. I do, however, plan to cut out the afternoon walk (unless I really feel like going once in a while). I'd prefer to do one long walk in the morning instead of two walks a day. 

There are a couple of reasons for this: 1) I'm usually in the middle of doing some sort of project and the walk interrupts what I'm doing; and 2) My back pain gets worse throughout the day and by late afternoon, I'm ready to sit with a heating pad (I've had T10 and T11 vertebrae pain since I was a kid, so it's not caused from the walking). 

While I haven't followed 75 Hard perfectly, as it's "supposed" to be done, the one thing that I did consistently without fail is the exercise. I'm proud of this! I thought this would be the hardest part of the challenge, but instead, I learned that I really love walking. If I had to walk at a certain pace or heart rate, I know that I wouldn't have gotten to this point. I would still see it as a chore. But by walking based on my mood (sometimes I want to stroll, sometimes I want to go really fast), I've loved it!

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Tips for Success for 75 Hard (or a similar challenge)

I've read a lot of comments lately about how hard certain "rules" are for doing 75 Hard (or even my simpler take on it, Cookies Fall Hard). I started 75 Hard on July 20, and it's now September 25, so I've been going for over two months*.

(*Technically, if I "break a rule", I'm supposed to start over again. I've broken rules but I haven't started over. I have followed most rules for most of the time, though.)

As I wrote recently on my post, "Fear of Failure", I haven't been perfect. But I've been doing SO MUCH BETTER than if I hadn't started the challenge at all! And I have some tips for those of you that are struggling with particular goals during the challenge. 

Here are the 75 Hard Rules (followed by my modified rules for Cookies Fall Hard):

1) "Follow a diet, including no alcohol" (my version: "Follow a diet of choice")

My advice: This one is hard to advise, because everybody has a different plan. However, because this is a "challenge", it doesn't last forever! There will be days where it doesn't feel worth it, it feels "stupid", you will question why you're doing such a dumb challenge, etc. However, with self-discipline, you CAN get through it! The whole point of the 75 Hard (or my own Cookies Fall Hard) challenge is more about self-discipline than it is about anything else. 

You will feel great about yourself when you are able to stay disciplined enough to go through 75 days (or 92 days, in my Cookies Fall Hard challenge). Even if you're not perfect, you'll be much better off than if you hadn't tried it at all. It's only a challenge--not the rest of your life! ;) 

As far as alcohol goes... I think that if you can fit it in with your diet, go ahead. For people who enjoy a drink, cutting out alcohol completely might keep you from even trying this challenge. As long as you're not binge drinking all the time, and alcohol isn't a "problem" for you, then I'm not going to make that a "rule" like 75 Hard. 

2) Take a progress photo every day (my version: Take a progress photo every day)

My advice: Do this first thing when you wake up and get dressed. I go for a walk first thing in the morning, so as soon as I change into my "walking clothes", I take a selfie in a full-length mirror. It isn't pretty--trust me! But I don't have to share these with anyone (except the entire internet, haha!). 

Make it habit to take a photo (I do a full-length mirror selfie, knowing that I don't have to show it to anyone unless I want to. I promise they are not flattering photos, nor do I try to make them flattering. I just snap a pic and that's it.) I have a folder on my phone that is specifically for my 75 Hard photos--I have them all in there, in order, so I can flip through them whenever I'd like.)

3) Read 10 pages a day of a non-fiction, self-improvement-type book (my version: Read 10 pages a day of any book you'd like)

My advice: Do this first thing when you wake up--you can even do it before you get out of bed. It takes me a long time to read 10 pages (usually a half-hour or more) so I like to get it done early. If it's a book I'm really into, then I'll read more of it before bed. But if I do it first thing in the morning, then I know I don't have to worry about it during the day.

And here, I just HAVE to plug my Kindle Paperwhite. It's one of the best things I've ever bought! (This is an Amazon affiliate link, but I swear on my life I recommend this as one of my Top 5 gifts/purchases ever!). I didn't read much at all for more than a decade. And then I finally got a Kindle Paperwhite (they were having a sale, and my sister had recommended it more than once a dozen times.) I had always liked the feeling of a "real" book in my hands and just couldn't imagine switching it out for a digital copy.

