75 Hard/Medium/Easy Challenge: March 3 - May 17
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May 16 ~ Day 75 of 75 medium
[ Naturewalk ]
58 minutes
[ 3+ liters water & tea ] 5.5 liters
[ Reading ] Read during the day
[ Sleep 8+ hours ] 8h 4m & 79 sleepscore
[ Under 1450 cal ] Done!
[ Eat in 6 hour window ] Done!
Happy Friday
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Here is my entire 75 medium checklist.
Naturewalks: 62 out of 75 done ~ missed 13 days
3+l water/tea: 75 out of 75 done ~ This one didn't require any effort. If anything, I drink too much.
Reading: 75 out of 75 done ~ Also no effort whatsoever, I love reading and learning new things.
8+ hours of sleep: 71 out of 75 done ~ missed 4 days ~ Impressive! When I was short on sleep, it was never because I went to bed too late. Sometimes my brain just won't quiet down and I will lay in bed awake for a few hours.
Under 1450 calories: 60 out of 75 done ~ missed 15 days ~ At the start of the challenge, I said I wanted to limit days over calories to 7, so I didn't really do great with that. My problem is that one day of overeating almost never stays at one day. Instead I go off the rails for a week or so. I would like to be better at this, but I am also not that bothered about it anymore. Life is hard, losing weight is hard. In the grand scheme of things, I still did really well for 60 days and my weight went down as a result which is the important part.
Eat between 10:00 and 16:00: 71 out of 75 done ~ missed 4 days ~ Also happy with this. The few times I didn't manage that window, it was mostly due to having dinner with other people and once because of ordering pizza if I remember right.
Bonus gym rings workout: I didn't track this well, but I think I only missed around 4 days. I recently increased my sets/reps from 3x8 to 3x10 so that is going pretty good too.
Here are some updated full body pictures I took today plus the ones from the start again. I didn't wear good clothes for the starting pictures, but it's fine. I can see a difference mainly in my legs and stomach/hip area.
Start weight: 197.7
Current weight: 186.7Overall I am pretty happy with how I did. I still think the original challenge of not being able to fail anything is too harsh. Instead I am more a fan of having minimal habits. Things you always do even when life keeps throwing crap in your face. For me that would be getting enough sleep, 12k daily steps (my daily average for this year so far is 17.772 so 12k is doable even when I feel terrible), never miss my nature walk two days in a row and end the week lighter than I started it. Of course that last one will change when I make it to goal weight! Anyway, I enjoyed sharing my posts here daily and I liked reading what everyone else was up to. I do think it is a bit of a shame that people dropped out so fast. I think it has just been the 4 of us since day 30 or something. So go us for sticking it out, even if we weren't perfect!!!
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Day 7️⃣6️⃣ of 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ (52 days met all 5 goals)
✅ Exercise: 90m walk
✅ Read: Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience By Brene Brown
✅Water: gallon
✅ Food: 🎯
✅<10g Added Sugar 🎯
For accountability continuing to track here until I get to 75 days of meeting all 5 goals.
@veta2018 woohoo fabulous job sticking to your habits and reaching your weight goal during this challenge! Proof consistency pays off! Best wishes as you transition to maintenance. Keep us posted. This is something I’m very interested in learning about. I’ve still got awhile but I want to be prepared and ready this time. So any additional tips and advice along the way please share. Enjoy your time with your new grandbaby!🤗
@pupowl wow amazing love seeing all those checkmarks ✅ now I want to create a chart😂not just to see the checks but to see patterns. I have a hard time getting back “on track” too after a higher calorie day. That’s why I don’t do “cheat” days because it’s never just one day. I’m also okay with eating exercise calories because some days you just need more although I do need to dial it back to limit this to 2x per week or only 1/3 of exercise calories. Overall I try to look at my calories by the week to see the deficit net exercise. It’s been pretty consistent with the scale most weeks. Were you able to see a pattern on the days you ate over your goal? Were there other circumstances such as birthday or busy day that started it? I know I tend to eat more when I’m stressed from work. Also right before/during my cycle so I’m okay with eating at maintenance during that week. It’s useful to see the patterns to help plan better the next time or accept it so you’re not beating yourself up for something that’s normal. Thanks for sharing your before/after pics! You look great and I can so see the difference in your hips/thighs! Woohoo way to go and congrats on 11 pounds down! Keep up the great work! Wishing you continued success on your journey and if you continue at this rate you’ll be reaching your weight goal too this year!🤗0 -
May 17 - Day 75/75
❌ Food - It went great until supper! Then it was a pizza (and salad!) party followed by birthday cake and some ice cream. My dad's memorial service is tomorrow, my daughter's birthday was yesterday, so all the family arrived and we had a great evening even if it was plenty excessive on the calories.
