75 Hard - Day 60 Update

 

Yesterday was Day 60 of the 75 Hard Program for me, meaning I’ve now completed 80% of the initial phase of the LiveHard Program.

 

To say that I’ve benefitted from this challenge would be a huge understatement, as I believe I am becoming a totally different person the longer I stick to the program. To date, I have lost 8 pounds and 2-1/4 inches off my waist, which, according to previous work I’ve done on myself, should mean that I’ve lost 9 pounds of body fat and gained a pound of muscle. I will find out for sure what this breakdown is the day after I finish the program, as I have a DEXA scan scheduled for October 15, which I will compare to the one I had done 1-1/2 months before starting 75 Hard. And while 8 pounds in 2 months might not sound like a lot, keep in mind that I was already in pretty good shape for a guy in his mid-50s when I started.

 

To recap the daily, non-negotiable rules of 75 Hard:

·       Take a progress picture

·       Read 10 pages of a personal development or entrepreneurship book

·       Complete two 45 minute workouts, and one has to be done outside

·       Follow a diet – no cheat meals or alcohol

·       Drink a gallon of water

 

When I started this program, I gave myself very little chance of success. I started mainly because I had talked about it to my tribe and got tired of kicking the can down the road after reading the book 75 Hard by Andy Frisella, the creator of the challenge. However, not only do I believe I have thrived on this program, but I have actually looked for opportunities to make it even more difficult, such as the following:

·       In addition to the daily required reading, I am highlighting keys points and then using a running email to journal lessons I am picking up, then occasionally going back to reread.

·       The diet I chose was pretty simple: no junk food or sugar, with an emphasis on real food and protein supplementation. To take this a step further, I have tracked every macro since starting the program, which I will detail once I have completed this initial phase.

·       I have chronic sinusitis and insomnia. Previously, I rarely went longer than a week without requiring some Nyquil to help me sleep. However, knowing that alcohol isn’t permitted during this challenge, I’ve avoided it. And guess what – I lived…

·       Additional workouts: As if doing two 45-minute workouts a day wasn’t hard enough, I occasionally add mini-workouts (ala Mark Sisson) consisting of functional strength activities such as dead hangs, planks and other mobility exercises.

·       Two weeks ago, seeing that I had hit a fat-loss plateau, I reduced my calories by another 200 calories per day, which was almost all fat (180 grams/90% of total calorie restriction) and have continued to watch my waist get smaller and my abs become more visible.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I started this program with a lot of self-doubt, not being sure if I had what it was going to take to complete 2-1/2 months of such a strict challenge. However, as I enter the last 2 weeks of 75 Hard, the question is no longer whether I will finish, but whether I will go directly into Phase 1 of the LiveHard program, which is 30 additional days of the same program, along with a few more daily tasks added in. I also have a big opportunity that has come about related to the internal work this program has me doing….stay tuned…. more to follow….

75 Hard - Day 50 Update

 

Yesterday I completed day 50 of the 75 Hard Challenge. When I started this program, I initially didn’t give myself much of a chance to complete it, but I was tired of kicking the proverbial can down the road and made the decision to give it a shot. To say that I have both impressed myself and been impressed with this challenge is an understatement. I’ll detail some of the results to date below…

 

Although weight loss itself wasn’t a specific goal, I am down 7 pounds since Day 1. I am also down 1.75” off of my waist, which implies that all of the weight I have lost so far is body fat, as I know from prior experience that a pound of fat usually equates to about ¼” on my gut. More importantly, I like the results in the mirror and the way I am feeling as well. Additionally, I am getting stronger in my core lifts, despite working around various old injuries, slipped discs, surgical repairs, etc., which I have to be careful with.  

 

In addition to the physical aspects of the challenge, I have read more than 600 pages from self-improvement and entrepreneurial books, having completed The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Trejo’s Tacos by Danny Trejo, in addition to starting the classic: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I am also reading daily excerpts of The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class by Steve Siebold. To ensure that I am actually learning from these reading sessions, I am journaling key points each day and keeping both a written and electronic log of the highlights.

 

Some recent changes I’ve made within the program has been to lower my caloric intake to really increase fat loss and to focus more on getting more sleep, as my insomnia has decreased the quality and overall amount of sleep the past couple of weeks. This may or may not be due to my overactive mind as a result of all that I am reading, so I will also focus on getting my reading knocked out early each day to see if that works.

 

See you again in 10 days with another update, God-willing….

Halfway Point Update/75 Hard

 

Today is the halfway point of the 75 Hard Challenge for me and I continue to enjoy success. Since my last update almost two weeks ago, I’ve put on a pound and gotten stronger in all my core lifts. As a recap, I’ve committed to the following tasks, daily, for 75 days:

·       Take a progress pic each day to reflect progress

·       Drink a gallon of water

·       Read 10 pages of a personal development or entrepreneurship book

·       Do 2 workouts lasting at least 45 minutes, one of which must be done outdoors

·       Follow a diet

I enjoyed a key birthday yesterday and my wife surprised me with Keto brownies to help me avoid any temptation to break my diet of no sugary junk food.

When I began this journey, I was already in pretty good shape for an old man, so it is no surprise to me that I’m seeing more improvements in the way of mental clarity, self-confidence and creativity than huge physical changes to my physique, although I believe I’ve made solid improvements there as well.

See you in 12 days, God-willing….