However, when I got the Paperwhite, I was shocked at how much I loved it! It was lighter than a paperback, it didn't have a glare while reading outdoors(!), I could store literally thousands of books on it, and the battery life felt infinitely long. Even if you are a hardcore hardcover/paperback lover, I PROMISE you will be surprised at how much you love the Paperwhite.

I haven't read this much in God-only-knows how long. And it's all due to the Paperwhite. (I have the 10th generation, by the way... that's what I linked to). If you watch for sales, you may be able to get it much cheaper. I think I paid $85 for mine! It was a "flash sale". I'll bet they'll have sales on it soon as we get closer to the holidays.

4) Drink one gallon of water a day (my version: Drink one gallon of water a day).

My advice: Get a quart-size water bottle. Here is my favorite! (Amazon affiliate link). I even bought a brand new one in my favorite color (orange) for this challenge.

Four quarts equals one gallon, so you only have to drink four of these per day. Because of the wide mouth on the bottle, I can chug this pretty quickly. 

I chug a quart of it when I first get up in the morning. Literally, I chug some immediately when I sit up in bed (I keep it on my nightstand); then when I brush my teeth; then as I'm getting dressed; and finally, I finish it before I go for my walk).

Then I go for my morning walk. When I get home, I chug another quart. I'm already halfway done with my water for the day! I know that "chugging" water may not sound appealing, but it gets done quickly and then you don't have to worry about it. The wide-mouth bottle helps a LOT. I also use tap water at room temperature (actually, it's slightly less than room temp... I just turn on the cold tap and fill it that way). 

I always drink another quart between lunchtime and dinner (I'm usually very busy in the afternoons, so I "chug" a quart about an hour or so before dinner). Actually, as I'm writing this, I've chugged about eight ounces every 15 minutes or so. And then after dinner, I'm pretty full. So, I wait until a couple of hours after dinner before chugging my final quart of water for the day. 

At first, if you're not used to this much water, you'll be peeing what feels like constantly. However, your bladder will get used to it! And eventually, you will literally CRAVE water first thing in the morning. If I don't drink my water when I wake up, I definitely don't feel great during the morning.

And drinking a ton of water always helps me to lose the "bloated" feeling--if you eat a salty or heavy meal, drink extra water and you won't retain as much. I promise! Just yesterday, I had pizza and breadsticks for dinner, which usually makes my weight go up a few pounds just in sodium alone, but my weight was exactly the same as yesterday. And I didn't feel puffy!

I know that upping the water intake so much is extremely difficult. But the easiest way, in my opinion, is to do four quarts a day and just chug each down within a matter of a few minutes.

5) Exercise twice a day for 45 minutes each time (at least one must be outside). (My version: Exercise for 60 minutes a day, with at least 30 minutes outside. This is can be all in one go, or divided into two segments--it's up to you.)

My advice: Do the first workout (or whole workout) as soon as you wake up. It gets it out of the way early enough that you won't even realize you did it! (Frequently, I have a bit of amnesia about my first workout of the day). I've learned that I actually really ENJOY my first walk of the day. 

I like to listen to audiobooks, and when you find one that you really get interested in, you might discover that you WANT to go out for another walk so that you can listen some more. I never, in a million years, would have thought that I'd want to go out for a walk for exercise (I've just never enjoyed exercise) but now I find myself getting excited about going out and listening to my audiobook!

Right now, I'm still doing 45 minutes twice a day, and I HATE having to do the extra workout. I'd much prefer to do it all at once in the mornings. As soon as my 75 days are over, I'm going to switch to doing it all in the mornings (my version of the plan). However, I feel committed to this challenge so I'm going to finish it out. 

This is what September looks like... each of those yellow boxes on each day shows a walk of 45+ minutes--so there are two per day! August looked the same. 

6) This isn't a rule on 75 Hard, but I decided to make it a rule of MY version: Write in a journal every day, even if it's just one sentence.

My advice: Do this first thing in the morning just before you read your 10 pages. I use a "Some Lines A Day" journal, and I LOVE it! (Amazon affiliate link). I literally write in it before I even get out of bed. Then I don't have to worry about it later. If you have to, then set your alarm for five minutes earlier than usual and use that time to write in your journal. 

You'll love looking back on it when the challenge is over, I promise! (The "Some Lines A Day" journal is a five-year journal, so next year, you will be able to see--on the exact same day--what you wrote on the previous year. And this goes on for five years!