✅ No alcohol - no problem
✅❌ Exercise - Two workouts: 1strength-1 cardio. No strength, but a good hilly 3 mile walk.
❌ Reading - something helpful at least 10 minutes per day. no time - after Saturday...
✅ Water - OK
75 Days! I did not keep the beautiful records like you @Pupowl but I know the areas that need work, and I have developed some new strategies for fighting inertia. I did not really lose weight, but got back into my maintenance range, even if towards the top of it. I know how important it is to keep up strength work, even if it isn't a "hard" every single day. I will be doing a couple of interesting challenges over the next months, so I hope to keep this energy going for a while. It has been wonderful having the daily report to do and reading all of yours. Well done!
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My Version 75 Hard Challenge: May 17 - 74/75
✅ Diet - Calorie counting. Staying at or under 1200 calories per day. 1,119 calories today.
✅ Water - 70 oz of water per day (no alcohol) 76 oz. of water today.
✅ Exercise - 30 minutes cardio workout, 30 min strength training and 20 min yoga/palates stretch, 10k+ steps per day (inside/outside) 1 hour cardio, 20 min strength, stretch with 10,479 steps.
✅ Reading - 10 minutes each day of anything. I read for 1 hour today.
✅ Sleep- Get 7 hours of sleep every night. I slept 8 hours and 14 min.💪F2F - Mission Slimpossible!💪0 -
@NouveauRee Thanks a lot for your kind words! Seeing patterns is really useful. I recently got a paper habit tracker from Amazon that I started using this month and I love it. Just coloring in the boxes is already so satisfying!
I don't really trust exercise calories. Fitbit always gives me a lot so I usually don't touch them. I also think the calories I can eat is just very low for some reason. Yesterday I had a rest day, still got my 12k steps and did the gym rings workout, ate 1425 calories and this morning I had a 0.4 lbs gain. Not huge and might be a fluke, but I still didn't expect it and it makes me afraid to eat over 1400 calories. My BMR is 1529 but there is no way I can eat that and not gain. On my active days when I go for a walk, I usually get over 1000 extra calories from my Fitbit.
One of the most important things for me is starting the day with a walk. Especially since I want to have my breakfast after 10. If I wake up at 6:30 and have nothing to do, that is quite a long time to 'wait' without food. So I have noticed that no walk + overeating go together quite often. I am 'retired' (disabled) so don't work, I don't have much of a social life and rarely go to birthdays, so that hasn't been a problem. I did have my mom visit twice during this challenge. She sleeps over 3 nights every two months. In that past her visits have thrown me completely off plan. So this time I just didn't adjust anything and kept my own routine. Which means I will start cooking dinner at 15:15 and my mom will eat later. Going to bed at 20:30 because I really need my sleep even though she will stay up a little longer. She wants me to do well so it wasn't a problem and it worked so much better for me. Anything that disrupts my routine can become a huge issue.
Another reason why cheat meals don't work for me is because it turns into a binge day. Since I am already over my calories with my treat meal, why not also eat this, and this and that? I feel like I have to cram everything into one single day for some reason. After an extreme day like that, it is really hard to go back to eating at least 50% less. I am doing my best now to spread things out more and keep it small so I can just fit it in my day. I can still eat ice cream, and applepie, and a croissant, and chocolate; just not all the same day. I am sure I will still fail this sometimes because even though I always feel completely miserable after a few days with a lot of food, my brain can still sometimes convince me that it is actually nice, lol. My main goal in that case is to limit it to two days of binging instead of an entire week.
Oh yes, Wednesday is my weigh in day for the group, so those days are always hard. I still struggle with that sometimes, but not as bad. Trying to justify overeating because I just had a good weigh in, setting myself back a few pounds and having to re-lose that first and then lose more so I can get another good weigh in next Wednesday. It just doesn't make any sense. It feels much nicer to just keep going on that downward trend.
Sorry for the wall of text, I didn't plan to write this much!0 -
Well done to all of you who stuck with the challenge and have improved yourselves by doing so.
I've improved in some ways, getting more active, and continue to eat fairly well. I still need to do the general exercises on a more regular basis. Unfortunately, my weight has gone up and, if I took after pictures, they wouldn't show progress.
Anyway, congrats to all of you 👏😀2 -
@pupowl I'm with you about not trusting exercise calories. I try to stick with my "existence" calories and don't worry too much if there is a bit of looseness in the counting, but try never to go into the calories I supposedly burned.
