I have had a goal of getting healthier and getting in better shape for so many years!! I had truly decided that it was unattainable! I had even told myself that I honestly must not want to be healthier or to lose weight. Frankly, I think I stopped caring! Either way, I had decided that I was just meant to be overweight! I just could not get myself to work hard enough to attain any of my fitness goals.

This challenge helped cut my lazy brain out of the equation!

This challenge gave me an opportunity to take the thinking and decisions out and provided a process to follow. A very straightforward and simple process, with clear rules and boundaries.

Sure, I already knew that to lose weight, I should stick to a diet or cut out sugar – everyone knows that. But what I loved about this challenge is that it didn’t tell me what to eat, or what to cook. Just no cheats! I know what a cheat is! So, I didn’t have to think too hard. Hmm, those cookies are a treat – they are a no! Easy to follow, right? I didn’t need to follow a true diet as part of this challenge. I didn’t need to bother with counting calories or making sure to cook two different meals for dinner (the healthy one for me that no one else will want to eat, AND a not so healthy delicious smelling meal that makes me salivate like a dog for the rest of the family!) I didn’t want to eat stuff that tastes like cardboard but at least is healthy. It was more just about limiting my portions and cutting out sugar. But the challenge thought that up for me. It’s a simple rule. No cheats! For me, it’s sugar! So, no sugar!!

I have always wanted to get more fit! Before this challenge, I picked the days I ‘wanted’ to workout, sometimes on the day of, which is a recipe for disaster because who actually feels like working out?! Right?? If I wanted to sleep in, I would allow myself to do that. If I didn’t want to go for a run, I wouldn’t. If I didn’t feel like driving to the gym, I just wouldn’t. Above all, I came up with excuses because I was too “busy”, or because the 1.5 hour break I have before getting the kids might not be quite enough time to workout! It’s crazy how much the lazy brain takes over! But it was actually so easy. Sure, I didn’t always get both of my workouts in, but getting one of them in every day was still way more than I was doing before! AND, most of the time, just doing one of them in the morning was enough to keep me more on the ready for physical activity during the day – even just mowing the lawn! I just needed to do simple activities each day, and the results would come.

The challenge gave me a system to follow. And that is why it worked.

It’s not some magical routine. It’s not impossible to achieve. It’s not some secret weapon or trick to lose weight. It’s just doing bit by bit every day.

The goal of losing weight is great. But truly, that was just a product of repeated performance – it didn’t even have to be great or good performance, mediocre was more than enough most days! What this challenge really gave me was structure.

Following that structure is what actually got me the results I wanted.

Throughout the challenge, I didn’t even care about my goal of losing weight. I didn’t spend any amount of time thinking about that goal! Not initially anyway. I knew that if I stuck with it, there would be no doubt that I would lose some weight! I started to get more satisfaction about completing my challenge list each day than I did from stepping on the scale!

It’s not actually about the goal! It’s the day by day that matters!

The same can go for clutter in the house. Sure you can get a surge of motivation and do a big effort cleaning of the whole house, but if you don’t create a system or process for keeping it tidy then it will just get messy again. Or if your system is too complicated, then you won’t even follow it!

Creating and committing to a process will help you achieve your goals faster than just sitting down and setting your goals. Setting and having goals is great, but it’s not really the thing that will help you achieve them. You need to break down the day to day process and create simple tasks to do, that ultimately lead to your goals.

Choose a problem that you have had for years. Think about the problem, come up with a tiny daily to do list that has a side effect of completing your goal. You will then conquer what seemed like an impossible goal in just a short period of time! See how it changes your whole outlook on your problem and enjoy the magical results!

What started as a 75 day fitness challenge is now my lifelong set of personal daily tasks. It’s just part of my to do list because I know now how awesome it feels to conquer that part of my to do list so that I feel great about myself for myself!!

The most awesome part is that anyone and everyone can have success with it, no matter what their starting point is!

So go achieve amazing things!! You’re worth it!!

Thanks for coming home!