Photo from Amazon

Okay, I realize these aren't miracle pills to getting through the challenge, but I hope that my advice helps a bit! Some of these are much harder than others, depending on the person. Put them all together, and it makes for a tough challenge--especially through the fall season, when most of the holidays occur!

But I really do believe that you can do this. And if you're having doubts, read this post: Fear of Failure.

Best wishes! :) 

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Ideas for Cookies Fall Challenge...?

I think I have the plan for my Cookies Fall Challenge. I have a few ideas, but here is what I've come up with so far:

1) A checklist of items to complete in a run or walk, very similar to the Cookies Summer Challenge.

2) I will form teams of people to accumulate mileage and compete with other teams. Sign up for a team, and I will make the teams as fair as possible, and then log your miles. It will be a competition to see which team logs the most miles.

3) A "Fall Hard" challenge--very similar to "75 Hard"--where I will have "rules" (a little more flexible than the 75 Hard rules) to follow through the end of fall. I've already thought up the rules for this, and here they are (like I said, they are VERY similar to 75 Hard):

*Follow a diet of your choice--write out your "rules" prior to starting the challenge. You cannot change them midway through, so make sure you choose rules that are challenging but not so hard that you will quit.

*Exercise 60 minutes a day, with a minimum of 30 minutes outside. You can split the workout into two workouts maximum or just do it all in one go. They can be very tough workouts or very easy--your choice--and you can decide these on a day to day basis. You cannot add up steps throughout the day to count them as a workout--the workout needs to be deliberate and done in one or two goes each day.

*Drink 64 ounces of water a day. You can add a squeeze of lemon or lime, but coffee, tea, flavored waters, etc, don't count. 

*Read 10 pages of a book (any book you'd like) every day.

*Write in a journal once a day--even if it is just one sentence. I love my "Some Lines a Day" journal! (affiliate link)

*Take a progress photo once a day--a mirror selfie, or ask someone else to take one for you. Preferably a full-length photo. You don't have to share these with anyone; they are just for you.

Does anyone have strong opinions on the challenge ideas? I wanted to do something different than the summer challenge, but when I asked on the Facebook group, there were several people who really liked the checklist. 

I also wasn't sure if I should keep it to just exercise (running/walking) or to expand on that and make it more about self-discipline (the "Fall Hard" challenge).

Anyway, I plan on doing something like the "Fall Hard" challenge for myself. I've really liked doing 75 Hard, even though I eventually modified my rules a bit after learning that I wasn't doing them 100% correctly.

I wish I hadn't looked into the podcasts to see which was "correct" and which was "incorrect" as far as the stupid rules go. I was so confident for weeks while doing 75 Hard until I learned I might not be doing it correctly, and then I didn't worry so much about whether I was "right" or "wrong". 

This week didn't go nearly as well as I'd hoped. I can't even describe how stressed out I was. With the kids starting school (and nothing going as planned) and all of the stuff on my "to do" list, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. I even had a few panic attacks this week, which hasn't happened in a LONG time. 

My weight hasn't gone up, but I don't see a difference in my comparison photos, so it's a bit discouraging. 

I haven't really solved anything that I was stressed out about (except that I got my printer working this morning!)  but I am sure I'll figure it out. I was talking to Jerry and I think I might even order a couple of nightstands on Amazon instead of building them myself. I would love to build them, but lumber is VERY short right now and it's hard to find what I need. It would be one less thing to worry about.

If you plan on joining in on Cookies Fall Challenge, please let me know what sounds best to you! I plan on posting the "rules"/sign-up sheet next week. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! 

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Landscaping Pains

I'm already anticipating how sore I'm going to be tomorrow. My whole body aches!

I woke up super early this morning (5:00), and I laid in bed with Duck for a little bit (he still likes to drape himself across my neck). I read a little of my book, trying to kill some time before the kids had to get up for "virtual" school. Finally, I decided that I was going to head out for my walk at around 6:00. It was still dark outside, though, and I hate walking/running in the dark!

It's one of the items on the Cookies Summer Challenge list, so I thought it would at least be a good opportunity to check that off the list. I dressed in my reflective vest and my headlamp, and headed out for a dark walk with Joey.

