The Actual Episode About 75 Day Hard

In this episode we are breaking down 75 Day Hard. We will dive into the original purpose of this challenge and weigh in on how we feel about people using this to kickstart weight loss, as well as some things to consider before starting.

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Transcript

Baylee: 0:23

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to this week's episode of Mocktail Minute. This is Bailey.

Brianna: 0:28

And this is Brianna,

Baylee: 0:30

This week I am drinking, it's another one of those talky, I don't, I still don't know how to say this, I probably should have looked it up. The T A I K A drinks. But I am doing the mocha latte one plus adaptogens. I haven't tasted it, we'll try it out.

Brianna: 0:45

Yeah. I'm like, the coffee ones are hit or miss. I feel like coffee, any flavor hit or miss.

Baylee: 0:52

It's better, I would say it's better than the green, which one was, I tried the matcha, it's better than the matcha one. Maybe it's the macadamia milk I don't like. But it also has the ashwagandha in it again.

Brianna: 1:05

Both of those things are like earthy,

Baylee: 1:07

Yeah, I'm not a big earthy person.

Brianna: 1:10

dirt flavor. It just is. You can't get away.

Baylee: 1:14

It's okay.

Brianna: 1:16

Yeah. Boo. I'm just doing coconut water with a little sea salt and splashes orange juice.

Baylee: 1:25

There you go. A little DIY adrenal cocktail.

Brianna: 1:29

Yeah, why? I always, like, anytime I go to Costco, I get their coconut water and that's like my go to if I don't have something. I'm like, I just have coconut water, so I'm

Baylee: 1:38

Yeah, I need to drink my electrolytes. I also just realized I had a protein coffee. Well, I used protein powder, coffee protein powder in my smoothie this morning. So this is my second caffeine source of the day. We're going to be on a wild ride because I usually don't even do any caffeine.

Brianna: 1:54

Yeah. It's like one of those things where you're like, all right, let's just see what this brings, you know?

Baylee: 1:59

out.

Brianna: 1:59

Gonna bring something. We'll see what it is. I

Baylee: 2:03

We're gonna get a lot of things done today.

Brianna: 2:05

like it. Productive.

Baylee: 2:07

Yes. Well, today we are talking about 75 Day Hard. Is it? 75 Hard? 75 Hard. That's what it's

Brianna: 2:16

Yeah. 75 hard.

Baylee: 2:18

Challenge. But, if you haven't heard of it, it is basically a challenge that lasts 75 days. It basically involves you're going to Follow the basically strict set of rules for that time period. And it's really designed not only for like physical changes, but also like mental changes for like mental toughness. Part of the 75 challenge, well, I guess all parts of it. Number one, you follow a diet and it doesn't matter what diet it is, but no cheat cheat meals or alcohol. And they recommend it to be structured toward your fitness goals. That's the first thing. Second thing, you are doing two workouts a day. So, two forty five workouts each day and one of them has to be outdoors. They don't care if it's raining or snowing, there's a hurricane or a tornado. I mean, maybe a little lenient on the hurricane. But,

Brianna: 3:15

But you gotta start over.

Baylee: 3:17

Yes, you gotta start over.

Brianna: 3:18

Either walk outside in a hurricane or start over.

Baylee: 3:22

Third thing, drink a gallon of water every day. Which is about 3. 7 liters, 128 ounces. Fourth, you're going to read 10 pages of a non fiction self development book daily. So, ideally you're focusing on self growth, motivation, knowledge, kind of that mental aspect of everything. And then you're taking a progress photo every day so that you can visually see your changes. Now, like I said, this, it's a strict challenge. And like Brianna mentioned, You do have to restart like if you mess up.

Brianna: 3:56

Yeah. If you miss one thing, you restart and there's like an app and stuff that you can like track it. And so this is, it was created by a guy who he's like an entrepreneur and he designed it for like mental toughness. So like, I don't. Think it was ever supposed to be like a diet thing, but like people do it like to see like physical changes, stuff like that. But it's basically what it's a challenge of mental toughness to see, can I do these really hard things for 75 days? And like, cool. Like, I mean, it's feeding right into like, Just how we're designed as humans. We love challenges and we can do anything hard for a certain amount of time. But the problem and we'll kind of go into it and I guess we can just now, like things that considered is it's not focused on sustainable habits. So, you know, I don't think there's anything wrong with anything that it focuses on. I don't think that two workouts a day for 45 minutes is necessary, but I like that. It's trying to get people to get outside more. You know, incorporate walking, incorporate strength training, you know, think about what you're eating, read a book, like drink your water, like do things that are good for you. I love it, but I almost think that it's so unsustainable that when people, cause I know people who've done 75 hard multiple times. And my whole thing is like. So you didn't keep any of those habits when you ended it. And in fact, a lot of people will be like, Oh, there's, I ain't working out for like the next three months because I worked out twice a day for 45 minutes for 75 days. And so I think it kind of, it almost makes you form worse habits. Like it's not true habit change. Or behavior change. And then when you stop, you're like, I'm not doing any of that stuff. Or like, I didn't have alcohol for 75 days and that's all I've been wanting because I told myself I can't have it. And now it's like, I'm drinking every day. It's like, Oh,