One thing that makes a huge difference, though, is grains. I do not aim for low carb or IF or anything like that, but I try to get all my carbs from whole foods like vegetables, legumes, and fruits. If I eat any grains at all, it is almost immediately a weight gain, even with exactly the same number of calories as a non-grain day. Even brown rice or other whole grains have this effect. I'm not sure if this is common, but I have tracked for years and this is quite consistent.1 -
Day 7️⃣7️⃣ of 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ (53 days met all 5 goals)
✅ Exercise: 90m walk, 20m resistance training
✅ Read: Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience By Brene Brown
✅Water: gallon
✅ Food: under
✅<10g Added Sugar all natural
@jugar woohoo congrats on 75 days and yay for getting back into your maintenance range. A reminder that this is a lifestyle and life long journey that doesn’t stop when you reach goal. I’m glad you were still able to learn a few new strategies during this process. If any of your new challenges will be a part of F2F hope to see you there. Best wishes and enjoy your family time this weekend and riding and gardening this summer🤗
@pupowl glad you were able to recognize things that were throwing your routine off to course correct. Definite win! I printed a habit tracker when I was reading Atomic Habits but need to start using it. Something about seeing it on paper and the ritual of completing that just feel more impactful. Interesting about both you and @jugar take on exercise calories. I’m nervous about eating too low because it always leads to binges. Also it helps me mentally to know there’s exercise calories if I go over but I do rely on them too often. I’ll have to figure out a calorie target or range to test out this summer that will help see results but also maintainable long term without feeling deprived.
Sorry you saw a slight increase this week despite all your checks. Hope next week you see a big woosh!
I definitely agree all calories aren’t created equal in our bodies. Grains seem to create more retention but I still eat them. I’m still trying to focus on less packaged/processed foods right now. I still rely on them more than I’d like especially for snacks.
Thanks all for all the advice and tips! Lots of takeaways that will help with continuing to clean up my diet and eventually get to and maintain goal🤗💪💕2 -
Thanks @bodytalking glad you are seeing improvements. Keep pushing and being consistent! You’ll see the scale turn back around soon!🫶1
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My Version 75 Hard Challenge: May 18 - 75/75
✅ Diet - Calorie counting. Staying at or under 1200 calories per day. 1,294 calories today.
✅ Water - 70 oz of water per day (no alcohol) 77 oz. of water today.
❎️ Exercise - 30 minutes cardio workout, 30 min strength training and 20 min yoga/palates stretch, 10k+ steps per day (inside/outside) tree job with 14,090 steps.
✅ Reading - 10 minutes each day of anything. I read for 1 hour today.
✅ Sleep- Get 7 hours of sleep every night. I slept 8 hours and 15 min.
💪F2F - Mission Slimpossible!💪1 -
@pupowl - One of the most important things for me is starting the day with a large glass of water. And I eat at 6 am or within a half hour of waking up. I also, don't work, I'm a housewife. I don't have much of a social life either. My husband is my distraction. I sometimes want to eat just because he's eating or what he's eating but I resist. I have gained a great restraint towards food and rarely eat impulsively. I plan ahead and fit ice cream and chocolate in my daily calories. I'm not a binge eater, instead measure out nuts and snacks or I just drink water. I drink it before meals, after meals, and when we go out to eat too. Water is my go to. It used to be a cigarette but I quit smoking over two years ago. That is why I put on over 20 pounds. I think I crave cigarettes more than food.
I also do not trust exercise calories. I rarely use them. Exercise is where my weakness falls. I can be lazy. I can lose weight with only eating healthy but I lost more and quicker with exercise. I try to be more active by doing 250 steps every hour from 9am to 5 pm. I'm successful 7/9 of the hours. I change my exercise routine all the time. I do Barre workouts, Kickboxing, Run, HIIT, Palate, dumbbell and resistance band strength training. I also plan activities to keep me motivated like the 5k.
@jugar - I don't want to intentionally reduce carbs or fats either. I like to get an equal amount of proteins, carbs and fats each day. I try to get all my carbs from foods like vegetables, fruits, brown rice or other whole grains. And my fats from foods like nuts, avocado, yogurt, and fish. I love salmon. I try to reduce my sugars, fried foods and preservatives.
@NouveauRee - That's great your pushing forward with the challenge to get 75 days with all five goals.💪F2F - Mission Slimpossible!💪
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Congrats to the 4 of you that continued on through the end of the challenge.
You are all personified, progress, not perfection. Nicely done.
@NouveauRee
@Veta2018
@Pupowl
@jugar
If I missed anyone, congrats as well.