It felt SO nice outside--the temp was in the 50's! I still wasn't thrilled about walking in the dark (a lot of people let their dogs wander, and I'm always afraid of coming upon one of them). Joey and I walked my favorite route, and it was nice to be done just as the kids were getting up for school. 

Once the kids were started with school, I started writing up plans to build a desk for Noah. He wants a corner desk for his bedroom, and I told him we'd make one together once the garage was finished. I went in his room to take measurements, and then I realized that his current desk would be good inspiration for the nightstands I wanted to make for Jerry and me. 

I can tell that his desk is handmade (my mom bought it at a garage sale) and I really like the way the drawers were done. I figured I could make just the side with drawers, modifying the size and drawer sizes, and turn it into a nightstand. Then I spent way too much time measuring and planning out the nightstands as well as Noah's corner desk.

I'd like to make it shorter (and not as deep) and have all three drawers be the same size. 

I'd planned to go to Lowe's to pick up supplies for the porch and Noah's desk, but before I did that, I wanted to start tearing out the landscaping so that I can be sure about the porch plans.

This is why tomorrow I'm going to feel like I got hit by a bus. I spent the next few hours removing all of the landscaping... I took out a bush and a few hostas. Then I searched for and removed all of the roots from the three huge bushes/tree things that we'd removed. This is what it looked like a couple of months ago when Jerry removed the enormous bush thing...

He removed the stump, but none of the roots! There were two other bushes just like that one (only one of them was round and only about three feet tall), but I don't have a photo with it in the picture). That's the one I removed today.

Right now, it looks terrible because I'm not done yet. I wanted to start completely fresh with the landscaping--so I tore out everything. We are going to kill the grass as well, and then have the landscaping go right to the sidewalk. 

I also removed the railings from the porch. It already looks better without the railings, which were totally falling apart! But we need to replace all of the deck boards because they are curled and warped. The porch is 17 years old and was built very cheaply, so it definitely needs to be redone.

The problem is that the lumber for decking is extremely hard to find right now! I'm going to keep looking, and I desperately hope we can find what we need before it gets too cold.

Removing the roots from the bushes was the hardest work for sure. The bushes had been there since we moved in here in 2003, so they were REALLY long. I was very proud when I pulled them all out, though. It's so satisfying to pull a root and have it go 10 feet across the landscaping, haha.

And Jerry was thrilled, because he hurt his back at work and he was dreading having to remove the bush and hostas today. Next, we have to kill all the grass, weeds, and literally everything where the landscaping goes. And then start fresh!

In addition to my two 45-minute walks today, I actually went for a third walk (only about 15 minutes)... I was feeling irritated this evening, and rather than go looking for something to eat to take my mind off of it, I went out for a short walk. It wasn't intense or anything, but it was nice to get out of the house for 15 minutes. I'd like to keep that in mind for the future! It sounds so easy, but when I'm in "a mood", it's hard to remember ;)

Jerry is off work tonight, so we're going to play Codeword Duet! Have a good night :)

(By the way, if you haven't seen The Social Dilemma on Netflix, go watch it right now! I'll try to write about it soon. Just trust me, it's worth watching.)

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My Walking Stats: Notables of Exercising Twice a Day

I am SO glad to see that I'm not the only parent struggling so hard with the distance learning for my kids' school! Thank you so much for commenting and sharing your struggles with it, too. I was feeling SUPER overwhelmed yesterday and really disappointed in how things are going. (Eli was marked "truant" from two classes today--I was there when he signed in!) Like I said, I hope that they are just working out the kinks now and things will get better in the next week or two.

While I was walking today, I was thinking about how familiar all the routes are around my house (there are only so many streets to walk). And it got me thinking about my walking stats, or just interesting things about my walks (things I've seen, money I've found, etc.) So I decided to write a post on it!

I started 75 Hard on July 20th, so I'm halfway through Week 8--I'm on Day 53. Here are some notables from the last 53 days of walking 45 minutes twice a day, every single day. I haven't missed a single workout! (I've done a few bike rides in lieu of the walking, but for this post, I'm just focusing on the walking.