Baylee: 5:48

And then I also see people like speaking of the alcohol where they like just stop doing things or because they're like I can't go out and have a drink or if I can't go grab ice cream with my family Like i'm just gonna stay home and I don't think that is necessarily a Healthy thing to do just having him miss out on everything not to say that Every time you go out, you must have a drink, but I think if you're in that mindset where I can't go out because I can't have a drink or I can't go with my family because I can't have these things, it's going to be harder on you, not in a mental toughness type of way, but it's like a defeating thing, and I mean, if you can't tell already, I don't think 75 Hard is in my future. I don't think Brianna's going to be doing it in the future.

Brianna: 6:31

I think that like me how I am as a person would love it. Be like, yeah, I'm going to do this. I can do it. Like, let me prove you. But I would not be in a healthy mindset doing it. Right. Nor do I think I would enjoy it. Like I think if I was forced You know, like for a lot of people, if they're forced to do two workouts a day, it's not creating a good relationship with it. You're not going to like it, you know? And like, that's way more important. The majority of women, I'm just trying to get them to enjoy movement. I don't want to hate it more, you know? And so I think it just is like, It's always a reason behind it. Right? yeah, if I'm going to go out and I'm going to choose not to drink, okay. I want it to be because I have certain goals. I don't want it to be because like, I can't, cause as soon as you put the, I can't do something, you're just like, as a human, like, well, when can I, when can I, instead of just building this good habit where it's like, you know what? I'm not going to drink this month.

Baylee: 7:30

Like you said, we perform those negative thoughts around all these habits that aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves. But, yeah, we learn to hate working out. We learn to hate meal prepping and meal planning and it feels more of a chore so then after those 75 days That's exactly why you don't do it anymore Where if you learn how to subtly include this into your life You slowly make changes you find what works for you Like I've personally I I mean I can but I will I'm choosing not to make time for two 45 minute workouts per day It's just not in my cards right now. I don't want it to be in my cards not happening. So You You have to decide what is going to work for you at the end of the day and what I often find with 75 hard Exactly. You're saying we do it for 75 days and then 70 Day 76, it's like everything is out the window, slowly but surely, even though it wasn't really meant to be like a weight loss thing. People are naturally losing weight because, yeah, you're moving a lot more, you're probably eating a lot better than what you

Brianna: 8:34

you're in like, yeah, you're not doing a ton of sugar.

Baylee: 8:36

Yeah, you're getting better sleep, like all these things are falling in line, but you didn't learn how to truly live your life. And when you can learn how to implement your favorite things and still lose weight. That's when it becomes a lot easier because you're not constantly in that battle with yourself so if you are Think if you are like looking at 75 hard some things we want you to consider number one It's not focused on sustainable habits. That's kind of it and really just comes back to the idea that you have to start over

Brianna: 9:09

one thing I think that I really hate about it. Cause it's like, you know, you can get to day 65, say something crazy. How about you're sick or something like family members in the hospital? Well, start over. It's like, what? That's so defeating. And then it. Feeds into that mental talk of, and I think that's why it's like mental toughness, whatever of like, I suck. I can't do things. I can't get things done. And like, we already have that. I'm gonna tell you that like people already are like, I

Baylee: 9:40

Yeah, we already think we suck.

Brianna: 9:43

No one's like, I'm amazing. Maybe, but for the most part, people are like, I suck. The other thing is it doesn't focus on like intake. So like no specific intake. So you kind of choose the diet you want to follow. Like some people will do like a whole 30. Some people will do keto. Some people will do, you know, low carb, whatever it is, but it doesn't focus on it. It gives no guidance of like calorie intake, kind of macro intake, what you should be doing for effective weight loss. And again, I don't think it was meant to be a weight loss thing, but so many people, the majority of people are using it for weight loss. I don't think I ever see someone who's like, I want to start a business. So I'm going to do this mental toughness, 75 hard challenge. No, it's everyone. Who's like, I want to lose weight. I want to kickstart my weight loss. So I don't think it's very effective. And that's one thing that I already think people struggle with. So just being like, follow this really hard diet for 75 days. Sure. At first they might see results, but we don't know what the heck they're doing. Like 75 days of what are you going extremely low carb for 75 days? Cause that's going to bite you in the butt for the 75 days after.

