I have a lot of friends trying 75 HARD. Naturally I asked what it is. They shared the requirements:

• you do two 45 minutes workouts a day and one of those must be outside.
• Drink a gallon of water each day
• Stick to a diet/eating plan of your choosing
• Read 10 pages of a nonfiction (self betterment book) each day

I also googled this. You also cannot have added sugar. There may be more to this but this is what stood out to me.

I have a friend who is doing 75 Soft version of it which still felt like too much for me. I know the premise is to build mental toughness and discipline. But for me and my lifestyle it seemed like I would end up being disappointed with myself because it felt out of my reach. But I heard many have done it.

But as a stay at home/homeschooling mom – it felt too rigid for my life. So I began to think how could I commit to a very modified version of this and still gain in health and discipline.

I did not think I needed a program to grow in mental toughness. Of course I love to grow but as a mom of 4 kids- I have mental toughness. 😉 I think momming is the hardest job on the planet. And because it is such an all encompassing job- it is easy to find a million other things to spend my time doing or people to help besides myself. I liked the idea of a challenge but I had to make it mom friendly. I imagine some moms out there have done it but knowing myself- I wanted to try and tweak it.

Habits are very hard to build so I do like the idea of doing something daily for at least 21 days since that is the advised amount to gain a habit discipline. So I decided on 25 days. I could see that as failure from the start since it was only 1/3 of his program but I thought if I developed even 1 habit this trial/experiment would be a win.

So here are my components I am trying to commit to:

• 25 days
• 25 ounces of water (a gallon sounds great but let’s be honest if I even drink one glass of water a day. So about 3 glasses a day is a win. I think this smaller goal will help me likely drink more than this).
• 25 minutes of exercise in the morning before the kids wake up. For me I enjoy walking outside or elliptical in the garage. Finding joyful movement is key.
• During the morning exercise I will listen to an encouraging nonfiction audiobook. A book that will help me be better at something. Audiobooks are a no-no in his plan. I absolutely love paper books and ability to highlight etc but audiobooks have motivated me to actually get up early and exercise so its a win-win.
• 2-5 modified push-ups after each time I use the bathroom. This of course is when I am at home and not in the Walmart bathroom. I know it does not sound like much but hey it is more than I do in a day right now. They say it is good to tie a desired habit with something else you already do. Once I am down on the floor I imagine I will want to do more once I get going.
• No sugar (just kidding. Nope that is not happening. I love to bake. My young son loves to help me even though I don’t love the help 😉 but it grows me). But I do want to be wise in regards to sugar.
• Eating plan of your choosing. I like this idea since we are all different and we know our bodies best. We have to pay attention to what makes us feel better and lighter and more energized. For me I know I am eating well if I eat according to my doctor’s orders for when I had gestational diabetes. I lost 20 pounds while pregnant when doing this. I was not starved or deprived. A question I want to ask before eating or drinking- WILL THIS CHOICE LEAD TO A MORE VIBRANT KIMI?

I don’t know about you but I like plans/programs telling me what to do and what to eat. One more thing I do not have to decide- sounds great! But we cannot eliminate choice/or needing our brains when choosing health and wholeness. This will take mental work for sure. I love the idea of a challenge and rising to meet it. Well I like them in theory but I think I never stick with it because I did not come up with it. Ultimately I think we know what is good for us but we choose what is convenient, yummy or what will cause the least resistance. I think if I often asked myself – WHAT DO I NEED RIGHT NOW AT THIS MOMENT? LIKE WHAT DO I REALLY NEED AND NOT JUST WHAT I WANT.

I can often in a tired/weary moment think I need a giant piece of chocolate cake or a Starbucks run. But if I pause long enough and ask it again- I get to the core of an issue.

I need a nap.

I need some quiet.

I need 10 minutes of alone time.

I need to sit outside in the grass and read 10 minutes of a novel.

I need a walk in the woods.

I need a hug.

I need to call a friend and hear her perspective on this issue.

I need to let myself feel and be okay that I need to cry to process something.

I think we each have the inner wisdom to choose health, healing and things that bring hope. But we choose cheap substitutes that end up leading to disease, heartache and hopeless.

I was tempted to not even post this til after I completed this experiment to see if it really had good results or results that had measurable progress. But not all growth can be seen in a photo like with weight loss and toning. No doubt this will lead to a stronger and better version of me. So here we go. A really cool benefit of posting as I go- this will help me to write for 25 days straight which will help me build the habit of daily writing which is important since I want to be a writer. Well I am a writer but I love the idea of getting paid to put my heart out into the world.

Disclaimer: I am not knocking 75 HARD. I love the idea of spurring people on to better things. I am not saying it is impossible. I am just saying I think I need to try something different. But his program may be exactly what someone needs but I had to be honest and look at my life and my responsibilities and be okay that I could not sign up for it.

Photo by Mel Elias off of Unsplash.