Wow. You guys! I have been doing 75 soft for just over a week now and I have to say, I’m proud of myself. There was one day that was a bit rocky, but I’ll get into that in the blog. You heard last week how my first 2 days went. Now let me update you on the first full week of 75 Soft. Heads up, it’s a long one.
Day 3
As terrible as it sounds, this was my rocky day. Now, before you judge, let me explain. I had been up all night with my friend. We made a delicious meal together and then went through one of the books I’m hoping to publish this year. So, day 3 involved me going to bed at 6am. That wasn’t the problem. Not knowing if a coworker was coming for a shift was. I had no idea what my day was going to look like and that stressed me out. Thankfully it did get resolved, but then I spent most of the day sleeping. There was no time to spend half an hour working out, so I put on a 20 minute stretching video and decided Day 3 was active rest day.
I forgot to mention this in my first blog. Active rest days I do not need to do a minimum of 30 minutes working out. That’s why I decided day 3 would be an active rest day. Then I struggled to drink enough water, but I made it. Just barely. Eating – not the greatest. Got my 10 pages read and I did a lot of praying. Not the greatest way to continue my first full week of 75 Soft.
Day 4
A much better day. After the night shift, which I got a head start on my water with, I drove my coworker that I’m training home. Then I got back and went to bed. What surprised me is that I actually had a good sleep. The last few sleeps have not been great, so that was a nice change. I read my 10 pages, ate a bagel with peanut butter and honey, then decided that I wanted to soak in the hot tub because my muscles were still sore. That may have relaxed me a bit too much because I ended up taking a nap after that and slept on and off till about 9:30. Determined to get in a decent workout, I put on the newest video from Grow with Jo. Let me tell you, my arms were burning! It was a really good workout that lasted 30 minutes. Afterwards I did a ten minute runner’s stretch video because my legs were still super sore. I almost didn’t make my water goal, but chugged the last half litre with ten minutes left before midnight; the cut off.
Day 5 of my First Full Week
Day 5 was probably the most fun I had in my first full week of 75 soft. I set my alarm so that I could watch a church service online. Due to being up all night, I knew I wouldn’t make it to church. After church I was looking on YouTube for my workout and I found a few called Gospel Dance Workout. It was on the channel Grow With Jo and there were just a few of them. I watched one, just to see what it was like, but by the time that was done and the next one on the playlist started – I knew I found my workout. As expected, it was a lot of fun and I could not stop smiling. Afterwards I did a quick stretching video as I felt my legs were quite tight when I was doing the dance video. Day 5 was certainly my cheat day when it came to food. I had some trifle that a coworker brought me, and then a friend and I went for pizza. The great thing that I noticed – I didn’t feel the need to punish myself for not eating well. I simply enjoyed the food. All goals were met.
day 6
Today, my motivation started to take a dip. I didn’t want to read, or eat well, or workout. Water was an after thought. However, I pushed through and did my workout and read my 10 pages. I pushed through and drank my water, but it was a lot more of a challenge than previous days were. This tells me I’ll need to get more creative with my water intake. I was a lot more tired and lazy today, but I’m proud of myself for pushing through. Eating still isn’t crazy healthy, but I know I can’t always eat super healthy right now as money is still tight. So, I’ll keep eating the best that I can, and pray for more money.
Day 7
I’ve been trying to write down how each day went at the end of that day, but it’s now day 9 and I’ve fallen behind. To try and remember what I did. I know that I met each goal, but forgot to do my progress photo this day (I ended up doing that on day 8). If I remember correctly, I had to chug water towards the end of the day because I fell behind. Now it’s coming back to me. My friend, who is doing her own version of 75 soft, came to the hotel and we did a workout together. This day I was kind of behind on everything, so it was a struggle to quickly cram everything in before the day ended.
Day 8 of My First Full Week
This day was tricky when it came to my workout. I decided to fast most of the day. The goal was to fast for 24 hours, but I did eat a sandwich at supper time. Why fast? I was praying for some really important things, and so I replaced some meals with prayer time. Because I knew that I was going to be fasting this day, I made it an active rest day. Now, I know that you’re all going, “wait, wasn’t Day 3 an active rest day?” Yes it was. However, because I started 75 soft in the middle of the week, technically day 8 was the start of week 2. So, I guess we are dipping into the start of a second week now. But I do want to document each day in some way. This day was a lot easier, but I got too cocky with water and ended up having to chug almost a litre with an hour left of my day.
Day 9
The tricky thing with all of this is that I’m going from midnight to midnight. So, most people have till they go to bed. My sleep schedule is a bit all over the place, so to make it easier on myself, I start my day at midnight and have till 11:59pm to complete everything. Over my night shift I picked out my workout video for the day, so I can’t stall when I wake up. I tried to get a head start on my water drinking, but I was also drinking kombucha. And when you’re tired of drinking mainly water, kombucha is easily the dominant drink. Spoiler: I didn’t drink 3 litres of water this day. Everything else I dominated. I tried this beginner belly dancing video, which was actually really fun. After that I did a Grow with Jo video because I still wanted a bit more of a workout. Unlike the original challenge (75 Hard) I do not have to start over because I failed. I just need to try again.
First Full Week Struggles
So, my biggest struggle in my first full week has actually been eating healthy. It’s not that I’m eating lots of bad food, or even craving it. However, I’m not necessarily eating better than I was before the challenge began. Fast food isn’t really a temptation because I’m broke. But I wouldn’t say I’m eating super healthy either. Farmer sausage burgers are delicious, but I wouldn’t say that I’m eating them in a way that I can call them healthy. Then there are still lots of days where I struggle to actually make food, so I look for a snack idea. These I do not have a lot of because I’m not buying snack foods. Hopefully, as the challenge goes on, I’ll be more motivated to cook good meals, even if it’s just for myself.
What Surprised Me
I think the thing that has surprised me the most is that I’m making my water goal with relative ease, with the exception of Day 9 that is. Sure, there are some days where I have to chug at the end to make it. But it’s always the last bit. Throughout the day I am more conscious of how much water I’m drinking. Doing more cardio based workouts definitely helps with that as well. The second thing is that I’m not trying to talk myself into working out as much as I thought. This first full week has been good for workouts. And the fact that my active rest day workouts were still 20 minutes – that’s incredible. I’m going strong and hoping to keep that up, as well as strengthen the areas where I’m struggling. Let’s do this!
First Full Week Done. Next!
With the first full week behind me it is now time to plan for the next chunk of days. It’s really cool that this is happening starting March 1st. For the month of March I think I want to challenge myself more when it comes to workouts. There are days I feel a bit sore from the previous days workout, but not much. And I’m still waiting for a workout to kick my butt and make me sweaty. I want that sweaty selfie to post. Time to stop chickening out and dive into those tough workouts. Hopefully it also starts to get nicer so that I can go jogging outside, or even for walks with friends.
Food Goals
I really want to start eating better. What I crave is food that makes me feel good after I eat it. Don’t get me wrong, some of the meals I have made are delicious. But I’m talking about food that won’t bloat me, or sit heavy in my stomach. I want food that will help me with my weight loss goals, give me energy, and overall contribute to my health. With some ideas of transforming myself this year, I need to buckle down, stop letting my ADHD brain unmotivate me, and dive in.
Who’s with Me?
What about you? Are you tired of sitting in a rut? Do you want to make some changes to your life? Join me in this challenge. It’s not too late to start your own 75 day journey. Make a small list of goals, post them where you can see them, and do it. Get things done and stop sitting and waiting for change to happen. Let’s find the best versions of ourselves on this journey. And let’s do it together. Anything can happen if we try.