Baylee: 10:51

Mm hmm. Yes. Yeah, and If you don't know what your body needs, it's gonna be harder to choose, okay, what is, what is the right diet for me? Not in a dieting type of way, but like, diet is just like, what are you eating every day? So that's where having help, aka dieticians, can be super helpful. But yeah, just to have some guidance on, okay, what exactly are we eating here? So that way you can get the results you want, but you're also not like killing yourself to get those results. And with that, I would say the other thing, risk, there's risk of overdoing it on the workouts. Especially if you're under eating, now we're working out twice a day, 45 minutes. It can be a pretty big stressful experience on the body. You're going to probably get more fatigue. It can actually lead to injury. It's going to lead to burnout. So if You're too exhausted and you're getting injured from these exercises for these 75 days. It's going to be even harder to sustain that because day 76, you're like, I am not stepping foot into the gym or my basement, wherever those weights are. You will not find me there. Yeah.

Brianna: 12:01

it doesn't give you any rest days and true training. You're supposed to have rest days to actually get the benefits of training. You should have rest days. And so I get the whole think about movement every single day. Great. We can be doing movement, but the fact that it's like you needed to be doing two workouts every single day for 75 days straight. Risk of injury, especially because the majority of people I see doing this are like women who are like in a postpartum state or women haven't worked out in a very long time. And I'm like, that's insane. Like, this is not what we want to be doing. This is not benefiting you to go and risk hurting yourself. And even a well trained person, 75 days straight of no rest. Not even going to be beneficial to them.

Baylee: 12:48

That's where to, like, if you are someone who has done 75 hard, you've completed it and now you're like, okay, want you to know, if you are able to do that, you can absolutely eat blood sugar balancing meals. You can strength train two to four times a week. You can 20 minute power walk every day. It's going to be a lot easier on your body. But I think where it becomes intimidating is like, how many days do I do this? Will you do this forever?

Brianna: 13:14

forever.

Baylee: 13:15

There's not an end zone.

Brianna: 13:17

We do it all the time. This is like our daily habits, which, you know, you take something like 75 hard. It's like one of the hardest challenges, right? Like that's what it's known for. And it's like, well, now we're taking all these things we should be doing every day in a moderate amount. And we're making it seem very unattainable. That doesn't help. Cause yeah. And then, cause when someone hears, oh, 20 minutes every single day forever. It's like, Yeah. They always wanna know, like, what's the end goal? Like, when can I not? It's like, well, no, you always should, but,

Baylee: 13:49

I had someone ask me the, what was it, yesterday? He was like, how do you live with your brain focusing on all of these pieces and knowing as much information as you know? And I was like, I never really I thought about my brain that way and I, and I was like, you know, I do feel like at times it can be overwhelming with the amount of knowledge that's in here because you're constantly thinking about all the things and then, yeah, there are some times where, like, if I have a piece of cake, I'm like, ugh, my blood sugar is all out of whack, this is not great, but I don't want to leave my family to, like, go on a walk, so it's like, things like that, I mean, they still do pop up in my head just because I know what's happening in my body. Or, I mean, there is a little bit, I would say, a tiny stress response when I go eat away from the house and it's like, not my typical meal. It's more carbohydrate heavy, not a lot of vegetables, but I'm also not gonna sit there and not eat and cause like a big scene over give me vegetables. So I will say, yeah, those things I do think about. But, When it comes to like putting meals together, getting movement in, the stress, while it can seem like a lot of things that you're doing, once you do it consistently, it becomes habit. It's just a part of your And I think that's why I don't like realize how much I do think about it, maybe because it's just, it's always been there. It's, I mean, I guess for the past three years, this is what I've been working on for my metabolic health. It's just always been there. So it's just part of my brain now and not in like a stressful way or a way that I'm always thinking about, Oh my gosh, how can I move more? I mean, I am, but it's not, it's not like, I don't know. Does that make sense? Like, it's not like a constant

Brianna: 15:38

becomes like a, like these are habits that I have. How do, because I always tell people, you're already doing habit and

Baylee: 15:47

just adjusting how you're doing them. It's almost like it becomes your personality where Like someone who is naturally a funny person. They're not really having to plan out their jokes like all day long Then they're not funny