Numerical Stats:

• Earliest walk: 5:03 AM (this was on the treadmill right before we left for a 10-hour drive up north)
• Latest walk: 7:23 PM (again, on the treadmill--likely, I was procrastinating)
• Longest distance walk: 3.66 miles (this was a walk/jog on the treadmill; my longest of simply walking was 3.34 outdoors)
• Shortest distance walk: 2.22 miles 
• Longest duration walk: 1:08:17 (3.34 miles)
• Shortest duration walk: 45:02 (2.57 miles)
• Highest average heart rate: 146 bpm (this was during my fastest walk)
• Fastest average pace: 14:17/mile
• Fastest mile: 13:55
• Slowest average pace: 20:37/mile
• Slowest mile: 20:56
• Average number of miles a day: 5.3 miles
• Average number of minutes a day: 94:02
• Total number of miles walked: 261.93 miles
• Total duration walked: 3 days, 5 hours, 35 minutes!

One of my favorite parts about going for walks is finding money. I pick up every coin that I see--it's like a treasure hunt! Since July 20th, I've found $3.25 while out walking. Whenever I find a coin, I tuck it under the shoulder strap of my sports bra, haha. 

The most I've found on a walk since I started 75 Hard is $0.63 cents. It was kind of funny... I was walking along and saw a bright shiny quarter in the middle of the road. Score! I love finding quarters. Then a street over, I saw another shiny quarter in the middle of the road. This actually made me wonder if perhaps somebody who lives nearby is doing my Cookies Summer Challenge and left quarters out for someone to find. Hmmmm?

I've seen lots of animals: the usual cats, dogs, rabbits, squirrels, etc. I've seen groundhogs, muskrats, deer, bald eagles, hawks, cranes, and other birds, snakes, turtles, frogs, geese, ducks, and even a black bear (the bear was up north). And the most unusual to me--something I've never seen up close in the wild--a bat! Unfortunately, it was dead in the middle of the road. While it may be gruesome, I took a photo of it because I found it so interesting.

I've been rotating through shoes--up to four pairs at one point! (Clockwise from top left):

Saucony Triumph 4.0 (newest)

Brooks Ghost 9 (second oldest)

Saucony Triumph 2.0 (oldest but with very few miles)

Altra Escalante (second newest)

I'd been wearing the Ghosts model for YEARS, but when I stopped running and was wearing Converse Chuck's all the time, I thought I'd better find a more neutral shoe with less support when I started to walk. I bought the Altra's, but those are zero-drop (which is a big change from the Ghosts) and I started alternating them with the Saucony Triumph 2.0 shoes that I got in 2016 and rarely wore.

I discovered the Triumph's were super comfy and minimized my ankle pain, so I looked online for more. I couldn't find the 2.0 version ANYWHERE in my size (10), so I bought the 4.0's on eBay (new in box). They are very cushiony, but I don't like them as much as the 2.0 version, which is a bummer. They are tighter on my heels and if I don't rotate shoes, they give me blisters.

I've worn out my Ghosts, pretty much, and will probably need to drop those soon. The Triumph 2.0's are toast--the bottoms have gotten totally worn out. So now I'm down to the Altra's and the Triumph 4.0's. And those have quite a few miles on each of them already. I didn't realize how quickly the miles would add up as I started walking.

Finally, here is a very long calendar with all of my walks (and a few bike rides) on it. I didn't include the bike rides in the totals.

It's fun to see all of this in one place. Especially looking at all the workouts on the calendar like that!

And no, I'm not done. I'm going to continue for a total of 90 days, so I'm more than halfway done now.

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The Power of a Determined Mindset

When I saw a video post by my friend Adam on Facebook yesterday, I was completely stunned. Speechless. Just completely in awe.

I've known Adam since high school and we've remained good friends through all these years--he even stood up in my wedding. Lately, we've been talking a lot more. He's been really into challenging himself and he's the one who turned me onto talked me into trying 75 Hard.

He's also the one who told me to read David Goggins' book, 'Can't Hurt Me' (Amazon affiliate link). David Goggins is on this whole other level of toughness--I can't even fathom the amount of discipline that he has developed from years of sheer HARD WORK. And I'm starting to see some of this in Adam. It makes me really excited for him!

He is currently doing 75 Hard, and he's about a week ahead of me (I'm starting Week 8 today). He's made it much more challenging to himself than I have, however. 

To back up, though...

In February, he did the most insane challenge I'd ever heard of up until that point--he did a 4x4x48 challenge (Goggins' idea). That meant to run 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours straight. Yes, you read that correctly. Insane! And he did it.

