If you keep up with fitness trends, you’ve probably heard of 75 Hard. It’s not a diet or fitness plan, but, as 75 Hard creator Andy Fisella calls it, “an Ironman for your brain.” Sounds pretty intense, right? It is. The 75 Hard has the following six rules:
- Pick a diet to follow with no alcohol intake and no cheat meals
- Drink a gallon of water every day
- Complete two 45-minute workouts a day (one must be done outside)
- Read 10 pages per day of a nonfiction book
- Take a progress picture every day
- If you mess up, you must start over
…. Yikes. If you’re into super intense fitness, this might be the challenge for you. But, if you’re like me, it’s a little too much. I love working out and eating clean, and I’ve always been able to see the appeal of 75 Hard, but there’s absolutely no way I could do it and not hate my life. Thankfully, I was scrolling through TikTok a couple weeks ago, and I saw this video. Victoria is a yoga content creator, and, in her video, she talks about how she’s always wanted to do 75 Hard but doesn’t think it’s the right fitness challenge for her. So, instead, she created 75 Medium.
75 Medium is a you-make-the-rules version of 75 Hard. The purpose is to help you reclaim discipline on your own terms, start your new year right, or just get your lifestyle going in the direction you want it to go. When I saw what 75 Medium was, I immediately knew I had to do it. It was the lifestyle challenge I had been searching for. I get to make the rules, but there’s still a structure: 75 days to follow the rules. 75 days to change my lifestyle. It’s the best way to gently alter my habits, and here are my rules:
- Exercise: Move my body at least once a day. This can be a workout at the gym, yoga, a walk, or even a long and tiring shift at work.
- Diet: Practice intuitive eating (eat when hungry, stop when full). Cut out artificial sugar as much as possible. No meal tracking!
- Sleep: Try to get between 6 and 8 hours of sleep a night.
- Drinking: Drink 1-2 times a week (MAX). Only 1-3 drinks per outing (exception: my birthday). Do not always drink to get drunk.
- Morning Routine: Wake up between 6 and 7am on weekdays, 8 and 9am on weekends. 15 minutes phone time > breakfast and read > 30 mins of phone time > workout (if I can fit it in) > get ready > start day
- Night Routine: No snacking after 9pm. Read fiction for 15-30 minutes. 30 minutes-1 hour of phone time. Bedtime!! Do NOT try to stay awake if tired.
- Creativity: Do something creative outside of my classes/assignments at least once a week. This can be painting/drawing, cooking something new, or whatever is mentally and creatively stimulating.
- Reading: Track reading on Goodreads. Try to finish between 1 and 5 books a month.
- Social Life: Try to spend at least 30 minutes daily with someone meaningful to me. Make plans with one new person every two weeks (can be a new friend or someone I don’t see daily). If a social situation seems to overstimulating or scary, I do NOT have to go.
And that’s it. That’s how I’m choosing to live every day for the next (approximately) 40 days. I’ve already gotten about a month in, and I can really see how peaceful and structured my life has become. I’m less stressed, more engaged with friends, and have more time to do work and other creative projects. Of course, I’ve had my off days where I overeat or sit on the sofa all day, but the best part of this challenge is that it accommodates the imperfection of human beings. So what if I mess up? Tomorrow is a new day. And what matters most is that I’m giving it my all. I can’t think of a better way to start off 2023.
If you want to check out my TikTok where I break down my 75 Medium rules in more depth, check it out here!