Part 5, day 75
Stats:
- Weight: 68kg
- Energy: Barely
- Favourite exercise: Still running (oops)
I did it. It’s over. Finally.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
This challenge has been something of an eye-opening experience. And while I can’t say that I’ve had a terrible time completing this programme, it also wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. For those who are new here, allow me to take you through the 75 Hard Challenge rules:
- Follow a diet - No alcohol or cheat meals
- Drink a gallon of water per day
- Read ten pages of a non-fiction book per day
- Exercise twice a day, two 45 minute sessions and one has to be outside
- Daily progress pics
- If you break any of these you start again
I really want to stress that NONE of this is based on any sort of scientific study that guarantees results. The 75 hard was made by Andy Frisella in 2019, who advertises this challenge as a mental toughness programme and basically a way to kickstart some good habits.
What are the benefits?
It did what it said it would. Created some good fitness habits and kickstarted my own health journey. I’ve definitely found myself enjoying the feeling of being fit, especially when it comes to running and lifting weights. Being able to go further or lift heavier gives you physical proof of your progress in the moment, which acts as a much needed lifeline during the 75 days.
What are the risks?
By the end of this programme you don’t realise just how fragile you feel. Essentially, it’s a red flag in disguise. A love hate relationship if you will. This can definitely be seen when looking back at my previous updates, as you slowly see my views on the programme sour (part 4 I’m looking at you). I think that while it does make you more aware of your body's fitness level, what you eat and your daily lifestyle, it also gives you some negative habits that you should be aware of. For instance, the lack of recovery suggested in the challenge is potentially dangerous, especially to people new to fitness, which can lead to injuries and burn out.
The daily progress photos (something I stopped doing after 2 weeks) presents an unhealthy obsession with your appearance, as realistically you won’t see that much of a difference. If anything, you could be discouraged if you can’t see constant progress. The introduction of ‘bad’ foods and food noise when sticking to a diet could impact your mental health and eating habits. I’m a strong believer in counting macros, looking at food content and going from there. Thinking that certain foods are bad for you creates a culture of food shame. Like, if I want a cookie, you better believe I’ll figure out a way for it to be in my macro allowance. Which is why choosing to stick to a calorie deficit worked for me.
What now?
To be fully transparent, while completing this challenge I made sure to post updates 15 days after the real-life check-ins. Which means I finished the programme 15 days ago. While this is partially due to editing reasons, I also wanted to make sure that I could explore the aftermath of this challenge. Especially the weight fluctuation and recovery, because while my results may look great now, what happens after?
Day 90
Stats:
- Weight: 71kg
- Energy: Maintenance glow
- Favourite exercise: Ask me in about a week.
Lots to unpack here. First let's talk about weight gain, specifically about how I’ve managed to put on a 3rd of what I lost. The transition from a caloric deficit to a maintenance diet, can lead to you naturally gain back a few pounds as your body adjusts to its new normal. The good news is that it's not all fat. When you enter a deficit, you tend to lose water weight first, which is a combination of water and glycogen, this is because your body is looking for energy in other ways. When you enter maintenance your body puts this water weight back on, leading to that initial extra weight gain.
Next let's look at recovery, because since completing this challenge I have accumulated various injuries, lucky me (not). Straining my neck during a pole class was particularly annoying, as it means that I’ve had to rest for the last week. My biggest piece of advice moving forward would be to allow yourself one to two days a week for low impact exercise. If you’re in a calorie deficit, like I was, you can adjust what you eat to allow proper down time and (hopefully) less injuries in the long run.
So, what am I going to do now?
The short answer is: I am going to finish my two week maintenance break, then go on a 6 week cut.
The long answer is: I am going to begin a more sustainable fitness journey building on what I learnt from the 75 Hard Challenge. I want to begin a 6 week cut, focusing on increasing my running distance and consistency in the gym. For those who are unsure about what a cutting phase is, it is a period of time where your goal is to reduce body fat while maintaining your muscle mass. Typically you would enter into a calorie deficit, which is where you burn more calories than you consume. Going on a cut is not a sustainable action itself, but when paired with a training plan can be an effective way to lose weight.
In general I do want to keep exercising everyday, but keep a varied routine that would encourage recovery. I’ve also decided that I’ll set some fun goals to keep myself motivated in the long run and to still get that progress satisfaction.
Do I recommend the 75 Hard Challenge?
Go for it, but do some research first. Taking on the 75 Hard Challenge looks easier than it is. Check out my part 3 article for things I wish I knew before I started. I think that while my personal benefits outweigh the negative, this won’t be the case for everyone. If you’re unsure about starting off with 75 hard, there are medium and soft equivalents which can be found on tiktok that might be more for you.
See you all for the next fitness trend!