He didn't just do this once; he did it again in June! (And now he wants me to do it with him next month, even if we just walk instead of run...)

Adam bought a used mountain bike from a friend so he could use it to bike to work as well as exercise. On July 28, Adam tried out his new wheels:

Then on August 4th, out what what seems like nowhere, he walked 42 miles in one day!

Adam decided to do a charity event where he would have to cycle 250 miles in September (I'll include the info for that at the end of the post). So, he got started...

I have to do a side note here: This is super ironic and funny. Even through high school, Adam would talk about being strong and always working on being stronger by challenging himself. He later moved into a house that he knew was on Adams St. (coincidental enough) but then realized that it was on the corner of Strong Blvd! So he lived on the corner of Adams-Strong. Crazy, right?! (That's what the hashtag refers to.)

Also, when he mentions a "cookie jar" it's another reference to David Goggins' book. It's a way of tucking away little accomplishments to pull out when you need to feel strong to get through something.

I've saved the most insane accomplishment for last (although I'm sure this will not be *his* last!). He posted this video to Facebook yesterday, leaving me stunned.

(Note: When he mentions a triathlon, he's talking about the cycling portion of an IRONMAN.

Anyway, I hadn't planned to do an entire post about Adam, but I just had to brag about him a little. He's been SO encouraging to me while I do 75 Hard and definitely trying to push me out of my comfort zone. When I was feeling depressed and antisocial in the winter, he kept asking to get together and when we finally did, I felt so much happier.

He's an amazing friend and literally the strongest person I know--his mental determination is approaching David Goggins'. 

I don't usually post links to other people's charities because I get SO many requests to do so. Adam did not ask me to post this, but I'm going to anyways just in case anyone feels like they want to contribute to his cycling goal for September.

It's called the Great Cycle Challenge and it's to fight kids' cancer. Here is a link to Adam's fundraising page.

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6 Weeks on Plan! (and Jerry's comparison pictures)

Six weeks! It's been six weeks since I started 75 Hard. I sincerely cannot believe it's been that long. 

I've been working hard to develop the self-discipline that I used to have, feel the control over myself that I really miss, and pushing past my comfort zone--not too much, but definitely pushing it.

I mentioned before that I guess it's not "75 Hard" and that I am just doing it my own way for 90 days instead. But I'm still keeping the same "rules" of what I interpreted from 75 Hard.

Yesterday was Day 42. The weekly updates are actually pretty boring, because they all seem to be the same. But I'll continue to post them, because who knows what will happen? 

So, here is a recap of the week:

Drink a gallon of water every day.

I'm 99% sure that I did this every day this week. It's really easy to lose track sometimes, especially when I'm busy. I have a Nalgene bottle that I fill four times (it holds a quart, so drinking four of them is a gallon), but sometimes I even get more than that. By the end of the day, though, it's hard to say. I really should keep tabs with my checklist app.

Take a progress photo every day.

Done. This one is the easiest on the list! I wake up, get dressed in something comfortable to walk in, and then take a photo right before I put on my sunscreen to go out for a walk. I don't think the changes in my body are as visible now as they were in the beginning, but Jerry notices things. Just today, when he hugged me, he mentioned that my shoulders seem thinner. 

Here is a six week comparison in the same clothes:

The scale is so interesting. I will post numbers at the end of the 90 days, but I will say that my weight goes up and down by about 2-3 pounds every day. Yes, a daily fluctuation by 2-3 pounds! But that's very typical with intermittent fasting. And it doesn't bother me at all. The overall trend is downward, so I'm cool with that.

It's just interesting because when I counted calories or did Weight Watchers or things like that, I was used to a very minor fluctuation day to day, but unless I had a binge or some serious sodium one day, my weight stayed mostly the same or was down a bit each day. The intermittent fasting makes the fluctuations much more pronounced.

I had planned to take body measurements today, considering I'm six weeks in, but I completely forgot until later in the day. I'm going to try to remember to do it tomorrow morning.

Follow a diet of choice.

I'm still doing the 20:4 ratio of intermittent fasting. I still love it. One of the major things I've noticed is that I don't crave sweets as much--actually, it's very rare now. (Note: I am not cutting out carbs or sugar or anything else; but my cravings have changed.)

