Just because this is day 75 doesn’t mean my wellness journey is over. 

The best thing I got out of 75 Hard was mental toughness and the tools to help maintain it.

I didn’t set out to be skinny. I set out to be strong! 

Before I started 75 Hard, I didn’t fully grasp that the program is meant to make you mentally fit along with physically fit. But after listening to enough of Andy Friscella’s podcasts, I got the point.

On day one, I set out to minimize my pain and improve my quality of life.

I never anticipated the amount of gratitude and joy that came from this challenge! It has truly changed me! 

I know now that I’ll never stop fighting fibromyalgia and tuning in to my body’s needs whether that’s avoiding certain foods or adding more types of exercise. 

I no longer fear what tomorrow will bring. Whether I wake up energized or exhausted, I have the tools to get me through the day. And above all, I am not quitter.

I don’t say this lightly but I’m adding 75 Hard to the list of things that have probably saved my life. First there was swimming back in Asia when I lost 20 lbs of college weight. I was extremely unhealthy before I found an olympic size pool and taught myself to swim a mile. Then Plexus completely cleansed and restored my gut biome after years and years of trying various supplements with little to no results. Then Whole30 opened up a world of healthy delicious meals that I have enjoyed cooking and blogging about. A sustainable way of eating. And finally, 75 Hard builds on the disciple of Whole30 while adding the exercise I so desperately needed!!

I started to gain weight once Plexus restored my gut health in 2018 and I began to actually absorb more of what I ate. Then I could tolerate foods that I’d been avoiding for years like dairy! So I let myself enjoy all of the foods that used to cause me so much pain! I especially enjoyed them on my trip to Italy last year! No regrets!

I honestly believe I was skinny for years because of leaky gut and other issues that were eventually diagnosed as fibromyalgia.

My 75 Hard journey was about sustainability! Finding workouts that I could handle on a daily basis – walking, biking, yoga, Zumba, swimming, etc. – and not dieting to a point where I was miserable for 75 Days. I already did Whole30 in January so I wasn’t excited about not drinking or eating sweets initially. But after about 20 days or so, the cravings lessoned and I felt so much better without that crap in my body.

I really don’t miss alcohol except for when I’m socializing with friends. It often makes me ache the next day. I also wouldn’t be waking up and doing yoga early in the morning if I’d had drinks the day before. 

One mistake I made was not counting calories the whole time! I was already hungry all the time before 75 Hard and once I started exercising every day, I just wanted to eat everything!! 

The MyFitnessPal app was a huge help once I hit a plateau around day 20. I didn’t quite realize how many calories are in a handful of nuts! 

With that said, I will definitely be celebrating this weekend! I’m very excited!

Then back to a routine! Samantha will still be getting her walks! She’s in much better shape now too!

I still have work to do and I want to be in the best shape mentally and physically before the school year starts. God knows it’s going to be a tough one…

Be well my friends!