I am still surprised that I have reached day 50! Not that I thought I was going to quit, just that it seems like not that long ago that I started this 75-day hard challenge. When I look back at where I started on day 1, I never would have imagined all the success I have realized in just 50 days!!

If you missed the details about how the challenge works, check it out here!

I wanted to take some time to share how I am making a few of the rules work for me because they just might work for you, or help you realize how easy it is to modify this challenge to suit your level or needs!

Following a diet

So I am not really following a diet per se. I find it too cumbersome. I decided instead to focus on less snacking and, of course, no cheats/treats. I am only eating at meal times and just eating whatever we are eating as a family. I am also trying to control my portions, so I rarely eat a second portion unless I am truly hungry after completing the first helping. If I find myself needing a snack between meals, it has to be fruits or veggies. If I am out and will need a snack, I am bringing protein bars or packing other snacks so that I am less tempted to eat out. I have not had any chocolate (other than the very occasional glass of chocolate milk, and a couple of hot chocolates), I haven’t had any candy, and as per the rules, I have not consumed any alcohol. Wins all around!!

Drinking ONE gallon of water

I started off by trying to count the number of times I refilled my water bottle through the day, but I found I lost track a number of times in the beginning. I have since purchased a large, 1-gallon water bottle that I fill before bed. The next day, I have to get through the whole bottle. I find it way easier to track my actual consumption. If I am out and have some water, I will simply make a mental note or fill my drinking water bottle one last time before bed but drink it in the morning.

Two 45 minute workouts

Ok, so this one initially really intimidated me. I kept thinking how hard it’s going to be to get one, let alone TWO, 45-minute workouts into my day. In the beginning, I was simply walking for 45 minutes for one of the workouts – I found it easy to get my outside workout in. Sometimes, I found it easier to walk for a whole hour and do a 30-minute workout. It may not be true to the actual challenge, but it’s what I could manage. I used the 30 minutes for a short ab workout and a yoga routine. Easy peasy, right? I hardly noticed I was doing anything at all. It was just that it felt uplifting and made me feel like I had done something for myself in the day. Also, I noted that I was so much more productive around the house, because I wasn’t weighing myself down by feeling like I should workout, I should clean the house, I should etc, I actually did it!! Over time, in the challenge, I started to feel stronger and stronger, so I have morphed the 45 minutes into some more intense fitness sessions and some running instead of walking. But again, there’s so much flexibility! You don’t have to be dripping sweat and have a hard time getting up off the toilet just because you have to get two workouts in!

Of course, there are a couple of other rules, like reading and taking a progress picture, but they are pretty self-explanatory and totally worth actually doing! Every week or so, I enjoy perusing my progress pictures!

The challenge itself is actually easy and straightforward. It’s hard partly because if you loved your cheats, it’s hard to give them up, and partly because the challenge is 75 days long, which is actually a fairly long time to stick with. It’s long enough to either give in to your temptations and old lifestyle because the end seems too far away, or it makes you dig down and use your mental strength to push through to the 75th day. Both are hard.

The best part for me is tracking the successes! So what if I am 500 mL short of my water goal one day, or if I did a few minutes less of a workout, I am still stronger and feeling better than before starting the challenge. I love seeing that what started out as 45 minutes for a 3km walk has now turned into 7km of mostly running, in just 50 days!! Or lifting weights that seemed too heavy are now my warm up weights! That’s pretty awesome!!

Every day, you have many multiple moments where you can celebrate your wins. Track those small victories, and be proud of yourself! Use that pride to propel you to try even harder the following day!

Every little bit counts!

Thanks for coming home!