I find that when I'm hungry and ready to eat, I don't want something sweet; I want "real" food, a meal. I usually have in mind that I'll eat something sweet afterward, but a lot of times, I eat a very filling dinner and then dessert just doesn't sound good at all. 

Overall, though, I still really love intermittent fasting for lots of reasons: I don't think about food all the time; I can eat whatever I want; I can eat until I'm comfortably full; I don't have to count calories; I don't have to plan out breakfasts, lunches, and snacks; and I can eat high calorie foods (when I was counting calories, I always tried to make the calories in my meals lower, and now I make sure that I cook with higher calorie foods to ensure I'm getting enough in my eating window). 

Jerry came across a photo of himself from December of 2019, and he finally saw that he really HAS gotten smaller. He started intermittent fasting in June, and I noticed immediately that his stomach was getting smaller. He said the scale barely moved, but I knew I wasn't imagining things. 

To date, now, he's lost about 30 pounds. I think he looks as small, if not smaller, than he did when he was 165 pounds (he's now at 180). Here is a comparison:

Doesn't he look amazing?! He didn't believe me when I told him that I noticed a difference. Anyway, he loves the intermittent fasting, too. It works out really well for his lifestyle and work schedule.

Exercise 45 minutes twice a day (at least one must be outside).

As of today, I have exercised for 45 minutes at a time, twice a day, every single day for six weeks! I've never done this before. Sure, I've done a ton of running, especially while marathon training. But the discipline that it takes to do TWO workouts a day is is very tough. During marathon training, I could run in the morning and it would be done for the day. Now, I have to fit in a second, and most of the time, I really don't want to!

I've done a morning walk with Joey every day and he loves it. He gets so excited when I wake up because he knows it's time to go for walk. Even when it was pouring rain a few days ago, I took him out for his walk. 

A couple of times this week, I've tried to do a tougher walk for my second workout by picking up the pace. When I have Joey, we usually walk at about a 17:30-18:30/mile pace. He slows me down a bit, but I think of it as "his" walk, too. The afternoon walks are all mine, so I do my own thing. 

Yesterday, I really wanted to enjoy the weather and just listen to my audiobook, so I walked extremely slowly (my slowest pace to date). And then today, I decided to see just how fast I could walk for 45 minutes. I was shocked when I walked a sub-15:00 mile, and then even more shocked when my third mile was sub-14:00!

It made me laugh, because I'm pretty sure that would be about the same as my running pace right now ;) 

My heart rate was up near 160 at the end... when I normally walk, it's usually between 95 and 120. Today, I literally walked as fast I could manage (and be able to complete the walk without giving up the pace). 

Here are the cumulative details for the past week:

Read 10 pages of a non-fiction, inspirational or self-help type book.

I'm sorry to say that I dropped the ball on this one this week. If I was truly doing 75 Hard, I'd have to start over from Day 1 again. I was reading books, but they were fiction "fun" reading. Like I wrote about yesterday! That book was SO good and I finished it today. It's definitely one of my "Top 5 Favorite Books I've Ever Read". 

While I haven't done the self-help books this week, and therefore broke the "rule", I'm still happy about the fact that I'm reading. I know that sitting is sitting, but I still feel better about reading than I do about watching TV. Jerry was off work last night, and he watched wrestling while I read my book--we weren't really interacting other than sitting next to each other on the couch, but it was nice for each of us to be able to do what we wanted while still spending time "together".

I want to get back to the reading part of 75 Hard, though, so I am making it a point to do that this week.

Anyway, it was another good week, and I'm happy with my progress (physically and mentally) over the last six weeks. I'm almost halfway to my goal of 90 days :)

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Day 37 (and a recap)

I'm not even sure what to call this challenge that I'm doing anymore--I wrote previously about not calling it "75 Hard" because of a discrepancy about the "diet" rule (that post explains it better). I'm trying to keep this whole challenge simple and enjoyable, so I've just been continuing what I'd been doing all along.

I still want to build discipline, though, so I need a time frame/goal to work toward. So, I'm going to extend the challenge to 90 days total, and I'm not going to start over from Day 1 if I break any of the "rules". Right now, it's just become more of a personal goal rather than a challenge--in my mind, those are different. And that's hard to explain!