Brianna: 16:03

Right. They just kind of do, it's kind of like that thing. Right. You know, you could think about it. It's like those jokes of like, you know, POV, you married the family that gets up and does a 5k on Thanksgiving. And your family is a family that starts your day with mimosas. Like, it's just a thing. When you start to think like, I'm someone that moves my body. I'm someone that's mindful of what I eat. I'm someone that really prioritizes sleep. And I like to take care of myself. My mental health is just something you start doing. And it doesn't feel so much of like a to do list. And I think that's where people get stumped. And we've talked about that before. It feels like, okay, this is all the stuff I have to do. How am I going to fit it in all in a day? Whereas when you do this slow habit change over time, it just becomes something that you get done without thinking about it, you know, cause we're already, we're already eating. We're already sleeping. We're already doing things. It just becomes a difference in how you do it. And I, again, I think 75 part kind of takes that away. Cause it makes it feel like this is your to do list 75 days. And then you don't have to think about it again. The next would be the mental strain. And that's kind of what you were talking about of like, probably what someone is asking, like, how do you think about all this stuff? How do you do it again? It helps you to develop that all or nothing mindset or just amps it up. Cause I feel like the majority of us are like that. Like we want to be able to be like, I could do hard things. If I know what's going to stop

Baylee: 17:22

Do anything for 30 days or whatever it is. It makes it easier, where if it's like, I can do anything for the rest of my life, it's like, ooh, can I do anything for the rest of my life? How much life do I still have to live? And it's

Brianna: 17:35

And then I tell people you're already doing it, right? You're already being that person. That's like, I drink whenever I want, I sleep five hours every single day of my life. Like I don't balance work and like life, like I already, like we're already doing this, but for some reason, the habits that make you feel better always feel hard. And I think it's just how. I think honestly, diet culture has done a really good job at just screwing that up for everyone. Because like a hundred years ago, people enjoyed moving their body, being outside, like, Not stressing about nutrition. Now we do it so much.

Baylee: 18:11

Yeah, it's almost like we've made things Too easy where we don't have to use our brain for a lot of things. That's like, it seems hard to do like walking.

Brianna: 18:22

Yeah.

Baylee: 18:23

It seems hard to do something. We were born, like we get so excited when kids walk. Then as an adult, we're like, yeah.

Brianna: 18:31

walk again. We take it for granted until we can't walk. Right. And we're like, you don't think about this thing. So I think again, just making something be a challenge. Like you're just taking advantage of all the great things that you could already be doing.

Baylee: 18:47

yeah, even like stress, for example, stress management is something that I find many people are resistant to doing the things that actually helps decrease your stress and manage it and build your stress capacity. But you're already doing something to manage your stress. You're drinking because you had a long day. That's what you're doing to manage your stress. It's just not a productive way to handle it. Let's be more productive with our life. So. With all that, if you are thinking about doing 75 hard, there are a few things we want you to consider. Number one, I want you to know why you're doing it. Ask yourself why you want to do 75 hard. Is this for weight loss? Okay, well, is this gonna be too extreme? Is it actually gonna work with you? Is it for mental toughness? Is it for like discipline? Maybe that would be a better fit, but Maybe tweak some things. I mean, there's no while there are rules. There's

Brianna: 19:46

You don't have

Baylee: 19:47

one's no one's enforcing these

Brianna: 19:49

Who, who created this? Andy Frisella. You don't have, he's not the God of like mental toughness or

Baylee: 19:56

yeah, he's not checking in on you.

Brianna: 19:58

doesn't care.

Baylee: 19:59

he does not care He's not checking in on you. Know why you're doing it. And kind of along with that, consider what is going to be sustainable beyond 75 days. Is it something you want to do when you're 50, 60, 70 years old? Is it something you're gonna want to do on day 76? If you, if you're like going to this like, oh my gosh, this is so different, it's like it's completely turning my world upside down, then it's probably not gonna be the best approach for lasting change. So I want you to consider something that's actually sustainable 100 days from now, 300 days from now, 5 years from now, all the years from now, until you die.