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Thanks @jugar 😊
Although I'm not seeing much progress, I have developed a few consistencies like drinking water throughout the day and green tea with meals, I don't eat breakfast/lunch until I feel ready (I don't say this is healthy, it's just what feels natural to me), I started putting some nuts & dried fruit into little bags to use as on-the-go snacks (3 Brazil nuts, 5 walnuts, 5 cashew nuts, 2 apricots, 2 prunes, some raisins). These are the type of things that are nutritious but high in calories and easily guzzled. I usually have a banana and/or a boiled egg, sometimes yoghurt or kefir with muesli, if I eat breakfast.
Hopefully, I'll become more consistent during the rest of the day and with exercise.
I have recently downloaded a couple of apps that claim to turn steps into coins (we'll see 🤷♀️) but, for now, they're pretty good motivators and I view the supposed coins as points in my own personal challenge. One of the apps, Macadam, has markers on the map that can be collected while out walking, so that helps get extra steps in. The other app is Sweatcoin. Like many apps, there are clickable offers and 'watch ads for extras' but these can be ignored.
I've also been taking vitamins and supplements and, although I tried to get these naturally and the can be costly, I believe I feel better for just covering all the basic requirements according to research.
Once you get to a certain place in life, it's difficult to fix what you neglected earlier in life 😌 aand it sure takes time.
Thanks for all of your helpful tips and insights everyone 🥰
I'll start recording my consistencies again and keep you company as you head towards 100 days. (I stayed away because I felt embarrassed at how badly I was doing).1 -
Day 7️⃣8️⃣ - 8️⃣4️⃣ of 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ (59 days met all 5 goals)
5/19-5/25
Exercise (90min)
🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢❌🟢
Read (30min)
🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢
Water (gallon)
🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢❌🟢
Food (tracked and under net exercise calories)
🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢
Added Sugar (<10g)
🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢❌🟢
Overall a solid week. Tired by Friday and coworker brought in watermelon burst donuts so had to try. Only ate half. Way too sweet but even though I stopped at half it set the tone for the day. 6 out of 7 days is better than I had been doing so will take it! Hope you all had a great week and enjoying the weekend.3 -
Day 8️⃣5️⃣- 9️⃣1️⃣ of 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ (64 days met all 5 goals)
5/26-6/1
Exercise (90min)
🟢🟢🟢🟢❌🟢🟢
Read (30min)
🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢
Water (gallon)
🟢🟢🟢🟢❌🟢🟢
Food (tracked and under net exercise calories)
🟢🟢🟢🟢❌🟢❌
Added Sugar (<10g)
🟢🟢🟢🟢❌🟢🟢
Happy June! If anyone is reading this hope you’re doing super and enjoying your weekend and summer🌸2 -
NouveauRee wrote: »Day 8️⃣5️⃣- 9️⃣1️⃣ of 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ (64 days met all 5 goals)
5/26-6/1
Exercise (90min)
🟢🟢🟢🟢❌🟢🟢
Read (30min)
🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢
Water (gallon)
🟢🟢🟢🟢❌🟢🟢
Food (tracked and under net exercise calories)
🟢🟢🟢🟢❌🟢❌
Added Sugar (<10g)
🟢🟢🟢🟢❌🟢🟢
Happy June! If anyone is reading this hope you’re doing super and enjoying your weekend and summer🌸
You are amazing! Keep up the fantastic work for 9 more days!1 -
Keeping you company for your 100 day challenge.
26 May - 1 June
1. 30+ minute walk
❎☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️
2. Read a motivational article
☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️
3. Drink 1.5+ litres of water
☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️
4. Eat fruit, veg, pulses, legumes, nuts, seeds.
❎☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️
5. Stay in caloric deficit
☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️
6. Exercising: cardio, core, strength, tone, flex, balance
❎☑️❎❎☑️❎☑️
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@NouveauRee how did you get on reaching 💯?1
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Oops forgot to post. Thanks for the tag @BodyTalking
Took 103 days to complete 75 days hitting all 5 goals! Just wanted to prove to myself I could do it. With the disappearance of the news feed I need to work on being more accountable to myself again. Last two weeks have been a challenge. There was a beach getaway last week and my eating has been out of control since. Time to reel things back in. On the plus side felt good and strong and was able to walk for miles on end. I owe it to this challenge and all of your support that it was a more active vacay then just complete lounging. Hope you’re all enjoying summer🌸
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Fantastic @NouveauRee 👏🥳 well done!
I wasn't in the best frame of mind and have been in a lot of pain recently but I'm getting tests done and hope to be back on it soon.
Let's all have a great summer and be the best that we can be 🫶1 -
I'm going to close this discussion thread - I won't delete it, though! If ever you need some inspiration and to review how it all went, it will still be there. Please feel free to ask any of the captains to start a new version if you want to!0
This discussion has been closed.