Anyway, this week has gone really well. After writing about breaking one of the rules and having to start over from Day 1, I just got right back on track. I think that shows a LOT of discipline (for me) because I didn't let one day turn to two, and then a week, and then just quitting altogether.

Going forward, today marks 37 days since I started "75 Hard". So, I'm counting this as Day 37 of 90. I'm sure I've made this super confusing, but I'm really just trying to keep it simple without "start overs" and questioning myself if I'm following the original rules accurately enough.

So, today is Day 37 of 90 and these are MY goals for it:

• Build discipline to stick with something all the way through
• Gain self-confidence
• Feel in control
• Develop good habits/eliminate bad habits
• Feel healthier/hopefully lose some weight

And these are the original "rules" that I'd been following (and am continuing with)...

1. Follow a diet of choice (I'm doing intermittent fasting with a 20:4 ratio of fasting to eating. I eat whatever I'm in the mood for, but basically I've been making a filling high-calorie dinner and then having either a dessert or snack if I'm still hungry.)

2. Work out 45 minutes twice a day--at least one has to be outside. (I've been walking for most of the workouts, but I occasionally ride my bike. I've done a few treadmill walks, but almost all of them have been outside.)

3. Take a progress photo every day. (I take a full-length mirror selfie every morning before my walk.)

4. Drink a gallon of water every day.

5. Read 10 pages of an inspirational book.

To sum everything up to Day 37 so far:

Follow a diet of choice

The longer I do intermittent fasting, the more I enjoy it. I stay very busy during the day and then eat dinner at about 4:00. I eat enough in my window that I don't feel hungry for the rest of the night. It feels good to eat until I literally don't want any more. I even skip out on dessert or a snack sometimes because I'm comfortably full and just don't want it. I've also been eating healthier meals--since I'm condensing my food intake to four hours, I want to make the food worth it.

Work out 45 minutes twice a day

Lots and lots of walking. This has become complete habit to me by now (the morning walk has, anyway). Joey loves this new habit because I take him with me and he gets so excited when he hears that I'm awake and getting dressed. Even if I wanted to quit my morning walks, I would feel way too bad for Joey!

I actually really enjoy the walking, which has been the biggest surprise to me. Exercise had always felt like a chore--something I did but never looked forward to. Now, I genuinely like listening to an audiobook while walking the peninsula. When I walk, I don't have pace or time goals or anything like that. If I feel like walking slowly, I do; if I feel like pushing it a bit, then I do that, too.

I was kind of surprised when I tallied up the totals today. In 35 days, I walked nearly 165 miles (I'll include this week's totals next week) and I biked 57 miles. I like to keep track of the numbers below because I'm curious if my heart rate will get lower as I exercise more. I'm not doing MAF training (my heart rate is always below MAF when I walk) but I'm still interested to see if all the walking/biking has an effect.

Take a progress photo every day

This has become a habit, too--as soon as I wake up, I get dressed for my walk and while I'm in the bathroom pulling my hair back and brushing my teeth, I take a selfie in the mirror right before I leave. I am SO glad that I have been doing the progress photos. I was bummed that I wasn't losing weight, but when I looked through my progress pictures, I could see a big difference--even from week to week.

Here is a comparison of Day 1 versus today, Day 37:

And here, just for the sake of comparing with the same shirt, is Day 8 versus 37:

Here is a post where I shared some comparisons after four weeks on plan.

Drink a gallon of water every day

Nothing much to say about this. I've done it every day for 37 days now.  The exercise helps me get in the water--I feel dehydrated after going out in the heat and walking for 45 minutes. I hate feeling puffy from dehydration, and that's actually what pushes me to get in enough water.

Read 10 pages of an inspirational book

I'm almost done with David Goggins' book "Can't Hurt Me" (Amazon affiliate link). I've only been reading 10 pages a day--I read really slowly, so it takes me a while. This book is fascinating, though--Goggins' discipline is absolutely crazy. He makes zero excuses for anything at all.

I recommended it to my brother, Nathan, because I thought it sounded like something he'd like. He liked it so much that he bought the audiobook, too, in order to listen during his commute. He said the audiobook has more than the written book--interviews and things between chapters.

I'm not sure what my next book will be. I should probably figure that out!

Needless to say, I'm very happy with how I've been doing on this challenge. I'm feeling good enough about it to extend it to 90 days and I'm actually enjoying the new habits :)

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