Brianna: 20:43

The next thing would be assess your fitness level. Are you someone who's just getting back into working out? Are you someone who works out all the time and think about like, realistically, what can be sustainable for me? How am I not going to have injury? How am I going to improve my relationship with exercise or fitness or movement? Cause that is Much more important again on day 76. Are you going to get up and go for that walk? Are you going to get up and go work out if you're just counting down the days? Not great, but really think like, I don't want to have burnout. I don't want to have energy. And then also your rest and recovery. So, you know, again, I always tell people, like I asked them, like, what's the end goal, right? Cause it's cool. If you can not rest for 75 days, but is your goal fitness is your goal strength is your goal, improving your body. If it is, you need rest, you need to do it correctly. So, you know,

Baylee: 21:36

And honestly, Yeah, like, if you were strength training for 7 days a week, you're not strength training hard enough to build really good muscle.

Brianna: 21:44

No, you're not. There's no way you could be doing that. And that's a good point. So again, what's the end goal? Diet flexibility, are you going to be focusing on some crazy diet? That's kind of hard just so you could be like, yeah, I did 75 days without added sugar or 75 days of no carb or whatever it is, or you've got to focus on nourishing your body. Because again, similarly to fitness, people have a horrible relationship with nutrition, with their food, with their habits around food. Right. And so thinking about like, I want to take the next 75 days and really improve My habits. Maybe I want to be someone that cooks more at home. I want to be more mindful of what I'm putting into my mouth. Great. Again, let's not make it worse, right?

Baylee: 22:32

Yes, and then, with that, consider your mental and emotional health. Is it really worth it to you to go through this mental toughness challenge? Is it actually going to be beneficial to you? Or is this something that's going to add, you're choosing to add this stressor to your life that can also lead to like a really negative relationship towards food and exercise, especially. So I want you to consider your mental and emotional health. And the last thing I would say, like, listen to your body, especially if you are like, Nope, I'm still I'm still convinced this is for me. Okay, listen to your body. If you are physically feeling sick, but you're like, I have to get these two workouts in and you're pushing it, you're going to get overly fatigued, you're not going to feel good, your body's going to be stressed out, you're going to tank yourself. So listen to your body.

Brianna: 23:24

Think about like, what's again, the end goal. You cannot say I'm improving my body. I want to focus on improving my body and becoming this better person. If you're breaking down your body,

Baylee: 23:38

that is true.

Brianna: 23:39

You got to have like, you're going to be so much better. Forget it. You're yeah. Like I just, it's just this weird concept.

Baylee: 23:49

Yes. So at the end of the day, I don't think either of us will be joining you for 75 hard. is part of it that I do like, there's part of it that I think you're a little bit too extreme. There, I will say there are better approaches

Brianna: 24:05

you know, if you're someone who's like, I do like challenges, I think this could kickstart my habits or I want to be held accountable. Great. Do you like a 75 soft or take an aspect of each of the things? Cause again, like I said, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I don't think you need to take a picture of your body every day. That's a little weird, but you know. All the other stuff and be like, okay, how can I improve in this area? What can I do? You know, have it be small, set a challenge. Great. A challenge that again, you can continue, but

Baylee: 24:35

Mm hmm.

Brianna: 24:36

just obsessed with this extreme. That's like, all we see is extremes. It's extreme one side or the other. And that's where people fail because it's the middle that gets everybody where they want to be.

Baylee: 24:47

Mm hmm. Speaking of taking pictures of your body every day. I couldn't even do that Like when I was pregnant like every week that I've missed several weeks. So Yeah, I didn't get enough to do a full collage.

Brianna: 25:01

There's like such big

Baylee: 25:02

it's like we missed I think like six weeks in a row So it's like tiny and then it's funny to see like the first one we took was like, oh my gosh I could see above and there's like nothing there

Brianna: 25:13

there. You look back and you're like, wait, what? I know I did that too. We're like, oh, look, I'm showing. And I look back like, girl.

Baylee: 25:20

but I'm like, okay, my defense, when you look down, it looks different than when someone's looking to the side, so it's like, from my view, it looks like there is a bump. Yeah. And, know if we want to talk about this or not, but, We, it's like we were discussing creating some type of something for January, so why don't, we will put like a Google form, some type of form for everyone to fill out in the show notes to let us know what type of program would you like, like do you want calls, do you want telegram, do you want like a group chat style, do you want pre recorded videos, do you want a workbook, What do you want from us, and what do you want out of it? Like, are you looking for consistency? Are you looking for weight loss? Are you looking for, like, meal planning tips? I don't care what you're looking for. Just, like, let us know so that we can create a program for you.

Brianna: 26:19

I like

Baylee: 26:20

that link in the show notes if you can fill that out.

Brianna: 26:22

Yeah. Let's do it so that we can actually tailor something around what you guys want. Not what I think everybody wants.

Baylee: 26:29

Alright, everyone. Well, have a great rest of your day, and we will be back next week. Bye.