75hard

As I’ve said on my Instagram, I finished 75 Hard and Phase 1 of the Live Hard program earlier this year. 

This program is about mental toughness and perseverance with physical aspects thrown in.

Your physical fitness will change, but your mind will do a 360/180 whatever you call it. I'm so much more focused and driven and know what needs to be done. Also, you do have to take a progress pic everyday. 

1. Watermelon- sweet, delicious, and you can eat a ton for few calories

2. Daily Checklist- I forget everything, so I need a list. Legit almost forgot my own birthday dinner the other day

3. Ningxia Red Slushies (get your Ningxia here)- pop the packets in the freezer and then you have something to substitute for ice cream

4. Habit rules (from Atomic Habits) - I couldn't get on social media or play phone games (I’m a huge bingo player) until my visualization, photo, reading, and one of power list items was done. In 75 hard, I made the rule that I couldn't take a shower until I did both workouts. It was much harder in phase one to use that particular rule because showering is one of the tasks. And, a cold shower is something you want to get over and done with. 

5. Grill- I cook most meals, but my husband grills. So for easy prep, I have him cook off a bunch of chicken, burgers, kielbasa and then we eat them for the next few days. It makes dinner so nice if all I have to do is make a side and a veggie.

6. Cheerleader- Get someone on your freakin' side that will push you to do the stuff when you don't want to. 75 hard was way harder motivation wise. In phase one, you’re kinda in a groove especially with the 75 hard tasks that it's almost autopilot. Now, it's just like you know what to do when you don't want to do it, so you just push through. 

7. All Different Workouts- Unless you super love the exact same workout every day, it is going to get boring. I go to classes at the gym so it's different every day or I use the Peloton app for spinning, yoga, walking, and so much more. 

For the outside workout, I either walked, ride my stationary bike (which just f-ing broke) or do yoga. Which even gets boring, because I have the same walking path. Zzzzzz. I live in the middle of nowhere. I really don't have a choice because it's the place with the least amount of cars and there's still a lot of cars. 

I can’t stress enough how awesome the Peloton app is (get your free 30 days here Peloton App). It doesn’t replace the in-person connection you get by working out side by side with someone (we don't actually work out side by side, hello covid, it's just an expression, chill out). But, the instructors and music are awesome, so if you can’t get to a gym or funds are kind of tight, the app is $12.99 and you get all kinds of workouts, run, walk, yoga, cycling, strength, boot camp, meditation, stretching and more. 

For more workout, food, lifestyle tips, or just to see me be a jackass on a daily basis, follow me on Instagram, join my 75 Hard Ladies group on Facebook or sign up for my free tips on how to Jumpstart your Health today. 

A couple of things happened this week. #1. It’s official I no longer wait tables anymore. The restaurant is open for limited seating and I am not there after 18 years. I now can strictly focus on my health and wellness business that I’ve been running for seven years, while I worked full time. I have some thoughts about what we did to get to that point financially aka another blog post, but for now, cheers to new beginnings, chapters ending, and progress!

 #2 Monday, I started the 75 Hard challenge. It’s a mental challenge with physical challenge aspects and total lifestyle change. 

With that being said, I now am tracking my calories and staying within them and no alcohol or sweets. I have been tracking with the Lose It app for months, but I usually go over my daily allowance. Very rarely is the day where I don’t. Well, until now. I’m on Day 3 of the challenge and I have stuck to it every day. 

As I said above, I struggle with eating too much and the wrong foods. I love food. For real, love it and I love trying new dishes, new restaurants. Legit when we travel I usually plan around where we are eating. Can’t miss a fabulous meal! 

This time around,  I made sure I planned and set myself for success from the very beginning, which is now. I forgot to add, with this challenge, any screw-ups start the challenge over at day 1 (have a drink, day 1. forget to do a workout, day 1). Nevermind, that you are on day 56, you’re back to day 1. 

So, I wanted to make sure I was good to begin. Here are the 3 things I did:

1. I threw out any sweets that I only eat. Anything that Rick would eat, I left. Because we have totally different tastes, I am not as tempted by his faves.

2. I researched recipes that were healthy, but still satisfied the delicious factor. Check out my food board on Pinterest here. 

 

Parmesan Roasted Carrots and Zucchini

3. I made snacks and easy to grab veggies. Not full-on meal prep. But, just the kind of thing you can eat when you just need something, but would normally go for a treat, just cause. I get my veggies from my local grocery store and also from Imperfect Foods and I loaded up, not just a few. 

These are my top 3 that I knew I needed to do to start off right. Out of sight, out of mind on the sweets and make healthy food more accessible. 

What tips have you found to help you when you are tweaking your nutrition? I’d love to hear about it below. I mean I have 72 more days of strict eating. Help a sister out! 

If you enjoyed this, please check my three easy peasy tips for jump-starting your health here!