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Originally Posted by indes
On day 16 of 75 Hard right now. Needed a lifestyle change so going all in!
Picked a macro diet of 1800cal limit with 180g of protein minimum. (207lbs/29%BF to start)
Doing a strength building program on the Lululemon mirror as my inside workouts 4 days a week then running/biking/walking for my outside workouts. The 3 non strength days I'm doing stretching or just walking.
It's been pretty easy so far but today was the first day I didn't feel like working out and tracking everything haha. 59 to go.
At 200/26%BF as of now and looking better every day.
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My wife and I are done! Got through all 75 days and have never felt better, physically or mentally. When they say its not a fitness challenge, its a mental toughness challenge - they mean it.
Finished at 184lbs/23% BF and am now the lowest weight I've been since I was 18 years old (34 now). I started running quite a bit and on my first attempt I was able to run for 14 minutes before gassing out. My best 5k ended up being 26:30 and am now looking to start some marathon training!
Honestly I can't recommend this challenge/program enough. If you would've asked me what I thought of my life a few months ago I would have told you that everything is good. My family is healthy, my wife and I have good jobs, we have lots of friends and yada yada. What a load of bull####. I was coasting. Clocking in and out of work, watching my kids instead of engaging with them, sitting around watching hours of TV with my wife eating garbage. Just looking forward to the next beer league game, round of golf or night out to have a few beers and hang out. I feel like that's the status quo and the expectation of "good".
Through nutrition tracking (probably the most important part of the whole challenge for me) my eyes have been opened to how much garbage and filler I was eating. I cannot believe how many unaccounted calories I was consuming before measuring everything and checking the labels.
I didn't even think I was fat. At 211/29%BF I thought I was just dad bodding around (down from 227/33% last summer). I play beer league and coach hockey/lacrosse so thought I was in okay physical shape. What a joke that turned out to be when I could run for 14 minutes. Now I realize I'm still not even close to being in shape and have a ton of work still to do.
I didn't think I was weak. I did weight training 3-4 times a week throughout the challenge and boy did that fat ever make me look like I was stronger than I was. I had to start training with 10lb dumbbells or body weight for most exercises just to avoid hurting my joints, or my stupid back. By the end of the challenge I'm up to using 30lb dumbbells for the same workouts, my knees don't hurt, I haven't had back pain for 2 months now after having it follow me around for the last decade.
Mentally, this is probably the strongest I've ever been. What I mean by that is that I feel capable. I feel in control and like I'm writing the story instead of reading it. The energy from exercise and proper nutrition is a huge help, I didn't even know I was so tired all the time - it was just my status quo. Between my wife and I, finding 1.5 hours a day to exercise was a real challenge. Then it wasn't. It's just what we do now, we make the time. Applying that to other things we had been putting off (purging the house, finishing the garage, fixing the yard) has helped us realize how much of our time we were wasting, just being tired and lazy. I have a new determination and discipline that I intend to keep up and hope it rubs off on my kids.
Alcohol. As a 34 year old male there was no shortage of beers in my life, nights out at the pub with the boys, beer league, golfing, working outside or in the garage. You know, they were always just there. I don't think I've ever gone more than 3 weeks (working in a dry camp for 21 days) without a drink since I was probably 14. While I haven't made a decision to quit drinking, not drinking has really given me a new perspective on alcohol. Don't need it. I had lots of fun without it, and no rough mornings, no Ubers. I'll update on this later. I had a couple of beers golfing the day after the challenge ended and it felt different. Like my mind didn't want the inhibition that it used to always crave. Like I said, I never set out to quit drinking, but we'll see where I end up.
If you need a change, this is an "easy" way to get it done. It doesn't require anything but discipline. Every single one of our friends has said "I could never do that, I don't have the time". We're the only family of 5 with 2 full time jobs. I can't recommend it enough. I'm already looking forward to the next phases of the program and some other goals we're looking to put on the horizon.
Book recommendations:
Can't hurt me
Atomic Habits
75 hard
Never finished
Girl, wash your face (for the women out there, this was my wife's favorite)